NCG020944_Coverletter_20200224

ROY COOPER
Governor
MICHAEL S. REGAN
Secretary
BRIAN WRENN
Acting Director
William Sawyer
President
275 Higgins Road
Belhaven, NC 27810
Dear Mr. Sawyer:
NORTH CAROLINA
Environmental Quality
February 25, 2020
Subject: General Permit No. NCG020000
Sawyer Quarter Road Mine
COC NCG020944
Beaufort County
In accordance with your application for a discharge permit received on July 18, 2019, we are
forwarding herewith the subject certificate of coverage to discharge under the subject state — NPDES
general permit. This permit is issued pursuant to the requirements of North Carolina General Statute 143-
215.1 and the Memorandum of Agreement between North Carolina and the US Environmental Protection
Agency dated October 15, 2007 (or as subsequently amended).
Please take notice that this certificate of coverage is not transferable except after notice to the
Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources. The Division may require modification or revocation
and reissuance of the certificate of coverage.
Please be aware that mine dewatering at your site has the potential to impact adjacent wetlands.
The specific requirements for mine dewatering at facilities near wetlands can be found in Part III, Section
E of your permit. You must adhere to the facility's approved Operation and Monitoring Plan when
mine dewaterin2 discharges occurs.
Furthermore the applicable limit for wastewater discharge from industrial sand mines is 45mg/1
(daily max) and 25 mg/1(monthly average). Please see the permit for other effluent limits.
This permit does not allow discharges that will violate water quality standards in the downstream
waters. Those waters contain sensitive species that could be displaced or distressed by a large volume of
the discharge and also contain shellfish species, which if contaminated and eaten by humans, could result
in serious adverse health effects. Therefore, any time the discharge may be large enough to exceed the 50
percent mixing ratio with the receiving waters, it is important to reduce the volume of release to protect
public health and the environment.
This general permit allows the discharge of stormwater and certain types of wastewater from your
facility. In your application, you specified that only mine dewatering water would be discharged from
this facility. If separate point -source discharges of stormwater occur (i.e., stormwater not combined with
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mine dewatering water), you will be required to adhere to the conditions in this permit for stormwater
discharges.
This project is located in one of North Carolina's 20 coastal counties. Coastal stormwater
management rules (15A NCAC 2H .1000) may require an additional State Stormwater Permit (different
from the NPDES mining activities discharge permit). Please contact Samir Dumpor in the Washington
Regional Office at [phone] to determine if you will be required to submit an application for a
State Stormwater permit.
This permit does not affect the legal requirements to obtain other permits which may be required
by the Division of Energy, Mining, and Land Resources, or permits required by the Division of Water
Resources, Coastal Area Management Act, or any other federal or local governmental permit that may be
required.
If you have any questions concerning this permit, please contact Shane Strickland at telephone
number [phone].
Sincerely,
for Brian Wrenn, Acting Director
Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources
cc: Washington Regional Office
Stormwater Program Files