What does the Clean Water Act require from wastewater treatment plants regarding total suspended solids (TSS) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)?

The Clean Water Act establishes regulations to ensure that wastewater treatment plants effectively manage pollutants before discharging water into the environment. One of the key components of this legislation is the requirement for significant removal of pollutants, particularly total suspended solids (TSS) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD).

Specifically, the Act mandates that wastewater treatment plants achieve a minimum removal efficiency of greater than or equal to 85% for both TSS and BOD. This requirement aims to protect water quality and aquatic life by ensuring that the treated effluent does not significantly impact receiving water bodies. Achieving this level of removal helps to mitigate problems like oxygen depletion in water bodies, which can harm fish and other aquatic organisms, and it reduces the overall burden of solids that can lead to sedimentation and habitat disruption.

The other options do not align with the requirements set forth by the Clean Water Act for pollutant removal, making them less suitable choices.