NC0024333_meeting notes_20010924

State of North Carolina
Department of Environment
and Natural Resources
Division of Environmental Health
Public Water Supply Section
Michael F. Easley, Governor
William G. Ross, Jr., Secretary
Linda C. Sewall, Director
Jessica G. Miles, Section Chief
MEMORANDUM
TO: Leslie Jones
FROM: Wayne Mu
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September 24, 2001
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NCDENR
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SUBJECT: Morro: Rec .imed Water Feasibility Study
I have recei -' a copy of the minutes for the August 2' meeting. I concur with the list of
questions I raised at the meeting, however some of the answers may need further exploration
before implementation. However, if I came across as not seeing any problems, then I need to
correct that.
The NPDES has an excellent program for permitting discharges. However, there are still
contaminants and pollutants being discharged above water supply intakes. With appropriate
safeguards and/or treatment, these discharges may not affect the water quality.
Again, reclaimed and recycled water will be an integral part of our state's future water
management program and appropriate emphasis must be placed on the health aspect in order to
produce viable alternatives such as reclaimed water. Public Water Supply wishes to remain in
the loop to fully and further address the questions raised to ensure water quality integrity for
drinking water purposes.
cc: Sue Homewood - DENR - Division of Water Quality
_.il`e Meyers - DENR - Division of Water Quality
Tony Young - DENR - Division of Water Resources
1634 Mail Service Center, Raleigh. North Carolina 27699-1634 ♦ Telephone [phone]
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SLHOUli
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CDMCamp Dresser & McKee
consulting
engineering
construction
operations
301 South McDowell Street, Suite 512
Charlotte, North Carolina 28204-2686
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Memorandum
To: Sandra Tripp, CDM
Kim Hinson, City of Monroe
Shannon Thornburg, NCDENR
Tony Young, NCDENR
Mike Myers, NCDENR
From:
Date:
Subject:
Larry chwartz, CDM
Russ Colbath, City of Monroe
Sue Homewood, NCDENR
Wayne Munden, NCDENR
Leslie Jones, CDM Gc3
August 9, 2001
Monroe Reclaimed Water Feasibility Study: Wetland System
Meeting Minutes
On Thursday August 2, 2001, a meeting was held in Raleigh to discuss regulatory issues for
the wetlands portion of the Monroe reclaimed water project. Larry Schwartz presented a
PowerPoint slide show to discuss the background and design of the system. The meeting
was then open for discussion from the various regulating divisions.
Shannon Thornburg discussed the City of Goldsboro's similar wetlands application. For
this project, they obtained a modified NPDES permit for a new discharge from the
wetlands, Authorization to Construct permit to construct the wetlands, Authorization to
Construction permit for modifications to the existing treatment plant, and a non -discharge
permit to construct the pipelines for the reclaimed water distribution system. She also
discussed the difference between a conjunctive versus a non -conjunctive NPDES permit. A
conjunctive permit means there are alternate means of disposal of the effluent from a single
site.
The Non -Discharge section will issue a permit for the distribution system of the reclaimed
water system. Mike Myers discussed the addition of an outfall from the wetlands. This
permit would reference the existing NPDES and set the effluent limits from the wetlands.
The state would perform a waste load allocation for this. He also mentioned that the City of
Monroe should request speculative limits, which would take about 6 months. It was noted
that liners were required for Goldsboro's wetlands. Duo flow paths and a maintenance
plan would be required.
Wayne Munden from Public Water raised questions on various aspects of the system. They
are as follows:

CDMCamp Dresser & McKee
Monroe Regulator Meeting
August 9, 2001
Page 2
• What amount of background sampling had been performed? Russ Colbath replied that
some had been done but there was room for more in order to better quantify the quality
in the lakes.
• Is there an agreement or contract with Union County? Mr. Colbath explained that there
is a contract and the books are cleared once a year.
• Are there presently algal blooms in the lakes? Mr. Colbath explained that the ponds are
highly eutrophic.
• Is there raw water equalization prior to the WTP? No.
• How would Monroe handle washout of the wetlands from large storm events? The
permit contains reliability rules that would require the wetlands to handle certain storm
events without washout.
• What about disinfection in the reclaimed water system prior to the wetlands? Larry
Schwartz mentioned a sod zone prior to the wetlands, which would provide
dechlorination.
• How much industrial waste in the waste stream now? Mr. Hinson replied 35 to 40
percent of the influent was industrial and commercial. They do have a pretreatment
program in place and the amount of metals coming into the plant is very low.
• Are membranes being considered? No because they are not perceived as economically
feasible for reclaimed water.
Mr. Munden concluded that their department is always looking for projects that improve
the long-term quality of surface waters. He does not see any problems with this particular
project because the NPDES permit will take care of protecting the water supplies.
Tony Young from Water Resources commented that his department does not have
permitting power but did suggest contacting Milt Roads with the DWQ planning branch to
see if an Environmental Assessment needs to be performed. He also mentioned the
Department of Environmental Health has review authority and could "bump" an NPDES
permit if it affects a public water supply.
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