The Department of Environmental Quality announced today its decision to issue a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the Woodland Ridge Manufactured Housing Community in Green Oak Charter Township, Livingston County. The DEQ's decision follows a review of public comments and supporting information to determine whether the surface water discharge met the standards contained within the federal and state regulations.

These actions provide the basis for resolving the existing issues that included surface water discharges during the winter without permit authorization. An Administrative Consent Order has been entered to resolve those past violations, while the NPDES permit issued today provides the appropriate protections for Michigan's waters and gives the community the ability to properly manage its wastewater for the five-year permit duration.

The NPDES permit will then allow the DEQ to approve any discharges on a case-by-case basis only after a report by the permittee assures that all actions have been taken to avoid a surface water discharge, operates the irrigation fields in accordance with the Irrigation Management Plan and Groundwater Permit, implements a Phosphorous Minimization Plan, and conducts pre-discharge sampling to assure that Surface Water Quality Standards can be met.

A Groundwater Discharge Permit was previously issued on August 1, to assure that irrigation field runoff, groundwater infiltration, and rain/snowmelt collected by the permittee will be assimilated into the groundwater discharge system. The NPDES permit provides a temporary discharge option until the groundwater system can be fully implemented. If the option to discharge to the surface water is used, the permit requires the discharge be protective of the Huron River and any downstream lakes consistent with the phosphorous Total Maximum Daily Load requirements.

Editor's note: DEQ news releases are available on the department's Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

"Protecting Michigan's Environment, Ensuring Michigan's Future"

Revised September 8, 2008 by Pat Watson