2021.03.11_CCO.p26_Dr.SusanRichardsonLetterToNCDEQReDeadlineExtension

March 11, 2021

Sheila C. Holman
Assistant Secretary for the Environment
NC Department of Environmental Quality
1601 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699

Re: Additional questions per the 6-month extension request

Dear Ms. Holman,

I was forwarded a message that you had two additional questions in regard to my request for a 6
month extension of our project, ‘Development of a Total Organic Fluorine (TOF) Method for the
Analysis of Process Wastewater Streams and Air from Fayetteville Works (NC)’, to December
31, 2021.

• Does the current schedule (Dec 31, 2021) include all additional, anticipated Covid delays?
The first submission noted delays in laboratory time due to reductions in personnel due to
Covid – is this ongoing, and are these delays in the revised schedule. I believe they are
wanting to know whether additional delays may be requested several months from now.

Response: Yes, this should be the last extension we need. We are moving to a fully in-person
operation this fall at the University of South Carolina, and we are now getting our first
vaccinations this week (the state of South Carolina has designated teachers and professors,
including graduate students who teach). So, pending some other unknown pandemic, I cannot
imagine us not completing the project by December 31, 2021.

• Secondly, is the current request for extension based on just Covid delays or is it a
combination of Covid delays and difficulty with method development.

Response: The current request for extension is primarily based on Covid delays (limited
capacity in the laboratory, not receiving research supplies on a timely basis, and even 3 weeks
ago, my entire research group had to quarantine due to exposure to someone who tested
positive). But as with any research, there have been a few issues to overcome with the
development of a new method, including the ability to remove much higher levels of inorganic
fluorine than we anticipated.

Please let us know if the extension request is acceptable or if you have any other questions.

Sincerely,

Susan D. Richardson, Ph.D.
Arthur S. Williams Professor of Chemistry
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of South Carolina