ABSTRACT
The Water Quality Act of 1987 set the stage for establishing a far more stringent set of metals-removal discharge requirements than industry and municipalities have previously faced. These requirements cover elements the USEPA designates as priority pollutants such as arsenic, antimony, selenium, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, silver, and zinc. (For convenience, these elements are called “metals” here, even though not all exhibit metal-like behavior.) Some states also restrict discharge of other metals, such as molybdenum and vanadium.
