All News Releases By Date

EPA Seeks Community Input on Logan Airport Draft Water Permit at Informational Meeting Oct. 5

Release Date: 09/27/2006
Contact Information: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

(Boston, Mass – September 27, 2006) – A public informational meeting concerning the storm and wastewater draft permit for Logan International Airport will be held at the Winthrop Senior Center located at 35 Harvard Street in Winthrop on October 5 at 7 pm. The informational meeting will be an interactive meeting with a chance for EPA to answer any questions the public may have concerning the draft permit.

EPA’s Draft “National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System” (NPDES) permit for the Massport-owned and operated airport is designed to meet requirements of the federal Clean Water Act. The draft permit would replace an expired NPDES permit covering the discharge of storm water from four main outfalls, the Northwest Outfall, and 44 smaller outfalls that drain the runways and the perimeter area of the airport into Boston Inner Harbor, Boston Harbor, and Winthrop Bay.

“The proposed permits will bring a new level of environmental protection to storm water discharges at Logan Airport,” said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “We look forward to working with Massport and the public to do all we can to protect water quality in the waterways around the airport.”

Due to significant public interest, EPA has extended the public notice period of the proposed draft permit for 45 days from the original closing date of September 8; therefore, the public comment period will now close October 23. EPA will accept any written comments on the draft permit at the public meeting on October 5 as well as any comments submitted prior to the close of the comment period on October 23.

The proposed permit draft requires Massport to sample, analyze and report a representative portion of the storm water outfalls and the Northwest Outfall for some conventional pollutants and specific toxic pollutants related to deicing of runways. Further, the proposed draft permit requires Massport and the companies at Logan that perform maintenance on aircraft and other equipment, apply deicing fluids on aircraft or runways, and maintain aircraft lavatories to implement a comprehensive “Best Management Practices Plan.”

EPA believes that the effluent limitations, conditions, and monitoring requirements contained in the draft permit are protective of federal and state water quality standards.

More information on the Logan Airport Draft Permit (epa.gov/region1/npdes/logan/index.html)

# # #