Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Opposition topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Neighbors urge ADEM to deny Integra permit, cite recreation, 303(d) listing and past violations
Summary
Multiple residents told ADEM the Flint River is used for swimming, fishing and kayaking, said the river is already listed as impaired, and asked that the department deny the permit or require full environmental and public‑health reviews; commenters cited alleged E. coli and TSS exceedances at another Integra facility.
Several residents told ADEM that the Flint River is a place of recreation that should not receive the proposed discharge and urged the department to deny the permit or require further study.
Lucy LaVegers, a Riverton Elementary teacher, told the hearing: “Releasing up to 1,000,000 gallons of treated wastewater per day will change everything about that landscape.” LaVegers also said Integra’s own records and prior incidents at a Meridianville facility show past exceedances for E. coli and other pollutants that, in her view, warrant denial. Ginny Samato, representing Barrie Hill, noted she reviewed the draft permit and supporting documents and said the Flint River appears on Alabama’s 303(d) list for turbidity, so there is a smaller allowable pollutant load remaining; Samato said earlier letters referenced the potential to scale the plant further and worried the facility would be designed to remain below the 1,000,000‑gpd threshold where more stringent toxicity testing applies.
Ben Stafford, who said he lives about 800 feet from the proposed site, cited the Alabama Environmental Management Act and the Alabama Water Pollution Control Act and asked ADEM to deny the permit or require a full environmental impact study and a public‑health risk analysis. Multiple speakers told the department they rely on the river for recreation and for local businesses that serve kayakers and anglers, and said community use and ecological values should shape the permit decision.
