Savannah River Site - Bureau of Water

NPDES Permit #SC0000175

SRS is permitted to discharge effluents from a number of sources such as process water, cooling water, groundwater effluent, treated wastewater and stormwater under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued by DHEC. These sources discharge to a number of tributaries within and surrounding the Savannah River Site. This permit sets monitoring requirements and pollutant limits, as necessary, on the effluent from the various sources. Flow, dissolved oxygen (DO), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), pH, total suspended solids (TSS), ammonia-nitrogen, phosphorous, fluoride, total residual chlorine (TRC), mercury, metals, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), E. coli, and whole effluent toxicity (WET) are currently monitored in the permit.

A new five (5)-year NPDES permit renewal is currently under. Once drafted, the proposed permit will undergo a thirty (30) day public comment period. DHEC will notify stakeholders once this draft permit is on public notice.

Land Application Permit #ND0072125

The Savannah River Site also has a land application permit to land apply treated industrial sludge onto approximately 23 acres within the site boundaries.  The sludge is monitored with each land application for metals, nutrients, pH, solids, and fecal coliforms.  Soil sampling for metals, nutrients and soluble salts is required as well as groundwater sampling for nutrients, water level, conductivity, and pH.
A new ten (10)-year land application permit renewal is currently under. Once drafted, the proposed permit will undergo a thirty (30) day public comment period. DHEC will notify stakeholders once this draft permit is on public notice.

General Permit Coverages

The Bureau of Water grants coverage to groups or types of facilities that have similar types of operations and discharges.  These types of permits are called general permits and typically have the same effluent limitations, monitoring and/or operating conditions.  The Savannah River Site has been granted coverage under two (2) NPDES General Permits.

Construction Permits

The Savannah River Site has a number of construction permits associated with industrial wastewater. Permits for some of the larger projects are listed below:

Closure Plans

One of the main missions of the Savannah River Site is to treat and dispose of radioactive high level waste.  As this waste is treated, legacy storage tanks that are part of the overall wastewater treatment system are closed in a manner that is protective of human health and the environment.  The initial closeout of these tanks and ancillary equipment is approved by the Bureau of Water. The overall wastewater treatment system is being closed in phases.

A link to the overall plan is provided below.