Spooner - NPDES Individual required - Permit Application, 92-10-Umstead Coalition Comments (partial 8 of)

t` The Umstead Coalition
Th P.O. Box 10654
Umstead Raleigh, NC 27605-0654
Coalition [phone]
http://umsteadcoalition.org facebook.com/umsteadcoalition meetup.com/umsteadcoalition
B. W. Wells Association
New Hope Audubon Society
NC Native Plant Society
Capital Group Sierra Club
Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation
Orange -Chatham Group Sierra Club
Eno River Association
NC Herpetological Society
Raleigh Ski and Outing Club, Inc.
Friends of State Parks
NC League Conservation Voters Foundation
Rockingham Naturalist's Club
Headwaters Group Sierra Club
NC Wildlife Federation
Friends of Jockey's Ridge
Wake Audubon Society
July 17, 2020
Mr. Brian Wrenn, Director
Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources
N.C. Department of Environmental Quality
1612 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1612
Daniel Sams, Regional Engineer
Hearing Officer
Wilmington Regional Office, DEQ
127 Cargo Dr Extension,
Wilmington, NC 28405
Subject: NPDES permits for Wake Stone quarries adjacent to Umstead State Park
Dear Mr. Wrenn and Mr. Sams:
A new Individual NPDES Permit should be issued for the existing Triangle Quarry operation.
The proposed new pit expansion must be denied per the numerous reasons for denial under G.S. 74-51. The
application is incomplete on numerous aspects. One aspect is the need for an application for a new Individual
NPDES Permit. The current Mining Permit Application should not be considered without an Individual
NPDES application.
Currently, the Triangle Quarry operated by Wake Stone Corporation off N. Harrison Avenue operates under
General Permit No. NCG02000 to discharge stormwater, mine dewatering, and process wastewater under the
National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). The General Permit has proved insufficient to
prevent "adverse effects" to Crabtree Creek and William B. Umstead State Park, a requirement of G.S. 74-51
(d) (2) and G.S. 74-51 (d) (5).
I. An Individual Permit should be issued for the existing operation. Reasons include:
• The General Permit clearly states under Section B: Permitted Activities that the "discharges allowed by
this General Permit shall not cause or contribute to violations of Water Quality Standards."
r The Umstead Coalition v
Dedicated to preserving the natural integrity of W.B. Umstead State Park and the Richland Creek Corridor

• The General Permit further states that "[i]f the Division determines that discharges have reasonable
potential to cause water quality standard violations, the facility shall apply for an individual permit 180
days prior to the expiration date of this General Permit."
• The current Water Quality Standard for Class C waters for turbidity is 50 NTU. 15A NCAC 02B
.0211(21).
• The limited monitoring data from the existing outfalls recorded on the annual reports (accessed within
DEQ's Laser Fiche) shows some values that are well in excess of the Water Quality Standards (e.g..,
12/17/15 with TSS of 470 vs 100; turbidity of 888 NTU). See also the example photographic evidence
below.
• The current NPDES Stormwater permit issued under the "General" permit category for mines is
inappropriate for a mining operation next to a State Park and Crabtree Creek. The current stormwater
permit only lists "benchmark" pollutant limits and has little enforcement teeth.
• The current Permit allows exceedance of water quality standards normally considered "violations" but
called "benchmark values" in the General Permit.
• The current operation has numerous occasions with apparent exceedances of the "benchmark turbidity
values" which have gone unchecked. These clearly have an "adverse effect" on Crabtree Creek and
William B. Umstead State Park. Photo documentation (taken from within William B. Umstead State
Park) from direct discharges into Crabtree Creek from 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 are all similar to:
Park staff and visitors have reported that this has gone on "for years." More than one speaker and
written comments submitted for the June 23 and July 7 Public Hearings relayed their personal
observations of similar. At least one comment noted that this white plume remains in Crabtree Creek
for over 1 mile within the Park well past the historic Company Mill Dam site.
V The Umstead Coalition v
Dedicated to preserving the natural integrity of W.B. Umstead State Park and the Richland Creek Corridor 2

• The rocks within the stream discharging into
Crabtree Creek (an unnamed tributary that
meanders through our Park) are caked with a
"white(ish)" material, unlike any streams
originating within the Park.
• The limited monitoring data from the existing
outfalls recorded in the annual reports (accessed within DEQ's Laser Fiche) shows some values that are
well over the benchmarks (i.e., 12/17/15 with TSS of 470 vs 100; turbidity of 888 vs 50 NTU). The
permit requires a response by Wake Stone Corporation to benchmark exceedances. No response
documents were found in this review of the Laser fiche.
• The current operation routinely discharges fine -sediment laden waters directly into William B.
Umstead State Park near the Park entrance (photos below were taken May 22, 2020). These discharges
are a result of their unsuccessful attempt to dampen the huge dust plumes at their entrance by using
wastewater from their pit to irrigate the dust in the road. This water has created ponded waters within
the park in violation of the "undisturbed buffer" commitment and has killed large trees within Umstead
State Park. Despite repeated complaints from the Park staff and public since 1982, this continues.
• Pit water is defined in the NPDES Permit as wastewater. Discharging untreated wastewater directly in
William B. Umstead State Park is a direct violation of their General Permit. This violation has been left
unchecked and allowed to worsen since first reported in 1982, and multiple times since. Using Umstead
State Park to divert and treat polluted wastewater from a private rock mining operation is a direct
adverse impact on our Park. This is also a severe violation of the committed "undisturbed buffers."
r The Umstead Coalition v
Dedicated to preserving the natural integrity of W.B. Umstead State Park and the Richland Creek Corridor

