Environment Ontario Legacy, Vol 11, No. 3 January 1983. Pg. 5
Important revisions were made in a proposed New York State discharge permit for the Niagara Falls, N.Y., sewage treatment plant as a result of interventions by Environment Ontario.
“The amendments to the draft permit resolved our major concerns,” Environment Minister Keith C. Norton said in announcing the changes. “The limits for the emissions of PCBs are cut by 75 per cent and for phtalates by 50 per cent. Further controls of other contaminants are provided if monitoring indicates their levels are cause for concern.”
Other amendments include a change from measurement of concentrations to measurement of actual amounts discharged. The levels are based on average daily limits. These limits are keyed to the plant’s design capacity of 48 million gallons a day, rather than the 60 to 65 million gallons of current actual flow.
“The limits and the method of calculation are designed to provide an incentive to the City of Niagara Falls to reduce the overload on the plant and to operate within its design capacity.” Mr. Norton said.
Controls on the discharge of contaminants to the Niagara River, as applied by this permit, will be fully effective in 1984 when faulty carbon beds in the plant have been rebuilt.
Ontario has withdrawn its earlier request for a public hearing because New York State has improved the permit.
Ontario’s comments on the original proposed discharge permit and the province’s request for a hearing were filed with New York State last March. Comments on the revised discharge permit have just been submitted. These activities have been coordinated by the ministry’s Niagara River Improvement Team.
“The revision of the permit by New York State is a significant step in cleaning up one of the Niagara River’s trouble spots and an excellent example of how international communication and co-operation can be effective when goodwill prevails,” Mr. Norton said.
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