NCG020000_Fact Sheet to Public Notice_20210517

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
DIVISION OF ENERGY, MINERAL, AND LAND RESOURCES
FACT SHEET
GENERAL PERMIT NCG020000
NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM
PERMIT TO DISCHARGE STORMWATER
2021 — 2025 Permit Term
1. TYPES OF DISCHARGES COVERED
a. Industrial Activities Covered by this General Permit
This permit applies to all owners or operators, hereafter permittees, which are covered by this
permit as evidenced by receipt of a Certificate of Coverage by the Environmental Management
Commission to allow the discharge of stormwater, mine dewatering wastewater, and process
wastewater to the surface waters of North Carolina or to a separate storm sewer system
conveying discharges to surface waters, from active and inactive mining sites, in accordance with
the terms and conditions set forth herein.
Coverage under this General Permit is applicable to:
• Stormwater point source discharges associated with mining and quarrying of non-
metallic minerals (except fuels), mine excavation, processing, and vehicle maintenance;
• Authorized wastewater point source discharges from mining operations as designated
in the permit;
• Stormwater and/or wastewater point source discharges from like industrial activities
deemed by the Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources (the Division) to be
similar to these operations in the process, or the discharges, or the exposure of raw
materials, intermediate products, by-products, final products, or waste products.
Coverage under this General Permit is not applicable to:
• Borrow Pits covered by the DOT statewide stormwater permit,
• Peat Mining,
• Coal or Coal Ash Mining,
• Metal Mining (other than Lithium Mines, which may be covered under this general
permit),
• Oil and Gas Extraction Operations, and
• Wastewater not specifically designated in this permit.
b. Characteristics of Discharged Stormwater
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NCG020000 Fact Sheet - NC
2021-2025 Permit Term
The draft renewal permit requires baseline sampling of all stormwater discharge outfalls and/or
authorized representative discharge outfalls in accordance with this part.
(a) Grab samples shall be collected, analyzed and reported for four parameters; Total
Suspended Solids (TSS), Settleable Solids (SS), Turbidity for all outfalls and Non Polar
Oil and Grease for drainage areas that use greater than 55 gallons/month of oil on
average.
(b) In addition to the grab samples, the average monthly usage of new motor and hydraulic
oil for the facility shall be tracked and recorded.
(c) The total rainfall amount for each sampling event shall be recorded in inches. Total
rainfall shall be determined from an on -site rain gauge or a regional rain gauge located
within one (1) mile of the facility.
(d) Samples shall be collected from four separate monitoring periods per year unless the
facility is in Tier Two or Tier Three status. A minimum of thirty (30) days must
separate sampling events:
• January 1 - March 31
• April 1 - June 30
• July 1- September 30, and
• October 1- December 31.
c. Characteristics of Discharged Wastewater
Wastewater discharges that may be authorized under this general permit are limited to the
following. Any of those wastewaters commingled with stormwater shall be considered
wastewater:
• Mine dewatering,
• Process wastewater,
• Comingled stormwater and wastewater, and
• Discharges from recycle systems.
Mine dewatering discharges to land surfaces without the potential to discharge directly to surface
waters and where no chemicals are used in the mining process may be permitted by regulation
under 15A NCAC 02T .0113(a)(16) and are not subject to the provisions of this permit.
Process wastewater discharges generated by any other activity shall not be authorized under this
permit, except allowable non-stormwater discharges permitted by 15A NCAC 2H .0106(f).
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NCG020000 Fact Sheet - NC
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Type of Wastewater
Description
Mine dewatering
All mine dewatering, including dewatering from pits for quarries,
clay brick, sand and gravel, borrow pits, and
refractory mining, as well as mines with similar discharges
Process wastewater
all process wastewater from mining operations which includes,
but may not be limited to, the water involved in:
• The slurry transport, washing, or sawing of mined
material;
• Air emissions control or processing exclusive of mining
of sand, gravel, and stone washing operations;
• Dimension stone cutting operations; and air scrubbing
and dust control operations.
