Pease Tradeport Agrees to Reduce Polluted Storm Water Runoff

On Jan. 11, the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) reached a settlement with Pease Development Authority requiring the company to cleanup water pollution from storm water runoff at its Portsmouth, N.H., tradeport, the former Pease Air Force Base.

Boston-based CLF filed suit against the Pease Development Authority more than two years ago over violations of the Clean Water Act. The foundation argued that storm water runoff from the tradeport contaminated the Great Bay estuary with nitrogen, bacteria, heavy metals and per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS) chemicals.

The settlement in U.S. District Court requires the tradeport to obtain a federal municipal storm sewer permit (MS4), as well as increase monitoring for PFAS in nearby surface waters. Pease Development Authority must implement a pilot project to evaluate emerging technologies that may be used to reduce PFAS contamination near the tradeport. The settlement will be a part of ongoing military efforts to study and cleanup contamination at the tradeport, which has also been a federal Superfund site since 1990, reported New Hampshire Public Radio.

“Storm water pollution is one of the greatest threats to the health of Great Bay,” said Tom Irwin, vice president and director of CLF New Hampshire. “This historic agreement ensures that the Pease Development Authority will be playing by the same rules as communities throughout the Seacoast and will comply with the Clean Water Act.”

According to a statement released by CLF, this lawsuit is the first of its kind to require a redeveloped military base to obtain an MS4 permit to reduce storm water pollution and pilot technologies to reduce PFAS pollution.