NC0043532_Complaint_20230112

Strickland, Bev
From: Hayes, Denise
Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 2:46 PM
To: Ashley C.
Cc: Wolanin, Melinda; Scheller, Roberto
Subject: RE: [External] McCoy's Creek Pump Station
Attachments: 15A-NCAC-02D-.1806.pdf; 15a ncac 02q .0102.pdf
Hey Ashley. I can only speak for the Division of Air Quality, as other divisions of NCDEQ may have other rules that are
applicable for the wastewater pump stations.
For Air Quality, our odor rules (copy attached) specifically exempt "municipal wastewater treatment plants and
municipal wastewater handling systems" under 2D .1806(d)(5). Also, they are not required to obtain an air quality
permit due to the exemption contained in rule 2Q.0102(g)(6) [copy attached].
To clarify our conversation from earlier today, the Division of Air Quality has a statewide monitoring system for ambient
air that is delegated through EPA. We monitor ozone and particulate matter at specific sites throughout the state. It is
not that DAQ "refuses" (to use your wording below) to perform the surveillance at pump stations or any other source of
odors, we just do not have the manpower or equipment to perform these tests. Also, as noted above, these pump
stations are exempt from air quality rules. Please know that any complaints about odors or concern for the health of the
community is a concern for us. It is not a case of whether it is "too small of a problem". One person being affected
makes it a relevant case to look at. Our rules just do not allow us to take action in this situation.
I would say, get as many of your neighbors as you can involved with setting up a meeting with Stanly County
representatives. Go to County meetings to voice your concerns. Get your petition signed by as many people as you can
and submit it to the County representatives.
I have copied my Supervisor, Melinda Wolanin, on this email. You may contact her with any further questions you may
have.
Denise
Denise Hayes
Compliance Supervisor
Division of Air Quality
[phone]
[e-mail]
610 East Center Avenue
Suite 301
Mooresville, NC 28115
Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the
1

North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.
From: Ashley C. <[e-mail]>
Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2023 1:45 PM
To: Hayes, Denise <[e-mail]>
Subject: [External] McCoy's Creek Pump Station
CAUTION: External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless you verify. Send all suspicious email as an attachment to
Report Spam.
Hi Denise,
I received your voicemail, thank you for getting back to me.
You mentioned that your Rules and Regulations exempt any waste water treatment plants from any violations from
NCDEQ. I see that the Rules and Regulations are listed on your website but I am wondering if you could point me to the
section that states this code. Since McCoy's Creek is a pump station and does not treat the water, I am not sure that this
applies but of course would like to be sure.
If I understood correctly from our conversation earlier today; NCDEQ's refusal to conduct air quality surveillance on the
McCoy's Creek Pump Station is essentially because it is too small of a problem and does not affect enough residents of
the area surrounding it? Were you able to ask your supervisor how many signatures on a petition it would take, stating
concern for the health and safety of our air quality, to make this issue relevant to your agency? Would you mind sending
me the name of your supervisor so that I can have it for my records?
Thank you for your time,
Ashley Coppeddge
2

15A NCAC 02D .1806 CONTROL AND PROHIBITION OF ODOROUS EMISSIONS
(a) Purpose. The purpose of this Rule is to provide for the control and prohibition of objectionable odorous
emissions.
(b) Definitions. For the purpose of this Rule, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) "Commercial purposes" means activities that require a State or local business license to operate.
(2) "Temporary activities or operations" means activities or operations that are less than 30 days in
duration during the course of a calendar year and do not require an air quality permit.
(c) Applicability. With the exemptions in Paragraph (d) of this Rule, this Rule shall apply to all operations that
produce odorous emissions that can cause or contribute to objectionable odors beyond the facility's boundaries.
