What is the main goal of a local pretreatment program?

The main goal of a local pretreatment program is to ensure compliance with discharge standards. This is vital for protecting the municipal wastewater treatment facilities and the environment. By establishing specific discharge limits for various types of industries, the program helps prevent harmful pollutants from entering the wastewater system, which could overwhelm treatment capabilities or lead to violations of environmental regulations. Compliance with these standards is essential for maintaining public health and safeguarding water quality, as it ensures that any effluent entering the treatment system is within allowable limits and can be adequately processed.

Other options, while they may have some relevance in broader contexts, distract from the primary focus of a pretreatment program. Enforcing penalties on industries is more of a consequence of non-compliance rather than a goal. Reducing operational costs for industries may be a benefit of compliance, but it is not the primary aim of the program. Promoting industrial growth is not a direct focus; rather, the pre-treatment program seeks to balance industrial activity with environmental protection.