Why are people playing in Anniston Army Depot's streams?

By from Staff Reports, ANAD DRKMarch 15, 2012

Why are people playing in Anniston Army Depot's streams?
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. -- You may have noticed a number of people hanging around the depot's creeks and storm drains during recent rain events.

This is a common practice for DRK as we have to sample the installation's stormwater discharge twice a year to remain compliant under our National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. This year, extra effort and additional collections are required because every five years the NPDES for the installation must be renewed.

As part of the renewal process, we must sample each storm water outfall two different ways and test for a large number of pollutants, including many unusual ones.

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the Environmental Protection Agency closely monitor what industrial facilities discharge into waterways via storm drains or treatment facilities.

Created in 1972, the NPDES was enacted in an effort to regulate discharges into the nation's waters by setting limits on the pollutants that can be introduced into a body of water from an operating and permitted facility.

Every five years, during the renewal process, ADEM evaluates the data from our sampling collections to determine if permit limits need to be changed.

Along with the collections made this year for the renewal, data from the past five years is evaluated to make the permit limit decisions. Chemicals that could be harmful to people or the environment are part of any industrial facility and our NPDES permit is just one of many regulations the depot must follow in order to keep our environment and community safe.

This is the reason we push storm drain awareness and spill prevention/reporting so much. When things other than rainwater go down the storm drain, they flow directly into our creeks and rivers. So, help DRK Reduce Our Tracks on depot by following all proper storm drain and spill guidance. You may be protecting your own backyard.