March 13 WQC Meeting Minutes_ Approved 05_08_2019

WQC Approved 05-08-2019

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ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION WATER QUALITY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
March 13, 2019

BRIEF
The Water Quality Committee (WQC) of the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) at its January 9, 2019 meeting:
• approved the draft minutes for the January 9, 2019 WQC meeting without objection from any WQC member.
• was given an update on a variety of topics: draft general permits for the animal feeding operations, triennial review, groundwater interim maximum allowable concentrations, rule readoption, classification petitions, and hurricane preparedness and response.
WQC Members in Attendance: Ms. Marion Deerhake, WQC Vice Chair
Mr. George Pettus, EMC Mr. Steven Keen, EMC Mr. Mitch Gillespie, EMC Ms. Julie Wilsey, EMC Vice Chair Dr. Stan Meiburg, EMC Chair
WQC Members not in Attendance: Dr. Albert Rubin, WQC Chair Others Present:
Mr. Bill Puette, EMC Mr. J.D. Solomon, EMC Mr. Phillip Reynolds, EMC Counsel
I. Preliminary Matters
WQC Vice Chair Deerhake read the conflict of interest statement under General Statute § 163A-
159(e). No member of the WQC had expressed a conflict of interest with respect to any item on
the March 13, 2019 WQC agenda. EMC Vice Chair Wilsey motioned to approve the draft
minutes for the January 9, 2019 WQC meeting, and the minutes received a second approval from
Commissioner Pettus. The minutes were unanimously approved without objection from any
WQC member.
II. Agenda Items
1. Updates from Ms. Linda Culpepper, Director for the Division of Water Resources, on
Draft General Permits for the Animal Feeding Operations, Triennial Review, Groundwater
Interim Maximum Allowable Concentrations, and Rule Readoption Status
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Draft General Permits for the Animal Feeding Operations
• Public hearings: February 19, 2019 in Kenansville, NC (300 attendees/50 oral comments)
and February 26, 2019 in Statesville, NC (60 attendees/24 oral comments)
Main areas discussed: incorporating environmental justice tools, phosphorus loss
assessment, groundwater monitoring in the floodplain, and annual reporting
• General permits expire on September 30, 2019. New applications for renewal were
mailed out to permittees in March 2019; applications need to be submitted by April 3,
2019
Commissioner Pettus asked whether the general permit will be available before April 3,
2019. Christine Lawson, manager of the Animal Feeding Operations Program within DWR,
indicated the program received numerous comments on the permit, and the amount of time to
address the comments and to have a finalized general permit by the 3rd would be improbable.
Triennial Review
• The Classification and Standards Branch is in the process of drafting the hearing officer’s
report for the triennial review and rule readoption of the state’s water quality
classifications and standards regulations for the protection of surface waters.

Respecting the regulations, comments were received on proposals to modify the current
language that address rule readoption and EPA disapprovals. Also, comments for
recommendations for future actions outside the scope of rule readoption were received.
It is anticipated that the proposals would come back to the EMC in July 2019.
Other Rules Proposed for Readoption
• The rulemaking package for the readoption of the water quality permitting rules will be
presented at the March 14, 2019 EMC meeting.
• Proposals for the Neuse River Basin and Tar Pamlico River Basin nutrient rules: public
comment - February 15, 2019 to April 16, 2019 and public hearings - March 26, 2019 at
Lenoir Community College and March 28, 2019 at the Clayton Town Hall. It is
anticipated the proposals would come back to the EMC in July 2019.
• The rulemaking package for the readoption of the laboratory certification rules and the
biological certification rules is slated to come back to the EMC in May 2019.
• The revised 02C wells construction rules and the proposed 02L change is coming back to
the May 2019 EMC meeting
• Rule review categories for water reuse allocation rules and rules for central coastal plain
capacity use areas have been approved by EMC.
Groundwater Interim Maximum Allowable Concentrations (IMACs)
• The fiscal note is currently being reviewed by the state’s Office of State Budget and
Management. September 2019 would be the earliest month that this item would come to
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the EMC Ground Water Waste Management Committee. Currently, there are 40 IMACs
that will be recommended for the 02L standards, 11 will remain as IMACs, and 3 will be
withdrawn. Four IMACs have been requested for development and are being reviewed
by the Division of Waste Management and the Department of Health and Human
Services in accordance with the memorandum of agreement between the Division and
these entities. These IMACs are for octahydro-1,3,5,7- tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine
(HMX), hexahydro-1,3,5, -trinitro-1,3,5, -triazone (RDX), M-nitrotoulene, and
nitrobenzene.
Classification Petitions
• Add the Unique Wetlands Classification to Sandy Bottoms Wetlands in the French Broad
River Basin
• Repeal Cape Fear River Basin Rule 15A NCAC 02B .0311(t)
Hurricane Preparation and Response
• At the May 2019 WQC meeting the Division of Waste Management (DWM) will provide
an overview of the its preparation and response efforts for storms, flooding, or other
disaster events.
III. Closing Comments – WQC Vice Chair
There will be a presentation on the 0303(d) list at the March 14, 2019 EMC meeting. EMC Vice
Chair Wilsey informed the committee that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has
provided airports guidance on Aqueous Filming Forming Foam (AFFF). AFFF is used by
airports to fight fires and required to be used until a suitable substitute is identified. It contains
perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). FAA has given guidance on how to use it to prevent it from
getting into surface waters.
Some of the Commission members expressed that this topic and algal blooms should be
presented at a future WQC meeting.
Commissioner Keen had attended the North Carolina Coastal Federation North Carolina Oyster
Summit in Raleigh. The topics discussed included the importance of oyster for quality of clean
water and the oyster closures over time.
The North Carolina Water Research Institute Annual meeting was March 21 and 22, 2019.
The summary was prepared by Linda Culpepper and Adriene Weaver