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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAQ_F_0100010_20221222_CMPL_Fac-Ltr_BypassLtr # tit t Stericycle' WQ p►1'0t 1�Ue�a� me-nt ofters. Environmental Quality Received DEC 2 2 2022 December 16, 2022 Winston-Salem Regional Office Davis Murphy Pam, Compliance Supervisor NCDAQ 450 West Hanes Mill Road, Suite 300 Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27105 RE: Notification of Malfunction Event Stericycle, Inc. — Haw River, NC Facility Permit No. O5896T25 Dear Mr. Murphy: Stericycle, Inc. owns and operates a hospital, medical, and infectious waste incinerator (HMIWI) facility in Haw River, NC (Haw River facility) pursuant to Permit No. 05896T25 (Title V Permit) issued by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ). This letter provides a written report detailing the recent malfunction event resulting in use of the bypass stack that occurred on December 12, 2022 Notification of the event was made to your office via telephone on the following day. The malfunction event occurred on Unit 1. The bypass stack cap was open for a total of approximately 6 minutes from 6:06 pm until 6:12 pm. Stericycle has determined that the malfunction was due to a fault in the newly installed PLC logic. Due to the fault, the entire control system failed, causing the bypass stack to open. During the bypass, the unit was 1 hour into a burndown and planned shutdown, therefore no waste was being charged into the incinerator. After the shutdown was completed, the facility investigated, identified the cause, and reprogrammed the logic. The new logic was tested and the incinerator was restarted to resume normal operation. The event was not attributable to a failure to adhere to the facility's Bypass Reduction Plan. Stericycle has maintained and operated the facility in accordance with good practices for minimizing emissions, and actions were taken expeditiously to minimize the duration of the malfunction and any excess emissions. Due to the event occurring during a shutdown, any excess emissions would have already been minimal. stericycle.com Stericycher We protect what matters. Stericycle maintains that this incident is not part of a recurring pattern of inadequate design, operation, or maintenance. Thus, under 15A NCAC 02D .0535(c), any excess emissions that may have occurred would not be considered a violation of any emissions standards. Please feel free to contact me at (513) 543-7073 if you have questions regarding this submittal. Sincerely, ericycle, Inc. 'D n Nuss Regional Compliance Manager cc: Dale Rich — Stericycle stericycle.com