CPCB Directives for Online Effluent Monitoring

Central Pollution Control Board vide its letter No. B-29016/04/06PCI-1/5401 dated 05.02.2014 issued directions under section 18(1)b of the Water and Air Acts to the State Pollution Control Boards and Pollution Control Committees for directing the 17 categories of highly polluting industries such as Pulp & Paper, Distillery, Sugar, Tanneries, Power Plants, Cement, Oil Refineries, Fertilizer, Chloral Alkali Plants, Dye & Dye Intermediate Units, Pesticides and Pharma Sector, Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP) and STPs, Common Bio Medical Waste and Common Hazardous Waste Incinerators for installation of online effluent quality and common emission monitoring systems to help track the discharges of pollutants from these units.

Directions were also issued to 11 Ganga Basin State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees vide letter No.B-190019/NGRBA/CPCB/2011-12 dated 05.02.2014 for directing the industries discharging effluents directly into River Ganga or its tributaries for installation of real time water quality monitoring systems to monitor parameters such as pH, TSS, COD, BOD, Chromium, Arsenic , AOx, Ammonia. The directions envisage:

1. Installation of online effluent quality monitoring system at the outlet of the identified units for the measurement of the parameters, pH, COD, BOD and other sector specific parameters (Annexure- I) as per the guidelines provided, not later than by March 31, 2015 and transmission of online data so generated to SPCB/PCC and CPCB as well.

2. Installation of surveillance system with industrial grade IP (Internet Protocol) cameras having PAN, Tilt Zoom (PTZ) with leased line real time connection for data streaming and transmission of the same.

3. Ensure regular maintenance and operation of the online system with tamper proof mechanism having facilities for online calibration.

Chemicals (Pharmaceuticals, Organic/Inorganic, Fertilizers, Oil Refineries and Pesticides), Distilleries, Sugar, Pulp & Paper, Textile, Dying, Bleaching, Slaughter Houses, Tannery, Food & Dairy and other categories of industries located in states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal have been discharging effluent directly or indirectly into the river Ganga and its
tributaries (Ramganga & Kali-East) through drains, thereby causing deterioration of water quality of river Ganga and its tributaries.

The SPCBs and PCCs have prescribed standards for various pollutants emitted/ discharged by the industries as notified under the Environment(Protection) Act,1986. The compliance monitoring needs to be strengthened to ensure that treated industrial effluent complying with the stipulated norms is only discharged by the industries.

With rapid industrialisation, it is becoming a need and necessity to regulate and minimise inspection of industries on routine basis. Therefore, efforts need to be made to bring self-discipline in the industries to exercise self-monitoring & compliance and transmit data of effluent and emission to SPCBs/PCCs and to CPCB on continuous basis.

For strengthening the monitoring and compliance through self-regulatory mechanism, online emission and effluent monitoring systems need to be installed and operated by the developers and the industries on, \'Polluter Pays Principle’.

The ground truthing of the values indicated by the online devices need to be done. For proper interpretation of data measures need to be taken at the level of SPCBs/PCCs. For regulatory purposes and for purpose of actions to be taken against on-complying industries/facilities, the existing method of sampling, analysis and related procedures under the existing statutes need to be continued.

Various technologies are available for monitoring the effluent quality in terms of the parameters specified in the directions issued by CPCB. However, no guidelines on selection of the Real Time Monitoring Systems are available.