The provisions of this subpart apply to the manufacture of printed circuit boards, including all manufacturing operations required or used to convert an insulating substrate to a finished printed circuit board. The provisions set forth in other subparts of this category are not applicable to the manufacture of printed circuit boards.

For the purpose of this subpart:

(a) The term sq ft (“sq m”) shall mean the area of the printed circuit board immersed in an aqueous process bath.

(b) The term operation shall mean any step in the printed circuit board manufacturing process in which the board is immersed in an aqueous process bath which is followed by a rinse.

Except as provided in 40 CFR 403.7 and 403.13, any existing source subject to this subpart which introduces pollutants into a publicly owned treatment works must comply with 40 CFR part 403 and achieve the following pretreatment standards for existing sources (PSES):

(a) No user introducing wastewater pollutants into a publicly owned treatment works under the provisions of this subpart shall augment the use of process wastewater or otherwise dilute the wastewater as a partial or total substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with this standard.

(b) For a source discharging less than 38,000 liters (10,000 gal) per calendar day of electroplating process wastewater the following limitations shall apply:

(c) For plants discharging 38,000 liters (10,000 gal) or more per calendar day of electroplating process wastewater the following limitations shall apply:

(d) Alternatively, the following mass-based standards are equivalent to and may apply in place of those limitations specified under paragraph (c) of this section upon prior agreement between a source subject to these standards and the publicly owned treatment works receiving such regulated wastes:

(e) For wastewater sources regulated under paragraph (c) of this section, the following optional control program may be elected by the source introducing treated process wastewater into a publicly owned treatment works with the concurrence of the control authority. These optional pollutant parameters are not eligible for allowance for removal achieved by the publicly owned treatment works under 40 CFR 403.7. In the absence of strong chelating agents, after reduction of hexavalent chromium wastes, and after neutralization using calcium oxide (or hydroxide) the following limitations shall apply:

(f) In addition to paragraphs (a) and (b) the following limitation shall apply for plants discharging less than 38,000 l (10,000 gal) per calendar day of electroplating process wastewater:

(g) In addition to paragraphs (a), (c), (d), and (e) the following limitation shall apply for plants discharging 38,000 l (10,000 gal) or more per calendar day of electroplating process wastewater:

(h) In addition to paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g) of this section, the following shall apply: An existing source submitting a certification in lieu of monitoring pursuant to § 413.03 of this regulation must implement the toxic organic management plan approved by the control authority.