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Subject:

Public Comment on Permit Modification

Loparex, Inc. (Cullman County)

NPDES PERMIT NUMBER AL0066958

From: Nelson Brooke

Fax: (205) 458-0094

Tel: (205) 458-0095

E-mail: nbrooke@blackwarriorriver.org

June 15, 2005

Russell A. Kelly

Chief, Permits & Services Division

Alabama Department of Environmental Management

P.O. Box 301463

Montgomery , AL 36130

Viaà E-mail: rak@adem.state.al.us & Fax: (334) 271-7950

Re: Comment on Loparex, Inc. (NPDES: AL0066958)

Cullman County

Dear Mr. Kelly:

Loparex, Inc. is permitted for the discharge of stormwater runoff from its bulk chemical and solvent storage area, solvent mixing area, and parking area into Bridge Creek, a tributary of the Broglen River , a tributary of the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River . Loparex has applied for the resissuance of its NPDES permit AL0066958, which was active from December 1, 1999 through November 30, 2004. My comments will cover issues that have not been adequately addressed by the permit’s guidelines.

Loparex’s expired permit required testing for Total Recoverable Tin and reporting of findings in Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs). The parameter for Tin is wholly absent from Loparex’s DMR forms from January of 2000 through March of 2005. Apparently no testing for Tin was done for the entire permit period. This is a blatant permit violation. ADEM did not address this violation once within the past five-year permit cycle. A Notice of Violation is the minimum correspondence I would expect ADEM to have communicated to Loparex. Who at ADEM is responsible for reviewing Loparex’s DMRs, and why was this omission not noticed? If this facility’s permit is reissued, I suggest that someone at ADEM make sure they follow their reporting requirements for Total Recoverable Tin. Permitting a facility without regulating it defeats the purpose of having a permit in the first place.

The permit requires that Loparex “monitor” for total suspended solids (TSS), but fails to set a limit for this parameter. Review of the facility’s DMRs for January of 2001 through March of 2005 reveal discharges of TSS too high in sediment for a stream with a use classification of Fish & Wildlife. Bridge Creek is a tributary of the Broglen River , which is known to have populations of the flattened musk turtle (Sternotherus depressus), which are vulnerable to sediment loads. A letter from Larry E. Goldman of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service dated August 3, 1999 [which I have attached] recommends a daily maximum discharge of TSS at 35 mg/l. This recommendation to protect the flattened musk turtle should be respected by ADEM. From 2001 to 2005, Loparex discharged TSS greater than 35 mg/l at least 20 times, with the greatest amount numbering 806 mg/l. Since they are only monitoring two stormwater outfalls once per quarter, this is a significant finding. For the new permit I suggest that Loparex have a limited discharge of TSS set at a daily maximum of 35 mg/l for both outfalls, DSN001 & DSN002. Monitoring at these two outfalls should be increased to twice per month to ensure water quality is maintained in Bridge Creek.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this facility. I look forward to a response from ADEM addressing the issues I have raised above.

For the river,

Nelson Brooke

Black Warrior Riverkeeper

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712 37^th Street South

Birmingham , AL 35222

www.BlackWarriorRiver.org

Riverkeeper is a registered trademark of Waterkeeper Alliance, Inc.

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NPDES PERMIT NUMBER AL0066958

712 37th Street South

Birmingham , AL 35222

712 37^th Street South