Commingled Stormwater and
Occurs if authorized mine dewatering or process wastewaters
Wastewater
commingle with stormwater prior to discharge
Discharges from Recycle
uthorized process wastewater discharges (overflows) from a
Systems
recycle system
d. Geographic Area(s) Covered by this General Permit
Discharges covered by this general permit are located at any place within the political boundary
of the State of North Carolina. Discharges located on the Cherokee Indian Tribal Reservation are
subject to permitting by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and are not covered by this
general permit.
e. Receiving Waters
Receiving waters include all surface waters of North Carolina or municipal separate storm
sewer systems conveying stormwater to surface waters.
2. MONITORING REQUIREMENTS, BENCHMARKS, AND LIMITATIONS
a. Turbidity
The draft renewal permit aims to better explain the turbidity monitoring requirements. These
requirements have not changed but are explained in a way that is much easier to understand. The
turbidity requirements clearly state that permittees may demonstrate compliance by one of the
following methods.
1) Sample the end of pipe effluent and show that the turbidity is below the relevant water
quality standard.
2) Sample the receiving waterbody immediately downstream and show that the discharge
is not causing the waterbody to exceed the relevant water quality standard.
3) Sample the receiving waterbody immediately upstream and downstream to show that
the discharge is not causing further impairment to the waterbody.
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NCG020000 Fact Sheet — NC
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In accordance with 15A NCAC 02B .0202(21), the following values shall form the basis for the
turbidity monitoring requirements in this permit:
i. 10 NTU for freshwater streams, lakes, and reservoirs designated as trout waters.
ii. 25 NTU for all lakes, reservoirs, and salt waters.
iii. 50 NTU for all other streams and surface waters.
See F-5 and H-5 of the draft permit for more information.
b. Additional monitoring for special mines
The sampling requirements and benchmarks are not proposed to be changed from what is required
in the current permit for most mines. However, the draft renewal permit proposes additional
monitoring parameters for the following types of mining activities:
• Brick pits,
• Feldspar ore,
• Lithium ore,
• Phosphate, and
• Industrial sand.
The table below explains the reasoning behind the selection of the stormwater and wastewater
parameters for each type of mine. The inclusion of the parameters in the draft renewal permit is
based on the recommendation of the DEM LR Mining and Geological Survey Programs.
Mine type
Additional parameters
Reason
Brick pits
Aluminum, Zinc,
Brick clay is composed primarily of Silica (Si02) 55%,
Fluoride, Hardness, pH,
Alumina (Alz03) 30%, and Iron Oxide (Fe203) 8%, thus
Antimony, Arsenic,
the selection of Aluminum as a parameter.
Chromium III
Fluoride often occurs naturally when water is exposed
to fluoride -containing rock.
Clay is able to adsorb arsenic, which can react with ions
in solution, such as iron, aluminum, calcium and
magnesium (the last two account for hardness). These
ions can detach the arsenic depending on the solubility
of the compound and the quantity of reactants present.
The pH affects the solubility of these compounds.
Clay is also able to adsorb Chromium, Zinc and
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NCG020000 Fact Sheet - NC
2021-2025 Permit Term
Arsenic and it is possible for these parameters to be
detached depending on pH and hardness.
Feldspar Ore
Aluminum, Zinc,
The selection of parameters is based on monitoring data
Fluoride
collected by feldspar mining operations over the past
five-year permit cycle. This is the only mine type where
current data collected under North Carolina's
NPDES Industrial Stormwater Program was available.
Lithium Ore
Fluoride
Fluoride often occurs naturally when water is exposed
to fluoride -containing rock.
Phosphate
Fluoride, Alpha Gross
Phosphate mines can produce waste such as toxic
Particle Activity
metals and radioactive elements. Apatite is the
dominant mineral in phosphate ores and it is commonly
very insoluble in its original
state as extracted from the earth and is practically
unavailable as a plant phosphorus source. By virtue of
its chemical behavior, apatite can be associated
with fluoride.
Industrial Sand
Fluoride, Chromium III,
Industrial sand is a term applied to high purity silica
Alpha Gross Particle
sand products with closely controlled sizing. Fluoride
Activity
often occurs naturally when water is exposed to
fluoride -containing rock. Chromium and Alpha Particle
Activity were added base on Mining and
Geologic survey staff recommendat ions.
Because of the sporadic nature of rainfall, DEQ considers acute (short-term) effects when
establishing stormwater benchmarks for metals. The benchmarks are derived from the US EPA
published dissolved National Recommended Water Quality Criteria (NRWQC) for metals (where
applicable) and translated into total recoverable metals as required by§ 40 CFR 122.45(c). (Note
that EPA and DEQ use the terms "total metal" and "total recoverable metal" synonymously to refer
to the metals solubilized by digestion with strong solutions of mineral acids.) On August 1, 2020, the
DEMLR Stormwater Program published a fact sheet about Calculation of Stormwater Benchmarks
that provided more detailed information.
The Division is particularly interested in public comments on the proposed additional parameters
for special mines. In addition, the parameters that are approved in the final version of the NCG02
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NCG020000 Fact Sheet - NC
2021-2025 Permit Term
permit will be reevaluated in 2025 based on the monitoring data that is collected by the special
mines.
Some parts of the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) have been expanded or
modified. Please refer to the proposed draft General Permit NCG020000 for those requirements.
3. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
a. Deadlines for Submittal of Discharge Monitoring Reports
Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs) shall be submitted in accordance with the table below.
For COCs issued between March 1-31, June 1-30, September 1-30 or Dec 1-31, sampling shall not
commence until the next sampling period following initial issuance of the COC.
Reporting Requirements
Monitoring Period
DMR Type
Deadline
Notes
Jul 1, 2021 - Sep 30, 2021
Paper'
Jan 31, 2022
Oct 1, 2021 - Dec 31, 2021
Paper'
Jan 31, 2022
Jan 1, 2022 - Mar 30, 2022
Paper'
Jul 31, 2022
The deadline to register in
eDMR is Jan 1, 2022
April 1, 2022 - Jun 30, 2022
Paper'
Jul 31, 2022
Jul 1- 2022 - Sep 30, 2022
30 Days after
and all subsequent monitoring
Electronicz
the monitoring
g
The deadline to report in
eDMR is Jun 1, 2022
periods
period ends
(a) Submittal Process before eDMR
Prior to eDMR, samples analyzed in accordance with the terms of this General Permit shall
be reported as follows:
i. Sample results shall be recorded on Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) forms
provided by the Director. DMR forms are available on the Division's website
httns: / /dea.nc.L-OV /about/divisions /enerLv-mineral-land-resources /nndes-
industrial-stormwater.)
ii. DMRs shall be signed and certified by a person meeting the Signatory requirements
in K-1.
iii. Original, signed DMR forms shall be scanned and uploaded to the electronic DMR
submittal form, which can be found by typing "deq.nc.gov/SW-Industrial" into a
browser window and hitting "enter."
iv. Then, the original signed DMR Forms shall be mailed or otherwise delivered to the
appropriate Regional Office, which is indicated at:
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NCG020000 Fact Sheet — NC 2021-2025 Permit Term
https:.//deq..nc.gov/contact/regional-offices/.
(b) Submittal Process after eDMR
Unless otherwise informed by the Director, permittees shall register in eDMR prior to January
1, 2022 and shall begin reporting discharge monitoring data using eDMR prior to July 1, 2022.
Information about eDMR can be found by typing "https://deq.nc.gov/deq.nc.gov/sw-edmr"
into a browser window and hitting "enter."