II. The Application for a new mining operation on the Odd Fellows tract on the other side of
Crabtree Creek is incomplete without an application for an Individual NPDES Permit.
Reasons for the incomplete Application include:
• Wake Stone argues that a new NPDES permit is not required because they will pump water out of the new pit to
the old pit:
Pdf page 14 of Application under: Sequence of Land Disturbing Activities:
"18. Early stages of pit development may include sinking a ramp down along the inside of the new RDUpit
perimeter road. As this excavation advances to the south, all accumulated stormwater and groundwater will be
pumped to the existing Triangle Quarry pit, and managed under current NCG02 guidelines.
"19. As the new pit development progresses to the south, eventually Temporary Sediment Basin 4 will also be
removed and incorporated into overburden cut slope for the new mine pit as shown on WSC Site Plan (Sheet S).
At that point, all disturbed areas will drain to the new pit, and all accumulated stormwater and groundwater will
be stored as needed or pumped to the preexisting pit for treatment and use, or discharged at the existing
approved discharge location under NCG02. "
Question: Where is this pump and pipe? They are not shown on any site plan maps. What are the details
for this pipe?
• The Permit Application also proposed to dump overburden into the existing pit:
"PS of pdf in Application: If the off -site demand for overburden falls short of the pace of stripping, the old
Triangle Quarry pit will be used for storage of overburden. "
This soil will contaminate the existing pit ground and rainwater. This will complicate the pumping and
stormwater/sump discharge from the existing pit.
• The Hydrogeological Study submitted with the Mining Permit Application indicates a likely net reduction of
flow from Crabtree Creek due to the deep pit in close proximity.
Section D 1. of the current NPDES Stormwater permit requires Permittees that have the potential to drain
Wetlands or other surface waters to develop Pumping and Monitoring (POM) Plans. We cannot find the
required Pumping and Monitoring (POM) Plan for the existing quarry. Does it exist?
The proposed new quarry will certainly have the potential to drain significant amounts of wetlands and
tributaries. The required Pumping and Monitoring (POM) Plan is not included in the Permit Application.
The required POM should be submitted, evaluated and approved as part of the permit application
process.
In summary, an application for a new Individual NPDES Stormwater Permit is required for the current
operation and an application for a separate NPDES Stormwater Permit should be required in the Mining
Application and tailored to protect Umstead State Park and Crabtree Creek. Reasons include:
The submitted application simply refers to the average existing Triangle quarry impacts. It does not address
estimated new quarry impacts. Nor does it address cumulative impacts of both pits. The new pit operation may
double the stormwater discharge.
• Violating NC water quality discharge standards
• New and vastly expanded areas of deforestation, exposed soil, and impervious areas
V The Umstead Coalition v
Dedicated to preserving the natural integrity of W.B. Umstead State Park and the Richland Creek Corridor 4

• Various new discharge locations to Crabtree Creek as indicated on the proposed site plan
• Contaminated wastewater from the existing site by overburden dumped from the proposed new pit requiring
treatment
• Increased stormwater discharge due to loss of soil infiltration and water channelization
• Massive amount of soil disturbance and excavation and movement of exposed overburden -- likely equivalent to
500 trucks per day for 2 to 3 years
• Direct soil loss into Crabtree Creek from the trucks moving soil and rock high above Crabtree Creek via the
bridge and (or the planned conveyor belt system as relayed to previously to the public), but for which no details
are provided in application.
• Massive amount of soil disturbance
For all the reasons stated above, we respectfully request that Wake Stone Corporation be required to apply for and obtain
Individual NPDES Permits for their existing Triangle Quarry operation.
The Mining Permit Application is incomplete. Wake Stone Corporation should be required to apply for, and justify an
Individual NPDES Permits as part of their Application for a new operation on the other side of Crabtree Creek.
Sincerely,
Jean Spooner, PhD
Chair, The Umstead Coalition
Cc: Annette Lucas, Stormwater Program Supervisor, NCDEQ
Sheila Holman, Assistant Secretary for the Environment, NCDEQ
John Fullwood, Director, NC Division of Parks and Recreation, Dept Natural and Cultural Resources
Brian Strong, Deputy Director, Planning and Natural Resources, NC Division of Parks and Recreation, Dept
Natural and Cultural Resources
Reid Wilson, Chief Deputy Secretary, Dept Natural and Cultural Resources
r The Umstead Coalition v
Dedicated to preserving the natural integrity of W.B. Umstead State Park and the Richland Creek Corridor 5