NRDC Letter Regarding Asplund Facility 301(h) Waiver in Cook Inlet, Alaska

Comments from NRDC urging EPA to deny the John M. Asplund Wastewater Treatment Facility’s application for a 301(h) waiver under the Clean Water Act and require the facility to upgrade to full secondary treatment.  Operating under a waiver that’s been administratively continued since 2005, the Asplund facility discharges primary treated sewage into critical habitat for endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales. Reauthorization of the facility’s 301(h) waiver would violate the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, and state and federal antidegredation requirements.