Port Authority of New York (JFK) - dec.ny.gov

1 STATE OF NEW YORKDEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION625 BroadwayAlbany, New York 12233-1550In the Matter of the Proposed Modification of theState Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES)Permit of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, for discharges from the John F. Kennedy International AirportDEC Application No. 2-6308-00019/00016 SPDES # NY 000 8109 Summary Hearing Report and Order of Disposition- by -_____/s/_____Helene G. GoldbergerAdministrative Law JudgeSeptember 19, 2007 Summary of DispositionThe Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PortAuthority), the New York State Department of EnvironmentalConservation (DEC or Department) staff, the Natural ResourcesDefense Council (NRDC), the Raritan Baykeeper, Inc.

2 (d/b/a NY/NJBaykeeper), and the Airlines (American Airlines, Delta Air Lines,Federal Express Corp., JetBlue Airways, Northwest Airlines andUnited Airlines) worked cooperatively over several months tosatisfy their varied concerns with respect to Department staff sproposed modified state pollutant discharge elimination system(SPDES) permit for the John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK or airport). As a result of these efforts and resultingagreements, there will be no adjudicatory hearing. After thePort Authority has completed its study and submitted its reportto DEC, Department staff s determinations to further modify theSPDES permit will be subject to another round of public commentand review.

3 For now, staff will proceed to issue the permit asagreed to by these and Discharge DescriptionThese proceedings involve the DEC staff s proposedmodification of the SPDES permit of Port Authority for dischargesfrom JFK. The Port Authority is the operator of the airportlocated in Queens, New York. Deicing and Anti-Icing ActivitiesDuring the winter, the Port Authority uses deicing chemicalsand anti-icing agents to address snow and ice buildup on airportrunways and taxiways. Individual airlines use either ethyleneglycol- or propylene glycol-based deicing agents for aircraft. It has been estimated that the airport uses approximately gallons of de-icing fluid each winter. Once thesematerials are used, they flow to and through the storm watercollection systems and are discharged into Jamaica Bay, Class SB(saline, Class B), Bergen Basin, Thurston Bay, Head of Bay, andan unnamed tidal basin (all Class I waters).

4 These chemicalsdegrade in the receiving water and in this process increasebiological oxygen demand (BOD). In addition, other wastewatersare discharged to these waters from on-site treatment facilities,including but not limited to the Bulk and Satellite Fuel Farms,the KIAC energy generation facility, and a number of groundwaterand soil remediation sites overseen by DEC Division ofEnvironmental Remediation. To address the impacts of thesedischarges on receiving water bodies, the Department staff hasproposed to modify the existing airport, located on over 5,000 acres, is one of thelargest in the country with 25 miles of taxiways and 30 miles ofroadways. There are 26 storm water outfalls at JFK that areseparate from the sanitary system that discharges into theJamaica Bay Sewage Treatment Plant.

5 JFK is the second largeststorm water discharger (approximately 7 million gallons a day ofstorm water discharged during a storm event) into Jamaica Bay,one of the largest and most productive tidal wetland complexes inthe northeastern United States. See, Steven testimony atlegislative hearing, transcript (TR) p. BayJamaica Bay is part of the federally-protected GatewayNational Recreation Area and is designated a wildlife refuge. Itis one of the largest coastal wetland ecosystems in New YorkState comprised of 16,000 acres of open water, several islands,salt marsh, grasslands, costal woodlands, maritime shrublands andfreshwater wetlands. These areas support 91 species of fish, 325bird species as well as habitat for many species of reptiles,amphibians, and small mammals.

6 Jamaica Bay is an importantstopover area along the Eastern Flyway migration route and henceone of the best bird-watching locations in the westernhemisphere. See, NYCDEP, Draft Jamaica Bay Watershed ProtectionPlan, Vol. 1, pp. 1, 17 (March 1, 2007) ( ) Permit HistoryIn 1987, the Department issued a SPDES permit to the PortAuthority for its operations at JFK and modified the permit in1993 and 1994. In 1996, 2001, and 2006, DEC renewed the permitadministratively. As a result of review pursuant to theEnvironmental Benefit Permit Strategy (EBPS), the Departmentdetermined that the permit required modification and issued anotice of complete application on June 2, 2006. The draftmodified permit was made available to the public and theDepartment received comments in July and August 2006.

7 Inresponse to the draft permit, the Port Authority , as well asNRDC, and a number of other organizations and individualssubmitted comments requesting changes to various conditions inthe draft permit. Thereafter, DEC staff drafted a response tocomments as well as a revised draft SPDES permit modification,both dated October 12, 2006. Department staff also made thedetermination to refer this modification proceeding for a publichearing and issues for Information and Development of Draft PermitModificationsWhile Department staff, the Port Authority , and NRDC representatives were discussing logistics for the public hearingand issues conference to address the October 2006 proposed draftpermit modifications, Department staff issued a request forinformation (RFI) to the Port Authority dated November 29, 2006.

8 The RFI called upon the permittee to commence a sampling programthat would result in a report to DEC and also form the basis fora model that the Port Authority would develop to ascertain theairport discharge s effects on water quality. Issues Conference(IC) Ex. 3. Based upon the results of this sampling exercise andthe report that was submitted to DEC by the Port Authority inApril and May 2007, Department staff further revised the draftmodified permit and issued this version on June 1, 2007. See, ICExs. 4, 5, and , the 2006 proposed modifications addressmonitoring requirements for carbonaceous biological oxygendemand5 (CBOD5) and glycol. The draft permit required the PortAuthority to perform modeling studies as well as submit reports,and adopt best management practices.

9 In the June 1, 2007 versionof the draft permit, based upon the results the Port Authorityobtained in the 2007 sampling, Department staff expanded thesampling program to include additional outfalls for monitoringpurposes and targeted additional pollutants for monitoring. Department staff had added toxicity testing for all the outfallsexcept the KP outfalls. Staff also added language to requirereporting of daily glycol usage. The June 2007 version alsoadded requirements addressing airport tenant responsibility via avis aspects of the draft permit. Legislative HearingThe legislative hearing was held on June 4, 2007 at 7 on the Kingsborough Community College campus, in ManhattanBeach, Brooklyn, NY.

10 Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Helene of DEC s Office of Hearings and Mediation Services(OHMS) presided at this hearing as well as at the issuesconference. There were approximately 30 people in attendance,including representatives of the Port Authority and theDepartment. Six people provided statements in addition to stafffrom the Port Authority and DEC. Jim Steven, Program Manager of Plant, Structures and AirportRedevelopment for the Aviation Department of the Port Authority ,provided a description of the airport including many details4about its size (over 5,000 acres), its economic contribution tothe region (since 1947, $5 billion invested in airport by PortAuthority and there are 30,000 people working at JFK), and itsservice to thousands of travelers.