(d) Exemptions. The requirements of this Rule do not apply to:
(1) processes at kraft pulp mills identified in 15A NCAC 02D .0528 and subject to 15A NCAC 02D
.0524 or .0528;
(2) processes at facilities that produce feed -grade animal proteins or feed -grade animal fats and oils
identified in 15A NCAC 02D .0539;
(3) motor vehicles and transportation facilities;
(4) all on -farm animal and agricultural operations, including dry litter operations and operations
subject to 15A NCAC 02D .1804;
(5) municipal wastewater treatment plants and municipal wastewater handling systems;
(6) restaurants and food preparation facilities that prepare and serve food on site;
(7) single family dwellings not used for commercial purposes;
(8) materials odorized for safety purposes;
(9) painting and coating operations that do not require a business license;
(10) all temporary activities or operations; or
(11) any facility that stores products that are grown, produced, or generated on one or more agricultural
operations and that are "renewable energy resources," as defined in G.S. 62-133.8(a)(8) if the
facility identifies the sources of potential odor emissions and specifies odor management practices
in their permit pursuant to 15A NCAC 02Q .0300 or .0500 to minimize objectionable odor beyond
the property lines.
(e) Control Requirements. The owner or operator of a facility subject to this Rule shall not operate the facility
without implementing management practices or installing and operating odor control equipment sufficient to prevent
odorous emissions from the facility from causing or contributing to objectionable odors beyond the facility's
boundary.
(f) Odor management plan. If the Director determines that a source or facility subject to this Rule is causing or
contributing to objectionable odors beyond its property boundary by the procedures described in Paragraph (i) of
this Rule, the owner or operator shall develop and submit an odor management plan within 60 days of receipt of
written notification from the Director of an objectionable odor determination. The odor management plan shall:
(1) identify the sources of odorous emissions;
(2) describe how odorous emissions will be controlled from each identified source;
(3) describe how the plan will be implemented; and
(4) contain a schedule by which the plan will be implemented.
Upon receipt of an approval letter from the Director for the odor management plan, the source or facility shall
implement the approved plan within 30 days, unless an alternative schedule of implementation is approved as part of
the odor management plan submittal. If the Director finds that the odor management plan does not meet the
requirements of this Paragraph or address the specific odor concerns, he or she shall notify the owner or operator of
any deficiencies in the proposed plan. The owner or operator shall have 30 days after receipt of written notification
from the Director to resubmit the odor management plan correcting the stated deficiencies with the plan or the
schedule of implementation. If the owner or operator fails to correct the plan deficiencies with the second draft plan
submittal or repeatedly fails to meet the deadlines set forth in this Paragraph or Paragraph (g) of this Rule, the
Director shall notify the owner or operator in writing that they are required to comply with the maximum feasible
control requirements in Paragraph (h) of this Rule.
(g) Odor management plan revision. If after the odor management plan has been implemented, the Director
determines that the plan fails to eliminate objectionable odor emissions from a source or facility using the
procedures described in Paragraph (i) of this Rule, he or she shall require the owner or operator of the facility to
submit a revised plan. Within 60 days after receiving written notification from the Director of a new objectionable
odor determination, the owner or operator of the facility shall submit a revision to their odor management plan
following the procedures and timelines in Paragraph (f) of this Rule. If the revised plan, once implemented, fails to

eliminate objectionable odors, then the source or facility shall comply with requirements in Paragraph (h) of this
Rule.
(h) Maximum feasible controls. If an amended odor management plan does not prevent objectionable odors beyond
the facility's boundary, the Director shall require the owner or operator to implement maximum feasible controls for
the control of odorous emissions. Maximum feasible controls shall be determined according to the procedures in
15A NCAC 02D .1807. The owner or operator shall:
(1) complete the process outlined in 15A NCAC 02D .1807 and submit a complete permit application
according to 15A NCAC 02Q .0300 or 15A NCAC 02Q .0500, as applicable, within 180 days of
receipt of written notice from the Director requiring implementation of maximum feasible
controls. The application shall include a compliance schedule containing the following increments
of progress:
(A) a date by which contracts for the odorous emission control systems and equipment shall
be awarded or orders shall be issued for purchase of component parts;
(B) a date by which on -site construction or installation of the odorous emission control
systems and equipment shall begin;
(C) a date by which on -site construction or installation of the odorous emission control
systems and equipment shall be completed; and
(D) a date by which final compliance shall be achieved.
