"PT mill's discharge permit, expired in 2009, now up for public review"

"The first in a series of stories on the Port Townsend Paper Corp.’s proposed new discharge permit.
It’s affectionately called “the pond” at the Port Townsend Paper Corp. and less affectionately referred to as “the thing that stinks” by people who live near it or pass by it.

It is the largest industrial wastewater treatment plant in Jefferson County.

And starting April 24, paper company officials and the community have an opportunity to start discussing what conditions should apply to what is technically an aerated stabilization basin (ASB), when the state Department of Ecology issues a draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Waste Discharge Permit.

A public workshop and hearing follow, with comments taken through June 21.

The mill’s discharge permit, last written in 2004, expired in 2009. A new draft contains new requirements for monitoring groundwater, monitoring sediment under the outfall and well as studying the efficiency of the pond. These requirements are now up for public review, including at a public hearing likely to occur in late May or early June.

The mill’s permit to use, reuse, treat and then discharge more than 12 million gallons of water daily into Port Townsend Bay is likely to be controversial.

Both the PT AirWatchers and the Port Townsend Citizen Watchdogs, two organizations that have been critical of the mill’s practices, have been eyeing the state’s progress on the permit review for months.

It is the third permit in four years that Jefferson County’s largest private employer has had to review with the public watching and commenting."

Source and Full Article
http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=55&ArticleID=33384