NC0020664_Comments_20191126

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\own of Spindd/e
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PO Box 186 . 125 Reveley Street• Spindale,NC 28160
Phone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]
November 26,2019
D
NCDEQ/DWR RECEIVE
NPDES Permitting Branch DEC 0 2 2019
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh,NC 27699-1617 NCDEQIDWRINPDES
Re: Town of Spindale
NPDES No.NC0020664
Preliminary comments and request for time extension
To whom it may concern:
The Town of Spindale is in receipt of the draft NPDES permit which was issued on October 28 and received
on October 29, 2019. According to the transmittal letter, our comments on the draft permit are due within
30 days of receipt of the draft permit.However,the Fact Sheet states that State regulations provide that the
comment period ends 30 days from publication in the local newspaper. As of the date of this letter, the
Town of Spindale nor our consultants are aware of the publication of the public notice. Therefore,we are
not aware of the actual comment deadline,but it appears to be later than the November 29 date indicated in
the transmittal letter.This letter provides preliminary comments and a request for additional time to provide
formal comments along with additional relevant data should that deadline occur within the next 3 weeks.
The draft permit proposes to impose stringent new effluent limits for copper and silver.Unfortunately,the
Fact Sheet did not accompany the draft permit as required by 40 CFR sections 124.8(a) and 124.56
(applicable to state programs under 123.25 (a) 27 and 32). As a result, we were unable to begin to review
the basis for the new limits until that document was supplied at our request on November 21,2019.
On review of the Fact Sheet, it appears that the limits calculations for copper and silver may have been
based in part on faulty or incomplete data. On review of the data submitted for the last four years, our
consultants have advised us that our effluent sampling was not done using EPA method 1669 ("clean
sampling techniques"), which may have resulted in inaccurate effluent concentrations reported to the
Department. In regard to the copper limit, copper is a common contaminant of environmental samples.
Using "clean sampling techniques" would likely provide a more accurate (and lower) measure of the
effluent copper concentration. The silver data used were mostly "non-detect" at 2.5 µg/L, with a single
value of 3 µg/L reported.Based on comments from our consultants,additional testing for silver using"clean
sampling" and with minimum detection limits as close as possible (consistent with proper laboratory
protocols)to the proposed 0.3 µg/L limit needs to be performed.
The Town is currently obtaining additional effluent samples for copper and silver using "clean sampling
techniques."The lab will be requested to perform the analyses using the most sensitive methods available
for wastewater,which we believe will produce more reliable effluent data for these constituents to be used

in the RPA.Because obtaining these data will require some time,we respectfully request that the department
not proceed to issue a final permit until the Town can collect and present the additional data and the
department has had a chance to consider these new data and revisit the RPA. The Town will provide the
additional sampling data along with our "formal" comments within the regulatory comment period if
possible, and in any case within the next 3 weeks, i.e., by December 17, 2019. If the 30-day regulatory
comment period ends prior to that date,we request that the Department agree to accept and review the data
and our comments anyway.
The Town has identified other issues with the draft permit that will be addressed in more detail in our
"formal"comment letter,which we will submit along with the additional copper and silver data discussed
above.These issues include:
• The RPA methodology used by DEQ appears to compare the calculated monthly average WQBEL
with the single highest daily effluent result times a multiplier of approximately 1.3. A more valid
comparison would compare the monthly average WQBEL with the highest expected monthly
average effluent concentration using monthly average discharge data.
• The permit proposes to impose stringent new effluent limits immediately upon issuance. This
deprives the Town of the ability to develop relevant monthly average data to be used in the
calculation of Reasonable Potential and also deprives the Town of the opportunity to identify
possible sources of the pollutants and take effective action(if needed)to reduce them at the source.
In light of the above concerns,in our formal comments we will be requesting a schedule in the final issued
permit to provide a"grace period"of at least 6 months where the copper and silver effluent limits are not
in effect. During that time the Town will: (1) generate valid monthly average Cu and Ag data of at least 4
samples a month(always using clean techniques, of course), and(2) investigate possible sources of these
pollutants,including both Sills and possible commercial sources.
An additional preliminary comment is with regard to the proposed moving of the upstream sample point.
The draft permit moves the sample point to the confluence of Cathey's Creek and Hollands Creek under
the NCSR 1510(Hudlow Rd)bridge.This location is not accessible,except from the bridge itself. This is
a heavily used bridge with a narrow shoulder, which presents a safety hazard to the staff. Additionally,
sampling under bridges is an unacceptable method as it has a high probability of introducing contaminants
from the bridge itself into the samples.I have included photographs taken from the proposed sample point
to illustrate this. In our fmal"official"comments we will propose a sampling
point that is safe and which allows for obtaining valid stream quality data.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide relevant and important information for your use in drafting a fmal
NPDES permit. We look forward to hearing that you will allow us to submit data and other comments on
or before December 17.
Very Truly Yours,
Scott Webber
Manager
Cc: Kurt Wright,P.E.
Maurice Walsh,P.E.
Randall G. Hurst,P.E.

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