Dean Naujoks - Yadkin Riverkeepers

Wainwright, David
From: Bashaw, Justin P SAW <Justin.P.Bashaw @usace.army.mil>
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2014 9:26 AM
To: Wainwright, David
Subject: FW: [EXTERNAL] SolarBee Public Comment (UNCLASSIFIED)
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE
Good morning David,
Please see below comments from Mr. Dean Naujoks. I'd like your help in addressing his comments.
Thank you,
Justin Bashaw
Biologist
Environmental Resources Section
US Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District
- 69 Darlington Avenue
Wilmington, NC 28403 -1343
- 910.251.4581 (telephone)
- 910.251.4744 (facsimile)
- justin.p.bashaw @usace.army.mil
- - - -- Original Message---- -
From: Dean Naujoks [mailto :dean @yadkinriverkeeper.org]
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2014 2:10 AM
To: Bashaw, Justin P SAW
Subject: [EXTERNAL] SolarBee Public Comment
Dear Mr Bashaw,
My Dad and Brother both live in Cary NC, where I once lived. Most of my family hunts, fishes, boats and recreates in and
around Jordan Lake. My family depends on drinking water from Jordan Lake. As a result of pollution and excess algae in
the lake, taste and odor problems resulted in the town of Cary having to upgrade its water treatment plant with carbon
filtration just to improve Cary's drinking water supply.

Any attempts to use mixers as a way to deal with pollution threats deriving from upstream waste water treatment plants
and stormwater runoff does absolutely nothing to address sources of upstream pollution and improve water quality in
Jordan Lake and further down in the Cape Fear River as required under the Federal Clean Water Act. Upstream pollution
from Burlington, Greensboro and Durham that discharges into Jordan Lake, is classified as a Water Supply Water Shed
and is on the federal 303(d) list of impaired waters.
Section 402 of the Clean Water Act requires actions or controls necessary to protect water quality. Water quality should
be such that it results in no mortality and no significant growth or reproductive impairment of resident species. Any
lowering of water quality below this full level of protection is not allowed under the Act. Water quality standards should
never be compromised because a permit is too lenient.
Under the Clean Water Act, existing uses must be protected (40 CFR 131.3 (e -f)). Impairment of Jordan Lake indicates
state and federal agencies have failed to protect existing uses in Jordan Lake and the Cape Fear River. Technology
based standards (an expected level of performance to protect water quality) targeting the sources of pollution should be
required and can be required under the Act. Using experimental solutions like mixers in Jordan Lake blatantly ignores
Clean Water Act requirements and will do very little to enhance or improve water quality critical for recreation and long
term drinking water needs.
"A water quality standard defines the water quality of a water body, or portion there of, by designating the use or uses
to be made of the water and by setting criteria necessary to protect water quality to protect public health or welfare,
enhance the quality of the water and serve the purpose of the Clean Water Act."
"Serve the purposes of the Act' means that water quality standards should, wherever attainable, provide water quality
for the protection and propagation of fish, shell fish and wildlife and for the recreation in and on the water and take into
consideration their use and value to public water supplies..." 40 CFR 131.2
Jordan Lake, a drinking water supply for more than 200,000 people and designated for recreational use, is suffering from
the effects of nutrient loading Modeling conducted by the state has indicated high chlorophyll A levels- a key indicator
of algae, particularly harmful to aquatic life and a potential threat to public health- which have been exceed on a regular
basis. The NC DENR has determined Jordan Lake is impaired, requiring tighter limits for both phosphorus and nitrogen.
The state has already developed the Jordan Lake Rules, a strategy for controlling both point and non -point pollution
sources that are ultimately contributing to this impairment.
Total Maximum Daily Load

Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act specifically deals with water quality limited waters, requiring a prescriptive clean-
up plan, known as Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL's). The NC DWQ has been delegated the responsibility of enforcing
the Clean Water Act by the US EPA. Thus, federal law requires DWQ to identify the pollutants that are responsible for
limiting water, set specific limits on pollutants, plan for additional discharges to the system and develop a schedule to
meet pollutant limits and include TMDL's in the NPDES permits for municipal wastewater and stormwater. Allowing the
use of mixers as an attempt to bypass the Clean Water Act TMDL requirements and the Jordan Lake Rules (Nutrient
Management Strategy) does not set establish limits to control or reduce nutrients contributing to declining water quality
and is illegal under the Act.
Antidegradation Laws (under the CWA)
Federal regulations require protection of existing uses in all waters. Existing uses include (a) current uses, (b) any uses
that have occurred since November 28, 1975 and (c) any uses for which the water quality is suitable even if they aren't
occurring. As stated in the U.S. EPA Water quality Standards Handbook:
"If a planned activity will foreseeably lower water quality to the extent that it no longer is sufficient to protect and
maintain the existing uses in that water body, such an activity is inconsistent with EPA's antidegradation policy... In such
a circumstance, the planned activity must be avoided or adequate mitigation or preventative measures must be taken to
ensure that the existing uses that the water quality to protect them will be maintained." (Section 4.4)
The use of mixers in no way ensures existing uses will be protected and maintained. As a result the use of mixers cannot
be permitted without the NC Division of Water Resources conducting a thorough review that involves alternatives
analysis, social and economic justification for the project, intergovernmental coordination, public participation,
development of most stringent point source controls and cost effective non -point source controls.
The creation of the Jordan Lake resulted in such from analysis, public participation and intergovernmental coordination.
Numerous stakeholders spent over ten years developing these rules which was passed in the NC legislature. Your agency
is obligated to support the Jordan Lake rules, not an experimental project that has no track record for improving water
quality on water body of this size and importance.
Please do not approve this experimental project that seeks to undermine the work of NC DENR, The EPA, local
governments and citizens who spent years working to develop a pollution cleanup plan for Jordan Lake that actually
meets the legal requirements of federal Clean Water Act.
Please do not to approve the SolarBee permit.

Sincerely,
Dean Naujoks
Executive Director, Yadkin Riverkeeper Inc.
308 Patterson Ave
Winston Salem NC, 27101
www.yadkinriverkeeper.org
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE