The Alabama Department of Environmental Management held a public hearing on a draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit proposed for Integra Water Madison County LLC to discharge treated domestic wastewater from the Integra Water Madison County East water reclamation facility to the Flint River in the Tennessee River Basin. Residents and local speakers urged ADEM to deny the permit or require further study, while ADEM staff said the agency will consider written and oral comments before making a final determination.

The hearing officer, Alexander Chambers, opened the hearing and explained its scope and recordkeeping procedures. Dustin Stokes, chief of the municipal section in ADEM’s water division, said ADEM had made a preliminary determination that the draft permit would not cause violations of state water‑quality standards but that the decision would be reconsidered after ADEM reviewed all comments. "The department has made a preliminary determination that compliance by Integra Water Madison County LLC with the terms and conditions of the proposed draft NPDES permit will not result in violations of applicable state water quality standards designed to protect human health and the environment," Stokes said, while stressing ADEM's authority is limited to water‑quality issues and does not extend to zoning, property values or traffic.

Integra Water's chief executive, John McDonald, described the facility and its treatment processes and emphasized that the company intends to discharge "highly treated disinfected water, not raw sewage." McDonald said the facility will include tertiary filtration and ultraviolet disinfection, be designed to meet federal and state standards and incorporate technologies to reduce noise and nuisance.

Speakers who live near the proposed site or who use the Flint River gave extended oral testimony opposing the permit. Misty LaFevers, who identified herself as an elementary school teacher at Eberton Elementary, said the plan to discharge treated effluent would harm outdoor learning, recreation and the river experience for children: "Releasing up to 1,000,000 gallons of treated wastewater per day will change everything about that landscape. It will affect the smell, the water quality, and the very air that our students breathe during outdoor lessons." LaFevers urged ADEM to deny the permit.

Several residents said the draft permit appears to allow staged or future expansion. Ginny Samato reviewed documents in the hearing record and told the agency the draft permit shows a tiered output beginning at 250,000 gallons per day and moving to 990,000 gallons per day; she said two letters in the record referenced a possible later increase up to 4,000,000 gallons per day and warned that facilities at or above 1,000,000 gallons per day are subject to stricter toxicity testing. Samato said: "This looks like it's built to scale up when it's saying in a minor category so we don't have toxicity testing. It targets an impaired river backed by a company with spotty compliance records with the very pollutants that will harm our fish, wildlife, and public use." She also noted the Flint River appears on Alabama's 303(d) list for turbidity, meaning there is limited remaining pollutant load the river can accept without further impairment.

Other speakers asked ADEM to weigh the company's compliance history at nearby plants. Melissa Stafford, speaking for her family, recounted safety and compliance concerns and reported an incident she said occurred near company property: "The first bullets hit the trees above my 16‑year‑old nephew's head. We immediately hit the ground and screamed... I stayed on the phone with 911 for the entire time." Stafford also told ADEM she believes the company's Meridianville facility has recorded E. coli and suspended‑solids exceedances and asked the agency to consider those records in deciding this permit.

Ben Stafford asked ADEM to deny the permit or, at a minimum, to require a full environmental impact study and a public‑health risk analysis before issuance. He cited the Alabama Environmental Management Act and the state Water Pollution Control Act and argued the department must ensure the permit will not allow discharges that cause or contribute to violations of water‑quality standards.

Other speakers called for alternative designs and higher containment standards rather than the single‑line tanks described in materials. Alicia Biggs Hangermaker recommended exploring nature‑based treatment options such as biofiltration or constructed wetlands and urged ADEM to require double or triple containment if tank storage is used.

ADEM reiterated the process and next steps: oral testimony and written comments entered into the hearing record will be considered equally, the hearing was transcribed and recorded, and ADEM will post the hearing record, final permit determination and response to comments to its e‑file system after it completes its review.

No formal decision was made at the hearing. Residents said the community intends to remain organized and monitor ADEM's review process.