Nonconventional Pollutant in the United States

Nonconventional Pollutant in Environmental Law

An odd category of water contaminants regulated by the Clean Water Act. The grouping includes all pollutants that are neither conventional nor toxic. The statute itself lists ammonia, total phenols, lead, color, and chlorine as nonconventional pollutants.

The most common water pollutants are called conventional pollutants, and they include suspended solids, biochemical oxygen demand, and pH (acidity and alkalinity). Conventional pollutants were the first type of water pollutants regulated. Toxic water pollutants are those identified as harmful to the living organisms in surface waters. The toxicity may relate to bioaccumulation (storing of pollutants over the lifetime of an organism), immediate effects on organisms, and persistence. These pollutants are listed by the EPA and are often called priority pollutants. Examples include benzene, chromium, and arsenic.

A nonconventional pollutant must be evaluated to make sure it does not meet the criteria for listing as a toxic pollutant, since toxic pollutants are regulated more stringently. Also, the discharger may be eligible for a variance from the standard if it can demonstrate that the facility is fundamentally different from other sources that discharge the pollutant. See also National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
Based on “Environment and the Law. A Dictionary”.