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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNorth American Emerald Mine SW Permit 021110A' NCDENR North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources Beverly Eaves Perdue Governor James Hill North American Emerald Mines Inc 531 Duncan Ln Hiddenite, NC 28636 Dear Permittee: Division of Water Quality Coleen H. Sullins Director February 11, 2010 Dee Freeman Secretary Subject: NPDES Stormwater Permit Coverage Renewal North American Emerald Mines, Inc. COC Number NCG020689 Alexander County In response to your renewal application for continued coverage under stormwater General Permit NCG020000 the Division of Water Quality (DWQ) is forwarding herewith the reissued stormwater General Permit. This permit is reissued pursuant to the requirements of North Carolina General Statute 143-215.1 and the Memorandum of Agreement between the state of North Carolina and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, dated October 15, 2007 (or as subsequently amended). The following information is included with your permit package: • A new Certificate of Coverage • A copy of stormwater General Permit NCG020000 • A copy of a Technical Bulletin for the General Permit • Two copies of the Tier 2 / Exceedence Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) Form for Stormwater • One copy each of the Annual Summary DMR Forms for Stormwater and Wastewater • Two copies of the Limit Violation DMR Form for Wastewater • Two copies of the Qualitative Monitoring Report Form The General Permit authorizes discharges of stormwater and wastewater, and it specifies your obligations with respect to discharge controls, management, monitoring, and record keeping. Please review the new permit to familiarize yourself with all the changes in the reissued permit. If your Certificate of Coverage (COC) restricts authorization to discharge stormwater only (or other limited terms) based on your original application, or subsequent modifications to your COC, you must continue to meet these requirements or contact the Stormwater Permitting Unit to request a modification of this renewal COC. The more significant changes in the General Permit since your last Certificate of Coverage include the following: Part II: • Section B — Language referencing PAMS has been changed. Flocculants may now be used if evaluated by the Division and administered in accordance with maximum application doses and other requirements. Part III: • Section A — The permit now requires a Stormwater Pollution and Prevention Plan (SPPP) tailored to the mining industry, in lieu of a Stormwater BMP Plan. • Section A - Inactive mines may be inspected on a reduced schedule: at least once per month and after 0.5" (or more) of rain. To qualify, inactive mines must possess an "Inactive Renewal" from DLR or certify to DWQ the site has been stabilized. The permittee must notify the DWQ Regional Office of inactive status. Discharges from inactive mines must still be monitored on the same schedule as active mines. Wetlands and Stormwater Branch 1617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1617 Location: 512 N. Salisbury St. Raleigh, North Carolina 27604 T�7One Phone: 919-807-63001 FAX: 919-807-64941 Customer Service: 1-877-623-6748 1� ofthCarolina Internet: www.ncwaterquality.org �%nr �ly+all tuff An Equal Opportunity 1 Affirmative Action Employer V 6 Lf� Permit Reissuance — Permit Number NCG020689 February 11, 2010 Page 2 • Section B — Revised provisions require that stormwater discharges be sampled twice per year (instead of annually), and that the sampling results be compared to new benchmark values. (The previous cut-off concentrations have been removed.) • Section B — Revised provisions require the permittee to execute Tier One, Tier Two & Tier Three response actions, based on the first benchmark exceedence (Tier One) and the second consecutive benchmark exceedence (Tier Two). Tier Two requires that the permittee institute monthly monitoring (reported to the appropriate Regional Offices) instead of twice -per -year monitoring. Monthly monitoring shall be done until three consecutive monitoring events show no benchmark exceedences. • Section B — This part contains a new provision that four exceedences of any benchmark will trigger increased DWQ involvement in the permittee's stormwater management and control actions. DWQ may direct the permittee to apply for an individual permit, institute specific monitoring, or may direct the implementation or installation of specific stormwater control measures. • Section B — The definition of "Representative Storm Event" (RSE) now allows 48 hours (instead of 72 hours) of little or no precipitation to precede an RSE. • Section B — Stormwater discharges from a basin designed to contain the 10-year storm must now be monitored. • Sections B & C — Failure to monitor according to permit terms triggers monthly monitoring for the remainder of the permit. • Section C — Analytical monitoring for Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) has replaced the Oil & Grease parameter in the previous permit. • Section D — Qualitative monitoring must now be conducted during the same representative storm event as the analytical monitoring. • Section D — The permittee is required to keep a written record of his response to problems identified by his qualitative monitoring observations. • Section D — If the permittee fails to respond effectively to problems identified by qualitative monitoring, the permittee may be required by DWQ to perform corrective action. Section D — Qualitative ROS: Representative Outfall Status may be granted for qualitative monitoring for some Stormwater Discharge Outfalls (SDOs). • Section D — If mines do not respond to problems seen in visual monitoring, DWQ may now require that mines change the monitoring frequency, apply for an individual permit, implement in -stream monitoring, install or modify structural stormwater controls, or implement other controls. • Sections B, C, & D — Inability to sample due to adverse weather must be reported in the SPPP and recorded in the Annual Summary DMR. • Section E — A lower TSS Wastewater limit for PNA waters is included in the permit. • Section E — All mining operations are now required to monitor TSS in wastewater effluent discharges (not only industrial sand mines). However, TSS limits only apply to industrial sand mining operations. • Section E — Turbidity limits on effluent discharges have been removed; however, turbidity standards still apply in the receiving waters. • Section E — Approval of a Pumping O&M Plan may be required prior to coverage (for sites with dewatering activities that have the potential to drain wetlands or other surface waters). • Section E — ATC Requirements have been changed for clarity. These requirements are now outlined for Mine Dewatering Wastewater, Process Wastewater, Overflow From Non -Closed -Loop Process Recycle Wastewater Systems, and Overflow From A Closed -Loop Process Recycle (CLPR). • Section E — Monitoring for Fecal coliforms in discharges to SA waters has been clarified. Fecal coliform monitoring is now required for all process and mine dewatering wastewater discharges to SA waters. Part IV: • Section E — Items 1. and 2. require submittal of a new reporting form: the Annual Summary DMR. This annual summary of the analytical monitoring results should be submitted to the DWQ Central Office by March 1 of each year. • Section E — Exceedences and violations must be sent to the appropriate DWQ Regional Office within 30 days of receipt from the lab. • Section E — Results of "No Flow" or "No Discharge" must be recorded within 30 days from the sampling period in the SPPP. "No flow" or "No Discharge" must also be reported on the Annual Summary DMR form. Permit Reissuance — Permit Number NCG020689 February 11, 2010 Page 3 Your coverage under the General Permit is transferable only through the specific action of DWQ. This permit does not affect the legal requirements to obtain other permits which may be required by DENR, nor does it relieve the permittee from responsibility for compliance with any other applicable federal, state, or local law, rule, standard, ordinance, order, judgment, or decree. If you have any questions regarding this permit package please contact these members of the Stormwater Permitting Unit: Jennifer Jones at (919) 807-6379 or Bethany Georgoulias at (919) 807-6372. Sincerely, for Coleen H. Sullins cc: DWQ Central Files Stormwater Permitting Unit Files Mooresville Regional Office STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES DIVISION OF WATER QUALITY GENERAL PERMIT NO. NCG020000 CERTIFICATE OF COVERAGE No. NCG020689 STORMWATER, MINE DEWATERING WATER AND/OR PROCESS WASTEWATER NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM In compliance with the provision of North Carolina General Statute 143-215.1, other lawful standards and regulations promulgated and adopted by the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission, and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, North American Emerald Mines Inc is hereby authorized to operate approved wastewater treatment system(s) and discharge stormwater and/or wastewater, as approved in the original permit/application or subsequent permit modification, from a facility located at: North American Emerald Mines, Inc. 531 Duncan Ln Hiddenite Alexander County to receiving waters designated as Wallace Creek, a class WS-II;HQW waterbody in the Yadkin River Basin in accordance with the effluent limitations, monitoring requirements, and other conditions set forth in Parts I, II, III, IV, V, and VI of General Permit No. NCG020000 as attached. This certificate of coverage shall become effective February 11, 2010. This Certificate of Coverage shall remain in effect for the duration of the General Permit. Signed this 1 it" day of February, 2010. for Coleen H. Sullins, Director Division of Water Quality By Authority of the Environmental Management Commission