Residents urge ADEM to deny Integra wastewater permit for Flint River discharge

Residents, church representatives and water-quality professionals told the Alabama Department of Environmental Management at a public hearing that they want the agency to deny or delay a draft permit for an Integra wastewater treatment plant that would discharge treated effluent into the Flint River near Berry Hill/Berryhill Estates in Madison County.

The speakers said the river is frequently used for whole-body contact, including swimming, tubing, baptisms and commercial recreation, and they raised technical and operational concerns: the proposed discharge volume, low-flow dilution near the proposed outfall, documented noncompliance at an existing Integra facility, and neighborhood impacts such as odor, noise, light and property-value reductions.

Cameron Craig, a water-quality and water-security professional who said he works on water quality for the armed services, told the hearing, "I am here tonight to oppose this permit application in the strongest possible terms." He asked ADEM for "a more accurate study" of low-flow discharge and stricter sampling and monitoring protocols, and said the permit's 7Q2 flow estimates rely on outdated data…