Effluent Guidelines and Surface Waters are national regulations that control the discharge of pollutants to surface waters and to publicly owned treatment works. Effluent guidelines are available for 55 industries and listed in 40 CFR 401-470 Subchapter N.

Effluent guidelines are specific to an industry and reduce the discharge of pollutants that have serious environmental impacts, including pollutants that: kill or impair fish and other aquatic organisms; cause health problems through contaminated water, fish, or shellfish; and degrade aquatic ecosystems.