(2) install and begin operating maximum feasible controls within 18 months after receiving written
notification from the Director of the requirement to implement maximum feasible controls. The
owner or operator may request an extension to implement maximum feasible controls. The
Director shall approve an extension request if he or she finds that the extension request is the
result of circumstances beyond the control of the owner or operator.
The owner or operator shall certify to the Director within five days after the deadline for each increment of progress
in this Paragraph whether the required increment of progress has been met.
(i) Determination of the existence of an objectionable odor. A source or facility is causing or contributing to an
objectionable odor when:
(1) a member of the Division staff determines by field investigation that an objectionable odor is
present by taking into account the nature, intensity, pervasiveness, duration, and source of the odor
and other pertinent such as wind direction, meteorology, and operating parameters of the facility;
(2) the source or facility emits known odor -causing compounds such as ammonia, total volatile
organics, hydrogen sulfide, or other sulfur compounds at levels that cause objectionable odors
beyond the property line of that source or facility; or
(3) the Division receives from the State Health Director epidemiological studies associating health
problems with odors from the source or facility.
History Note: Authority G.S. 143-215.3(a)(1); 143-215.107(a)(5);
Eff April 1, 2001;
Readopted Eff. September 1, 2019.

15A NCAC 02Q .0102 ACTIVITIES EXEMPTED FROM PERMIT REQUIREMENTS
(a) For the purposes of this Rule, the definitions listed in 15A NCAC 02D .0101 and 15A NCAC 02Q .0103 shall
apply.
(b) This Rule shall not apply to:
(1) facilities whose potential emissions require a permit pursuant to 15A NCAC 02Q .0500 (Title V
Procedures); or
(2) a source emitting a pollutant that is part of the facility's 15A NCAC 02D .1100 (Control of Toxic
Air Pollutants) modeling demonstration if that source is not exempted pursuant to 15A NCAC
02Q .0702.
(c) The owner or operator of an activity exempt from permitting pursuant to this Rule shall not be exempt from
demonstrating compliance with any other applicable State or federal requirement.
(d) Any facility whose actual emissions of particulate matter (PM10), sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile
organic compounds, carbon monoxide, hazardous air pollutants, and toxic air pollutants are each less than five tons
per year and whose actual total aggregate emissions are less than 10 tons per year shall not be required to obtain a
permit pursuant to 15A NCAC 02Q .0300. This Paragraph shall not apply to synthetic minor facilities that are
regulated pursuant to 15A NCAC 02Q .0315.
(e) Any facility that is not exempted from permitting pursuant to Paragraph (d) of this Rule and whose actual total
aggregate emissions of particulate matter (PM10), sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds,
carbon monoxide, hazardous air pollutants, and toxic air pollutants are greater than or equal to five tons per year and
less than 25 tons per year may register their facility pursuant to 15A NCAC 02D .0202 instead of obtaining a permit
pursuant to 15A NCAC 02Q .0300. This Paragraph shall not apply to:
(1) synthetic minor facilities that are regulated pursuant to 15A NCAC 02Q .0315;
(2) facilities with a source subject to maximum achievable control technology pursuant to 40 CFR
Part 63;
(3) facilities with sources of volatile organic compounds or nitrogen oxides that are located in a
nonattainment area; or
(4) facilities with a source regulated pursuant to New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), unless
the source is exempted pursuant to Paragraph (g) or (h) of this Rule.
(f) The Director may require the owner or operator of a facility to register such facility pursuant to 15A NCAC 02D
.0200 or obtain a permit pursuant to 15A NCAC 02Q .0300, if necessary to obtain compliance with any other
applicable State or federal requirement.
