Disposal of pollutants into wells, into publicly owned treatment works, or by land application

1. Disposal of pollutants into wells that affect the waters of the state is prohibited, except as provided under an underground injection control authorization pursuant to chapter 33.1-25-01, or as provided in applicable regulations of the state industrial commission. Any permit issued for the disposal of pollutants into wells shall be issued in accordance with the procedures and requirements specified in the applicable regulations. 2. When part of a discharger's process wastewater is not subject to a national pollutant discharge elimination system permit because it is being disposed into a well, into a publicly owned treatment works, or by land application, applicable effluent standards and limitations shall be adjusted to reflect the reduced waste load. Permit effluent standards and limitations shall be calculated by one of the following methods: a. If none of the waste from a particular process is discharged into waters of the state, and effluent limitations guidelines provide separate allocation for wastes from that process, all allocations from that process shall be eliminated from the permit limit calculations. b. In all other cases, effluent limitations shall be adjusted proportionally to the amount of wastewater to be diverted from discharge into waters of the state. Effluent limitations and standards may be further adjusted under subsection 4 of section 33.1-13-01-32 if the character or treatability of the pollutants is changed by the alternative disposal method. c. Subdivisions a and b do not apply to the extent that promulgated effluent limitations guidelines control concentrations of pollutants but not mass or specify a different specific technique for adjusting effluent limitations to account for well injection, land application, or disposal into publicly owned treatment works. 3. This section shall not alter a discharger's obligation to comply with any more stringent applicable requirements in this chapter.