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Saturday, December 25, 2004
Environment - South Bend Airport lacks stormwater permit
"Airport lacks stormwater permit" was the headline to this interesting story yesterday in the South Bend Tribune. Some quotes:
SOUTH BEND -- Despite increasing scrutiny of environmental issues with the nation's airports, South Bend Regional Airport doesn't have a required stormwater discharge permit to dispose of potentially hazardous chemicals.The Indiana Department of Environmental Management said there's no evidence that airport officials have ever applied for the permit, which is required of the state's airports every five years.
"We have a lot of airports in our database, but South Bend is not among them," said Cyndi Wagner, chief of IDEM's wet weather section.
The airport has 30 days to apply for a permit under IDEM's stormwater management program, a process that began Wednesday, airport director John Schalliol said. * * *
Schalliol said he "first became aware" the state considers groundwater to be public waters during Wagner's presentation in October, at the Aviation Association of Indiana's annual conference.
"That started me thinking about our situation here at the airport, and that was the genesis for the study ... " Schalliol said.
Wagner said airports have been covered under the state's general permit rules for industrial discharges since 1992.
IDEM's general permits require airport officials to test stormwater discharges every year, have a pollution control plan in place and submit annual reports showing how the plan is being implemented.
Airports fall under the state's industrial stormwater discharge rules, Wagner said, because of activities like painting, maintenance, fueling and deicing that involve hazardous chemicals. Airports must devise plans so "waters of the state" aren't harmed, she said.
The situation with South Bend Regional is perplexing, Wagner said, because her section does plenty of "outreach" with various trades it regulates, including the aviation industry.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on December 25, 2004 09:47 AM
Posted to Environment