National Pretreatment Standards:

CWA regulates wastewater discharges into surface waters and discharges to publicly-owned treatment works (POTWs). All laboratories discharging wastewater to a POTW must comply with the national pretreatment standards. ( 40 CFR Part 403 )

Categorical Pretreatment Standards:

Laboratories associated with an industrial process may have to comply with categorical pretreatment standards.

NPDES Permits:

Some laboratories have National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for discharging wastewaters into rivers, bays, or lakes. Most labs, however, only discharge wastewater to a POTW. ( 40 CFR Part 122 )

State/Local Standards:

Of concern to laboratory operations are the regulations concerning discharges to the local POTW. Each POTW sets their own 'pretreatment standards', which must be at least as prohibitive as the national pretreatment standards.

Spill Prevention/Control:

Laboratories storing oil in above-ground or underground storage tanks may be subject to spill prevention, control and countermeasure requirements. ( 40 CFR Part 112 )