(c) Qualitative Monitoring Reports
The permittee shall record the required qualitative monitoring observations on the SDO
Qualitative Monitoring Report form provided by the Division and shall retain the completed
forms on site. Qualitative monitoring results shall not be submitted to the Division, except
upon the Division's specific requirement to do so. Qualitative Monitoring Report forms are
available the Division's website
(https:/ / deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/energy-mineral-land-resources/npdes- stormwater-
gPs)
4. COMPLIANCE SCHEDULE
The compliance schedule in Part L, Section L-1 advises that the permittee comply with
Limitations and Controls specified for stormwater discharges in accordance with the following
schedule:
Existing Facilities already operating but applying for permit coverage for the first
time: The Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan shall be developed and implemented
within 12 months of the effective date of the Certificate of Coverage and updated thereafter
on an annual basis. Secondary containment, as specified in Part B, Section B-9 of this general
permit, shall be accomplished within 12 months of the effective date of the issuance of the
Certificate of Coverage.
New Facilities applying for coverage for the first time: The Stormwater Pollution
Prevention Plan shall be developed and implemented prior to the beginning of discharges
from the operation of the industrial activity and be updated thereafter on an annual basis.
Secondary containment, as specified in Part B, Section B-9 of this general permit, shall be
accomplished prior to the beginning of discharges from the operation of the industrial
activity.
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NCG020000 Fact Sheet — NC
2021-2025 Permit Term
• Existing facilities previously permitted and applying for renewal under this General
Permit: All requirements, conditions, limitations, and controls contained in this permit
(except new SWPPP elements in this permit renewal) shall become effective immediately
upon issuance of the Certificate of Coverage. New elements of the Stormwater Pollution
Prevention Plan for this permit renewal shall be developed and implemented within 6
months of the effective date of this general permit and updated thereafter on an annual
basis. Secondary containment, as specified in Part B, Section B-9 of this general permit, shall
be accomplished prior to the beginning of discharges from the operation of the industrial
activity.
5. BASIS FOR CONTROLS AND LIMITATIONS
The conditions of this general permit have been designed using best professional judgment to
achieve water quality protection through compliance with the technology -based standards of
the Clean Water Act (Best Available Technology [BAT] and Best Conventional Pollutant Control
Technology [BCT]). Where the Director determines that a water quality violation has occurred
and water quality -based controls or effluent limitations are required to protect the receiving
waters, coverage under the general permit shall be terminated and an individual permit will be
required. Based on a consideration of the appropriate factors for BAT and BCT requirements,
and a consideration of the factors discussed below in this fact sheet for controlling pollutants in
stormwater discharges associated with the activities as described in Item 1 (Types of Discharge
Covered), this permit retains a set of requirements for developing and implementing
stormwater pollution prevention plans, and specific requirements for monitoring and reporting
on stormwater discharges.
The permit conditions reflect the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) and North Carolina's
pollution prevention approach to stormwater permitting. The quality of the stormwater
discharge associated with an industrial activity will depend on the availability of pollutant
sources. This renewal permit still reflects the Division's position that implementation of Best
Management Practices (BMPs) and traditional stormwater management practices which control
the source of pollutants meets the definition of BAT and BCT. The permit conditions are not
numeric effluent limitations, but rather are designed to be flexible requirements for developing
and implementing site specific plans to minimize and control pollutants in the stormwater
discharges associated with the industrial activity.
Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 122.44(k)(2) authorizes the use of BMPs in lieu
of numeric effluent limitations in NPDES permits when the agency finds numeric effluent
limitations to be infeasible. The agency may also impose BMP requirements which are
"reasonably necessary" to carry out the purposes of the Act under the authority of 40 CFR
122.44(k)(3). The conditions of the renewal permit are retained under the authority of both of
these regulatory provision s. The pollution prevention requirements (BMP requirements) in this
permit operate as limitations on effluent discharges that reflect the application of BAT/BCT. The
basis is that the BMPs identified require the use of source control technologies which, in the
context of these general permits, are the best available of the technologies economically
achievable (or the equivalent BCT finding).
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NCG020000 Fact Sheet — NC
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All facilities covered by this general permit must prepare, retain, implement, and (at a minimum
of annually) update a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP). The term "pollution
prevention" distinguishes this source reduction approach from traditional pollution control
measures that typically rely on end -of -pipe treatment to remove pollutants in the discharges.
The plan requirements are based primarily on traditional stormwater management, pollution
prevention and BMP concepts, providing a flexible basis for developing site -specific measures to
minimize and control the amounts of pollutants that would otherwise contaminate the
stormwater runoff.
