Impacts of full secondary treatment at the joint water pollution control plant

In September 1979, the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County applied for a 301(h) waiver for modification of secondary treatment requirements for the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant. As specified by Environmental Protection Agency regulations, the waiver evaluated the environmental impacts associated with implementation of partial secondary treatment as compared to elimination of the wastewater discharge entirely. This paper presents a more practical evaluation by comparing both the economic and environmental impacts resulting from implementation of full versus partial secondary treatment at the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant.