Logan International Airport Receives New Storm Water Permit
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a new storm water permit to Massport, operator of Boston's Logan International Airport. The update significantly upgrades protections to nearby Boston Harbor by establishing new runoff limits at three locations and expanding runoff monitoring.
Under the new permit, the EPA requires that the airport fall below set effluent limits for pH, total suspended solids and oil and grease at three major outfalls that drain runways and perimeter roadways; for the first time, monitoring of these sites will be mandatory. The EPA also necessitates the sampling runway and perimeter drainage for ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total ammonia nitrogen and two toxic additives found in deicing agents--nonylphenol and tolytriazole.
"By upgrading and reissuing the storm water permit for Logan Airport, EPA is helping to protect Boston Harbor," said Robert Varney, regional administrator for EPA's New England office. "We have worked hard to address the airport's needs and to address thte concerns of the public as we have updated these protections."
In addition to limiting runoff and requiring monitoring, the new permit also requires Massport to develop and implement a detailed plan for minimizing the release of pollutants into Boston Harbor. Best management practices (BMPs) within the plan will aim to identify and reduce pollutant sources linked to deicing and anti-icing, fuel and oil, bacteria, and rubber removal.
Massport will also have to conduct a study to help increase understanding of whether airport discharges lead to water quality violations. If the discharges do cause problems, Massport is responsible for determining how it happens. As a part of the study, Massport will calculate a dilution factor for each outfall; the EPA and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection can then use these figures to establish future water quality-based limits, if needed.
Source: EPA