(g) The following activities shall not require a permit or permit modification pursuant to 15A NCAC 02Q .0300:
(1) maintenance, upkeep, and replacement:
(A) maintenance, structural changes, or repair activities that do not increase the capacity of
such process and do not cause any change in the quality or nature or an increase in
quantity of an emission of any regulated air pollutant;
(B) housekeeping activities or building maintenance procedures, including painting buildings,
paving parking lots, resurfacing floors, repairing roofs, washing, using portable vacuum
cleaners, sweeping, using and associated storing of janitorial products, or removing
insulation;
(C) using office supplies, supplies to maintain copying equipment, or blueprint machines;
(D) using firefighting equipment (excluding engines regulated pursuant to 40 CFR 63,
Subpart ZZZZ); or
(E) replacing existing equipment with equipment of the same size (or smaller), type, and
function that does not result in an increase to the actual or potential emission of regulated
air pollutants, does not affect the facility's compliance with any other applicable State or
federal requirements, and that fits the description of the existing equipment in the permit,
including the application, such that the replacement equipment can be lawfully operated
pursuant to that permit without modifying the permit;
(2) air conditioning or ventilation: comfort air conditioning or comfort ventilating systems that do not
transport, remove, or exhaust regulated air pollutants to the atmosphere;
(3) laboratory or classroom activities:
(A) bench -scale, on -site equipment used for experimentation, chemical or physical analysis
for quality control purposes or for diagnosis of illness, training, or instructional purposes;
(B) research and development activities that produce no commercial product or feedstock
material; or

(C) educational activities, including wood working, welding, and automotive repair;
(4) storage tanks with no applicable requirements other than Stage I controls pursuant to 15A NCAC
02D .0928, Gasoline Service Stations Stage I;
(5) combustion and heat transfer equipment:
(A) heating units used for human comfort, excluding space heaters burning used oil, that have
a heat input of less than 10 million Btu per hour and that do not provide heat for any
manufacturing or other industrial process;
(B) residential wood stoves, heaters, or fireplaces; or
(C) water heaters that are used for domestic purposes only and are not used to heat process
water;
(6) wastewater treatment processes: industrial wastewater treatment processes or municipal
wastewater treatment processes for which there are no state or federal air requirements;
(7) dispensing equipment: equipment used solely to dispense gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene,
lubricants, or cooling oils;
(8) electric motor burn -out ovens with secondary combustion chambers or afterburners;
(9) electric motor bake -on ovens;
(10) burn -off ovens with afterburners for paint -line hangers;
(11) hosiery knitting machines and associated lint screens, hosiery dryers and associated lint screens,
and hosiery dyeing processes that do not use bleach or solvent dyes;
(12) woodworking operations processing only green wood;
(13) flares and other sources of combustion at solid waste landfills. These flares and other combustion
sources shall obtain a permit pursuant to 15A NCAC 02Q .0300 unless they qualify for another
exemption pursuant to this Paragraph; or
(14) miscellaneous:
(A) equipment that does not emit any regulated air pollutants;
(B) sources for which there are no applicable requirements;
(C) motor vehicles, aircraft, marine vessels, locomotives, tractors, or other self-propelled
vehicles with internal combustion engines;
(D) engines regulated pursuant to Title II of the Federal Clean Air Act (Emission Standards
for Moving Sources);
(E) equipment used for preparing food for direct on -site human consumption;
(F) a source whose emissions are regulated only pursuant to Section 112(r) or Title VI of the
Federal Clean Air Act;
(G) exit gases from in -line process analyzers;
(H) stacks and vents that prevent the escape of sewer gases from domestic waste through
plumbing traps;
(I) refrigeration equipment that complies with the regulations set forth in Sections 601
through 618 of Title VI (Stratospheric Ozone Protection) of the Federal Clean Air Act, 40
CFR Part 82, and any other regulations promulgated by EPA pursuant to Title VI for
stratospheric ozone protection, except refrigeration equipment used as or in conjunction
with air pollution control equipment. Refrigeration equipment used as or in conjunction
with air pollution control equipment shall obtain a permit pursuant to 15A NCAC 02Q
.0300 unless it qualifies for another exemption pursuant to this Paragraph;
(J) equipment not vented to the outdoor atmosphere, with the exception of equipment that
emits volatile organic compounds. Equipment that emits volatile organic compounds
shall obtain a permit pursuant to 15A NCAC 02Q .0300 unless it qualifies for another
exemption pursuant to this Paragraph;
(K) animal operations not required to have control technology pursuant to 15A NCAC 02D
.1800. If an animal operation is required to have control technology, it shall obtain a
permit pursuant to this Subchapter;
(L) any incinerator that meets the requirements set forth in 15A NCAC 02D .1201(c)(4); or
(M) dry cleaning operations, regardless of NSPS or NESHAP applicability.
