Following EPA-issued rules regarding dental amalgam waste, Metro Water Recovery’s Dental Amalgam Control Program requires area dental offices to use a qualifying amalgam separator and comply with industry best management practices to reduce amalgam waste.
On June 14, 2017, the EPA issued a final rule regarding the handling of dental amalgam waste at 40 CFR Part 441, Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Dental Category, with an effective date of July 14, 2017. The final rule requires dental offices to use a qualifying amalgam separator and comply with industry best management practices to reduce amalgam waste.
Effective July 2, 2018, Metro’s Dental Amalgam Control Program’s Rules and Regulations were revised to better reflect this final federal ruling while continuing to meet our own local limits. Metro’s program Rules and Regulations meet the requirements of the federal rule and are in some areas more stringent than the federal requirements.
Dental Amalgam Program Forms
Best Management Practices
All dental facilities are required to comply with best management practices and requirements to operate and maintain an amalgam separator according to its manufacturer’s recommendations, as required by 40 CFR Part 441 and Metro’s Rules and Regulations, Section 6.16.1 – Dental Amalgam Control Program. Links to all forms are available under the Program Resources and Documents tab on this page.
Required One-Time Compliance Report
Within 90 days of initial discharge, dental sources (both exempt and non-exempt) must complete a One-Time Compliance Report and, if non-exempt, also must submit with this report a copy of your Operations and Maintenance Plan. All One-Time Compliance Reports must be signed by an Authorized Representative of the facility. Links to all forms are available under the Program Resources and Documents tab on this page.
Please complete the report that most accurately fits your dental operations, and mail it to Metro Water Recovery at 6450 York Street, Denver, CO 80229. Metro reserves the right to review and/or deny any exemption claims that do not match previously identified operations at your facility. Information may also be verified via an on-site inspection by our staff.
Be advised, failure to submit the One-Time Compliance Report within the 90-day deadline may result in enforcement action(s) that may include the assessment of penalties and/or suspension or termination of sanitary sewer service and/or other administrative or legal actions as provided for in Section 6.28 of Metro’s Rules and Regulations.
Exemptions
These new regulations now allow a broader range for exemption status. Businesses may claim exemption status if any of the following apply:
2. Or, the dental facility does not place any amalgam, and whose removal of teeth with amalgam comprises less than 5 percent of the dental facility’s business.
1. A business exclusively practices:
Oral pathology
Oral and maxillofacial radiology
Oral and maxillofacial surgery
Orthodontics
Periodontics
Prosthodontics
Mobile dentistry
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