The pollution prevention approach adopted in the SWPPP in this renewal permit still focuses on
two major objectives: 1) to identify sources of pollution potentially affecting the quality of
stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity from the facility; and 2) to describe and
ensure that practices are implemented to minimize and control pollutants in stormwater
discharges associated with industrial activity from the facility and to ensure compliance with the
terms and conditions of the permit.
The Division believes that it is not appropriate at this time to require a single set of effluent
limitations or a single design or operational standard for all facilities which discharge
stormwater associated with industrial activity. This permit instead establishes a framework for
the development and implementation of a site -specific SWPPP. This framework provides the
necessary flexibility to address the variable risk for pollutants in stormwater discharges
associated with the industrial activities that are addressed by this permit, while ensuring
procedures to prevent stormwater pollution at a given facility are appropriate given the
processes employed, engineering aspects, functions, costs of controls, location, and age of facility
(as discussed in 40 CFR 125.3). This approach allows flexibility to establish controls which can
appropriately address different sources of pollutants at different facilities.
There has been no significant change to this rationale since the previous General Permit
NCG020000.
6. REQUESTED VARIANCES OR ALTERNATIVES TO REQUIRED STANDARDS
There are no requested variances or alternatives to required standards. Facilities requesting
variances to required standards will not be covered under this General Permit but will instead be
required to seek coverage under an individual permit.
7. THE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD
The administrative record, including application, draft permits, fact sheet, public notice,
comments received, and additional information is available by writing to:
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NCG020000 Fact Sheet - NC 2021-2025 Permit Term
Stormwater Program
Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources (DEMLR)
1612 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1612
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, visitors are not currently allowed at DEMLR offices. However,
electronic copies of the documents listed above are available on our Laserfiche online repository,
or by emailing [e-mail].
8. STATE CONTACT
Additional information about the renewal permit may be obtained between the hours of 8:00 AM
and 5:00 PM Monday through Friday by contacting Michael Meloy at [e-mail].
9. SCHEDULE OF PERMIT ISSUANCE
Draft Permit Public Notice - Statewide Notice to publish: May 17, 2021
Draft available on-line: May 17, 2021
Comment Period Ends: June 16, 2021
Permit Scheduled to Issue - No later than: July 1, 2021
Effective: July 1, 2021
10 PROCEDURE FOR THE FORMULATION OF FINAL DETERMINATIONS
a. Comment Period
The Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources proposes to issue an NPDES General Permit
for the above described stormwater discharges. These determinations are open to comment
from the public.
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on the renewal permit or on the
Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources' proposed determinations to the following
address:
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NCG020000 Fact Sheet — NC
2021-2025 Permit Term
Stormwater Program
Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources
Attn: Michael Meloy
1612 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1612
OR: [e-mail]
All comments received within thirty (30) days following the date of public notice are considered
in the formulation of final determinations.
b. Public Meeting
The Director of the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources may hold a public meeting if
there is a significant degree of public interest in a proposed permit or group of permits. Public
notice of such a meeting will be circulated in newspapers in the geographical area of the
discharge and to those on the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources' mailing list at least
thirty (30) days prior to the meeting.
c. Appeal Hearing
An applicant whose permit is denied, or is granted subject to conditions they deem unacceptable,
shall have the right to a hearing before the Commission upon making written demand to the
Office of Administrative Hearing (OAH) within 30 days following issuance or denial of the permit.
d. Issuance of a Permit When no Hearing is Held
If no public meeting or appeal hearing is held, after review of the comments received, and if the
Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources' determinations are substantially unchanged, the
permit will be issued and become effective on the first day of the month following the issuance
date. This will be the final action of the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources.
If a public meeting or appeal hearing is not held, but there have been substantial changes, public
notice of the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources' revised determinations will be
made. Following a 30-day comment period, the permit will be issued and will become effective on
the first day of the month following the issuance date. This will be the final action of the Division
of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources unless a public meeting or appeal hearing is grant
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