(h) The following activities shall not require a permit or permit modification pursuant to 15A NCAC 02Q .0300.
These activities shall be included in determining applicability of any rule or standard that requires facility -wide
aggregation of source emissions, including activities regulated by 15A NCAC 02D .0530, 15A NCAC 02D .0531,
15A NCAC 02Q .0500, and 15A NCAC 02Q .0700:

(1) combustion and heat transfer equipment (including direct -fired equipment that only emit regulated
pollutants from fuel combustion):
(A) fuel combustion equipment (excluding internal combustion engines) not regulated
pursuant to 40 CFR Part 60, NSPS, firing exclusively unadulterated liquid fossil fuel,
wood, or an approved equivalent unadulterated fuel as defined in 15A NCAC 02Q .0103;
(B) fuel combustion equipment (excluding internal combustion engines) firing exclusively
natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas or a mixture of these fuels; or
(C) space heaters burning waste oil if:
(i) the heater burns only oil that the owner or operator generates or used oil from
do-it-yourself oil changers who generate used oil as household wastes; and
(ii) the heater is designed to have a maximum heat input of not more than 500,000
Btu per hour;
(2) gasoline distribution: bulk gasoline plants, as defined in 15A NCAC 02D .0926(a)(3), with an
average daily throughput of less than 4,000 gallons;
(3) paint spray booths or graphic arts operations, coating operations, and solvent cleaning operations,
as defined in 15A NCAC 02Q .0803, located at a facility whose facility -wide actual uncontrolled
emissions of volatile organic compounds are less than five tons per year, except that such emission
sources whose actual uncontrolled emissions of volatile organic compounds are less than 100
pounds per year shall qualify for this exemption regardless of the facility -wide emissions. For the
purpose of this exemption, water wash and filters that are an integral part of the paint spray booth
shall not be considered air pollution control devices;
(4) electrostatic dry powder coating operations with filters or powder recovery systems;
(5) miscellaneous: any source whose potential uncontrolled emissions of particulate matter (PM10),
sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and carbon monoxide shall each be
no more than five tons per year; or
(6) case -by -case exemption: activities that the applicant demonstrates to the Director do not violate
any applicable emission control standard.
(i) The owner or operator of a facility or source claiming that an activity is exempt pursuant to Paragraphs (d), (e),
(g) or (h) of this Rule shall submit emissions data, documentation of equipment type, or other supporting documents
to the Director upon request that the facility or source is qualified for that exemption.
History Note: Authority G.S. 143-215.3(a)(1); 143-215.107(a)(4); 143-215.108;
Temporary Adoption Eff. March 8, 1994 for a period of 180 days or until the permanent rule
becomes effective, whichever is sooner;
Eff. July 1, 1994;
Amended Eff. April 1, 1999; July 1, 1998; July 1, 1997; November 1, 1996;
Temporary Amendment Eff. December 1, 1999;
Amended Eff. June 13, 2016; May 1, 2013; January 1, 2009; July 1, 2007; June 29, 2006; July 18,
2002; July 1, 2000;
Readopted Eff. April 1, 2018.