NC0063029_Plan of Action_19891229

State of North Carolina
Department of Natural Resources and Community Development
Division of Environmental Management
512 North Salisbury Street ® Raleigh, North Carolina 27611
James G. Martin, Governor R. Paul Wilms
William W. Cobey, Jr., Secretary Director
December 29, 1989
Mr. Carl Baker
U.S. Marine Corps
Camp Lejeune, NC 28542
Subject: DEM's Permitting Procedure for
the Upper New River Subbasin
and "SA" waters USMC Wastewater
Treatment Facilities:
Camp Geiger (NPDES No. NC0062995),
Camp Johnson (NPDES No. NC0063011),
Tarawa Terrace (NPDES No. NC0063002),
Onslow Beach (NPDES No. NC0063053),
Onslow County
Dear Mr. Baker:
This letter is intended as a follow up to your meeting with members of my staff
this past October regarding water quality management considerations in the New
River basin of Onslow County. I was pleased to hear that you are taking steps to
plan for the future of wastewater treatment and disposal for Camp Lejeune. In this
light, I offer the following for your consideration:
On January 30, 1987, I issued a mandate (under 15 NCAC 2H .0404 (c)) to include
a 2 mg/l total phosphorus limitation to facilities discharging into the New River.
basin, upstream from a line connecting Grey Point to a point of land approximately
2200 yards downstream from the mouth of Duck Creek. The total phosphorus limita-
tion is to be applied to all proposed and expanding facilities effective the date
above, and to existing facilities with design flow of 0.05 MGD or greater during
renewal of the NPDES permit with a compliance date of January 30, 1992. This
decision was based on a study conducted in 1986 by the Water Quality Section that
concluded that there is strong evidence of severe enrichment problems in tributar-
ies and in the New River near Jacksonville.
Specific findings of the study mentioned above are as follows:
- Almost 60% of chlorophyll -a samples taken during a survey in the New River
and the mouths of Brinson, Little Northeast, Northeast, Southwest and Wallace
Creeks from June -September 1986 exceeded the 40 ug/l chlorophyll -a water quality
standard.
Pollution Prevention Pays
P.O. Box 27687, Raleigh, North Carolina 27611-7687 Telephone [phone]
An Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Emnlover

Mr. Carl Baker
Page Two
- Phytoplankton biovolumes measured during this time 'period often exceeded
5,000 mm3/m3_
- Phytoplankton density as high as 813,000 units/ml were measured in Wilson
Bay. A density of 100,000 units/ml is considered a "bloom" by phytoplankton
ecologists.
- Numerous fish kills and low dissolved oxygen levels, in association with
highly colored water and elevated chorophyll-a levels during previous few years
provided strong circumstantial evidence that growth of microscopic vegetation
substantially impaired the best usage of the waters.
The Division of Environmental Management (DEM) has continued to collect exten-
sive water quality data as a follow-up of the 1986 study. The data indicate
numerous violations of the North Carolina water quality standards for pH, dissolved
oxygen, dissolved gases, and chlorophyll -a (15 NCAC .0200 series) in the upper
portion of the basin. These ongoing studies continue to indicate that surface
waters in this portion of the subbasin have reached their assimilative capacity.
On February 10, 1989 a Divisional procedure was issued concerning the permit-
ting process for facilities discharging into the upper New River subbasin. This
procedure prohibits new or expanded discharges of either oxygen consuming or
nutrient -laden wastewater into the tributaries of the New River along with the main
stem of the New River above its confluence with Northeast and Southwest Creeks. The
procedure also calls for the application of more stringent permit limitations upon
renewal of a NPDES permit should a facility be the cause of localized water quality
problems.
DEM has estimated that approximately 60% of the permitted wasteflow in the
upper New River subbasin is discharged above Jack's Point near Wilson'Bay. Another
31% is discharged into the mouth of Northeast Creek. Therefore, it is recommended
that the U.S. Marine Corps work toward either modification of facilities to
non -discharge systems or consolidation of discharges from Camp Geiger, Camp Johnson
and Tarawa Terrace into one wastewater discharge served by a facility with state-
of-the-art treatment technology (i.e. including nutrient removal, dechlorination,
nitrification and denitrification) which discharges in the vicinity of the exist-
ing Hadnot Point facility.
I would like to emphasize the importance of removal of the Onslow Beach WWTP.
This facility discharges into surface waters classified "SA" waters. This classi-
fication states that the best usage of these waters is shellfishing for market
purposes. Furthermore, 15 NCAC 2B .0212 (c) (3) (b) states that no sewage should
be allowed in "SA" waters.
Also, according to 15 NCAC 2B .0101 (e) (5), as amended effective October 1,
1989, "SA" waters are further classified as High Quality Waters. High Quality
Waters are a subset of waters with quality higher than the standards. DEM consid-
ers the present and anticipated usage of High Quality Waters, including any uses
not specified by the assigned classification (such as outstanding national resource
waters or waters of exceptional water quality) and will not allow degradation of
the quality of High Quality Waters below the water quality necessary to maintain
existing and anticipated uses of those waters.

Mr. Carl Baker
Page Three
Therefore, based on the above cited regulations I strongly recommend that the
U.S. Marine Corps direct all effort to a timely removal of the Onslow Beach WWTP.
If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact Mr. Trevor
Clements at [phone].
Sincerely,
R. Paul Wilms
JCM/JTC
cc: Don Safrit
Elizabeth Betz
Preston Howard
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