NC0088684_correspondence_20230905

Weaver, Charles
From: Sledge, Bob
Sent: Tuesday, September 5, 2023 11:05 AM
To: Weaver, Charles
Subject: FW: [External] reverse osmosis system
Attachments: IMG_1316.heic; IMG_1317.heic; IMG_1318.HEIC; IMG_1319.heic; DSBG RO Sytem Pics.docx
Hi Charles,
Here's the information I got from Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. The pictures weren't captioned and it's been a long
time since I was there, so they don't mean much to me, but I suspect they show the outfall line has been severed and
the system has been disabled. Wes may be able to tell us more if he has a chance to drop by. I've also attached a Word
document with enlarged images as they appeared in my folder as icons. I'm having difficulty getting the pictures to
appear in photos due to the file type.
I went ahead and entered the monitoring suspension in BIMS, effective August 1. Let me know if you'd like for me to
follow up with any paperwork, etc.
Thank you,
Bob Sledge
Environmental Specialist II
Division of Water Resources — Water Quality Permitting Section
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
919-707-3602
bob.sledge(@deg.nc.gov (note new email address)
512 N. Salisbury Street
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1617
Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the
North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.
From: Tracy Smith <[e-mail]>
Sent: Thursday, August 31, 2023 3:53 PM
To: Sledge, Bob <[e-mail]>
Cc: Scott Bradley <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: [External] reverse osmosis system
CAUTION: External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless verified. Report suspicious emails with the Report Message
button located on your Outlook menu bar on the Home tab.
Good afternoon Mr. Sledge,
I received your contact information from Scott Bradley as it relates to our reverse osmosis system at the Daniel Stowe
Botanical Gardens in Belmont NC. Effective July 31, 2023, the Garden made a decision to disconnect the reverse osmosis

system for our Orchid Conservatory. I have attached pictures for your reference. The Garden would like to continue with
paying the annual fee in the event that our needs change in the future. Please let me know what is needed on our end
for next steps, thanks!
Tracy Smith
Director of Administration
Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden
From: Sledge, Bob <bob.sledge@deg. nc.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, June 21, 2023 12:52 PM
To: Scott Bradley <[e-mail]>
Cc: Weaver, Charles <[e-mail]>; Bell, Wes <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: [External] reverse osmosis system
Hi Scott,
Thank you for your patience and for reaching back out to me by email and by phone.
I spoke with staff in the Mooresville Regional Office this morning about the situation you've described to me. Here are
some points for you to consider as you make your decisions about the future use of the RO system and the NPDES
permit.
The decision to use or not use the RO system and/or the NPDES permit is entirely up to the DSBG staff.
If you are not going to use the RO system, and as a result, create no wastewater, you can request a monitoring and
reporting suspension for the permit. This assumes a long term situation where the system is not able to create a
wastewater discharge. During the time period the suspension is in effect, operator visitation would also not be required.
However, DSBG would be responsible for payment of the annual fees associated with the permit and would be required
to apply for renewal of the permit in accordance with its terms.
If you see this as a more permanent situation, you could request rescission of the permit (i.e., giving up the permit or
having it done away with). To request rescission, you would need to demonstrate that the discharge has been
eliminated. You had mentioned DSBG may not wish to remove the RO system itself, in case future managers may wish to
use it again. In that case, cutting the pipe from the wastewater reservoir to the outfall piping would adequately
demonstrate the discharge had been eliminated. As we discussed, the issuance of a NPDES permit for this type of
discharge has been something of an oddity and has created a unique set of headaches over the years. If the permit is
rescinded and in the future you might desire permit coverage for a similar discharge, that circumstance would be
treated as a brand new application and there is no guarantee that a permit would be issued for such a potential
discharge.
In either event, please let us know what your specific intentions in this matter are. I'd request that you reply to me and
those copied on this email with your plans. If you wish to pursue a monitoring suspension, please provide us a
description of how the potential for a discharge has been removed and how this will be a long term circumstance at the
facility. If you wish to pursue permit rescission, please make an explicit request for rescission and describe how the
discharge is being or has been permanently eliminated. Please provide photographs of the means used to eliminate the

discharge. This should provide us with enough information to act upon the rescission request. Our staff would follow up
with a site visit a later date to confirm the status.
If my colleagues have any corrections to offer or other pertinent information to add, please feel free to join the
discussion.
Thanks again. Please feel free to call or reply if you have any questions. Have a great day.
:..
Bob Sledge
Environmental Specialist II
Division of Water Resources — Water Quality Permitting Section
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
DEQ is updating its email addresses to @deq.nc.gov in phases from May 1" to June 9tn
Employee email addresses may look different, but email performance will not be impacted.
919-707-3602
bob.sledge(@deg.nc.gov (note new email address)
512 N. Salisbury Street
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1617
Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the
North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.
From: Scott Bradley <[e-mail]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 13, 2023 9:30 AM
To: Sledge, Bob <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: [External] reverse osmosis system
CAUTION: External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless verified. Report suspicious emails with the Report Message
button located on your Outlook menu bar on the Home tab.
Bob
This is Scott Bradley with Daniel Stowe botanical garden in Belmont we have not received anything from the Mooresville
Regional Office regarding the removal of the reverse osmosis system can we go ahead and remove it.
Scott Bradley
Facilities Manager,
Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden
❑ 704.829.1254
❑ www.dsbg.org
❑ bradley(@cIsbg.org
❑ 6500 South New Hope Road, Belmont NC 28012
❑ ❑ ❑

From: Sledge, Bob <[e-mail]>
Sent: Wednesday, April 19, 2023 5:54 AM
To: Scott Bradley <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: [External] reverse osmosis system
Hi Scott,
Thanks for getting in touch with me and sharing this news. As you move forward with removal of the RO system, I'd
recommend keeping our Mooresville Regional Office (MRO) staff advised of developments. When the system has been
removed and the wastewater discharge has ceased, you'll want to request that the NPDES permit be rescinded. MRO
may wish to send one of its staff to the site to verify the situation before the permit is rescinded.
At the present time, MRO (and all of the Division of Water Resources) is experiencing issues with depleted staffing levels.
The person that last inspected your facility has taken another position in our organization; I'm not exactly sure who
might be your best contact in that office. I'll forward your note to the acting supervisor and one of our senior staff
members in the water quality programs within that office and ask them to reach out to you with additional guidance. If
they should not contact you within the timeframe you need to get things done on your end, please feel free to contact
me and I'll help coordinate things here.
I hope you have developed a more worry -free way of keeping the plants and flowers looking so good. Best wishes to you
in all your endeavors.
:..
Bob Sledge
Environmental Specialist II
Division of Water Resources — Water Quality Permitting Section
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
919-707-3602
bob.sledge(a ncdenr.gov
512 N. Salisbury Street
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1617
Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the
North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.
From: Scott Bradley <[e-mail]>
Sent: Tuesday, April 18, 2023 4:01 PM
To: Sledge, Bob <[e-mail]>
Subject: [External] reverse osmosis system
CAUTION: External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless verified. Report suspicious emails with the Report Message
button located on your Outlook menu bar on the Home tab.
Bob
This is Scott Bradley with Daniel Stowe botanical garden in Belmont we have decided to remover the reverse osmosis
system from the orchid conservatory with that been said do we need to let anyone know from the NC Division of Water
Resources what we want to do. thanks

Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden (NC0086488) — Pictures demonstrating the Reverse Osmosis water
treatment system being taken out of service. Submitted 8/31/2023. Apple format
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