National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits are issued to industries or municipalities (or counties) who want to discharge wastewater to a stream, lake or river. The permits limit the amount of specific pollutants that can be discharged in the waste stream. In Georgia the Environmental Protection Division administers the NPDES program. In South Carolina the Department of Health and Environmental Control is in charge of protecting the water quality in our streams and rivers. These permits are written by the regulated community and often hurriedly reviewed by the responsible agency. Thus, it is not surprising that significant oversights occur in some of these permits. The Riverkeeper needs volunteers who are willing to be trained to review these documents and the data generated in response to these permits. We are interested in both the capacity of the set limits to protect the water quality of the receiving water body and the compliance of the waste stream with the limits. Anyone interested in helping the Riverkeeper with this project should contact the Executive Director (frankcarl@knology.net, 706-364-5253).

Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) are a measure of the amount of pollution a water body can absorb and still meet the standards for its designated uses whether those uses are fishing, swimming, drinking or habitat. TMDLs are normally written for impaired waters and for the pollutant causing the impairment. Ideally the TMDL will identify the sources of the pollutant in the watershed and allocate reductions of input for each of the sources that will result in the water body meeting water quality standards. However, the world of TMDLs is far from ideal. And there are many impaired river and stream segments in the Savannah River basin. The Riverkeeper needs help in evaluating the TMDLs that are being generated both to assure that pollutant sources are being identified and that the allocations of reduced input are sufficient to meet water quality standards. Training is available. Contact the Riverkeeper at frankcarl@knology.net or 706-364-5253.

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