Post date: Sep 01, 2014 4:5:20 AM
June 25, 2000
On June 16, 2000, MDEQ Director Russell Harding ruled on revisions to Pall-Gelman Sciences' Honey Creek discharge permit. Although the MDEQ's Administrative Law Judge Richard Lacasse, in his well-reasoned Recommendation for Decision, had concluded that a 5 ppb monthly average and 15 ppb daily maximum were the appropriate discharge limits, Director Harding has issued a permit that doubles the current allowable daily Maximum. Harding let stand the existing permit's allowable 10 ppb monthly average, but he raised the daily cap from 30 to 60 ppb.
What does this mean for our citizens' group who participated in the September contested case hearings in opposition to Pall-Gelman's attempt to increase the permit to 100 ppb? Had we not been involved, the decision would most certainly have allowed them 100 ppb as both daily cap and monthly average!
SRSW's expert witness on the treatment technology firmly established that the system in place at Pall-Gelman is capable of reaching non-detectable levels of 1,4-dioxane. Judge Lacasse's recommendation recognized this fact. He laid out his rationale in detail; one we felt was indisputable.
Director Harding, in contrast, presented minimal written explanation for rejecting the Judge's recommendation.
In other news, the DEQ announced that the allowable limit for 1,4-dioxane in residential drinking water has been raised from 77 ppb to 85 ppb. Before 1995 and the systematic dismantling of environmental protections statewide by the current administration, the 1,4-dioxane drinking water limit was 3 ppb