NCG020000_FACT SHEET to Notice_20200715

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
DIVISION OF ENERGY, MINERAL AND LAND RESOURCES
FACT SHEET
GENERAL PERMIT NCG020000
NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM
PERMIT TO DISCHARGE STORMWATER
Permit No. NCG020000 Date: July 15, 2020
1. TYPES OF DISCHARGES COVERED
a. Industrial Activities Covered by this General Permit
This permit applies to all owners or operators, hereafter permittees, which are covered
by this permit as evidenced by receipt of a Certificate of Coverage by the Environmental
Management Commission to allow the discharge of stormwater, mine dewatering
wastewater, and process wastewater to the surface waters of North Carolina or to a
separate storm sewer system conveying discharges to surface waters, from active and
inactive mining sites, in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth herein.
Coverage under this General Permit is applicable to:
Stormwater point source discharges associated with mining and quarrying of non-
metallic minerals (except fuels), mine excavation, processing, and vehicle
maintenance;
Authorized wastewater point source discharges from mining operations as
designated in the permit;
Stormwater and/or wastewater point source discharges from like industrial
activities deemed by the Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources (the
Division) to be similar to these operations in the process, or the discharges, or the
exposure of raw materials, intermediate products, by-products, final products, or
waste products.
Coverage under this General Permit is not applicable to:
• Borrow Pits covered by the DOT statewide stormwater permit,
• Peat Mining,
• Coal or Coal Ash Mining,
• Metal Mining (other than Lithium Mines, which may be covered under this general
permit),
• Oil and Gas Extraction Operations, and
• Wastewater not specifically designated in this permit.
b. Characteristics of Discharged Stormwater
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NCG020000 Fact Sheet - NC DEQ
July 15, 2020
The draft renewal permit requires baseline sampling of all stormwater discharge
outfalls and/or authorized representative discharge outfalls in accordance with this
part.
(a) Grab samples shall be collected, analyzed and reported for four parameters; Total
Suspended Solids (TSS), Settleable Solids (SS), Turbidity for all outfalls and Non Polar Oil
and Grease for drainage areas that use greater than 55 gallons/month of oil on average.
(b) In addition to the grab samples, the average monthly usage of new motor and
hydraulic oil for the facility shall be tracked and recorded.
(c) The total rainfall amount for each sampling event shall be recorded in inches.
Total rainfall shall be determined from an on -site rain gauge or a regional rain
gauge located within one (1) mile of the facility.
(d) Samples shall be collected from two separate monitoring periods per year. A
minimum of sixty (60) days must separate the two sampling events:
• January 1 - June 30, and
• July 1 - December 31.
c. Characteristics of Discharged Wastewater
Wastewater discharges that may be authorized under this general permit are limited to
the following. Any of those wastewaters commingled with stormwater shall be
considered wastewater:
• Mine dewatering,
• Process wastewater,
• Comingled stormwater and wastewater, and
• Discharges from recycle systems.
Mine dewatering discharges to land surfaces without the potential to discharge directly
to surface waters and where no chemicals are used in the mining process may be
permitted by regulation under 15A NCAC 02T .0113(a)(16) and are not subject to the
provisions of this permit.
Process wastewater discharges generated by any other activity shall not be authorized
under this permit, except allowable non-stormwater discharges permitted by 15A NCAC
2H .0106(f).
Type of Wastewater
Description
Mine dewatering
All mine dewatering, including dewatering from pits for
quarries, clay brick, sand and gravel, borrow pits, and
refractory mining, as well as mines with similar discharges
Process wastewater
all process wastewater from mining operations which
includes, but may not be limited to, the water involved in:
• The slurry transport, washing, or sawing of mined material;
• Air emissions control or processing exclusive of mining of
sand, gravel, and stone washing operations;
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NCG020000 Fact Sheet - NC DEQ
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• Dimension stone cutting operations; and air scrubbing and
dust control operations.
Commingled Stormwater
Occurs if authorized mine dewatering or process wastewaters
and Wastewater
commingle with stormwater prior to discharge
Discharges from Recycle
Authorized process wastewater discharges (overflows) from a
Systems
recycle system
d. GeographicArea(s) Covered by this General Permit
Discharges covered by this general permit are located at any place within the political
boundary of the State of North Carolina. Discharges located on the Cherokee Indian
Tribal Reservation are subject to permitting by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency and are not covered by this general permit.
e. Receiving Waters
Receiving waters include all surface waters of North Carolina or municipal separate
storm sewer systems conveying stormwater to surface waters.
2. MONITORING REQUIREMENTS, BENCHMARKS, AND LIMITATIONS
The sampling requirements and benchmarks are not proposed to be changed from what is
required in the current permit for most mines. However, the draft renewal permit proposes
additional monitoring parameters for the following types of mining activities:
• Brick pits,
• Feldspar ore,
• Lithium ore,
• Phosphate, and
• Industrial sand.
The table below explains the reasoning behind the selection of the stormwater and
wastewater parameters for each type of mine. The inclusion of the parameters in the draft
renewal permit is based on the recommendation of the DEMLR Mining and Geological
Survey Programs.
Mine type
Additional
parameters
Reason
Brick pits
Aluminum, Zinc,
Brick clay is composed primarily of Silica (Si02) 55%,
Fluoride, Hardness,
Alumina (A1203) 30%, and Iron Oxide (Fe203) 8%,
pH, Antimony,
thus the selection of Aluminum as a parameter.
Arsenic, Chromium III
Fluoride often occurs naturally when water is
exposed to fluoride -containing rock.
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NCG020000 Fact Sheet - NC DEQ
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Clay is able to adsorb arsenic, which can react with
ions in solution, such as iron, aluminum, calcium and
magnesium (the last two account for hardness). These
ions can detach the arsenic depending on the
solubility of the compound and the quantity of
reactants present. The pH affects the solubility of
these compounds.
Clay is also able to adsorb Chromium, Zinc and
Arsenic and it is possible for these parameters to be
detached depending on pH and hardness.
Feldspar Ore
Aluminum, Zinc,
The selection of parameters is based on monitoring
Fluoride
data collected by feldspar mining operations over the
past five-year permit cycle. This is the only mine type
where current data collected under North Carolina's
NPDES Industrial Stormwater Program was available.
Lithium Ore
Fluoride
Fluoride often occurs naturally when water is
exposed to fluoride -containing rock.
Phosphate
Fluoride, Alpha Gross
Phosphate mines can produce waste such as toxic
Particle Activity
metals and radioactive elements. Apatite is the
dominant mineral in phosphate ores and it is
commonly very insoluble in its original
state as extracted from the earth and is practically
unavailable as a plant phosphorus source. By virtue
of its chemical behavior, apatite can be associated
with fluoride.
Industrial Sand
Fluoride, Chromium
Industrial sand is a term applied to high purity silica
III, Alpha Gross
sand products with closely controlled sizing. Fluoride
Particle Activity
often occurs naturally when water is exposed to
fluoride -containing rock. Chromium and Alpha
Particle Activity were added base on Mining and
Geologic survey staff recommendations.
Because of the sporadic nature of rainfall, DEQ considers acute (short-term) effects when
establishing stormwater benchmarks for metals. The benchmarks are derived from the US
EPA published dissolved National Recommended Water Quality Criteria (NRWQC) for
metals (where applicable) and translated into total recoverable metals as required by § 40
CFR 122.45(c). (Note that EPA and DEQ use the terms "total metal" and "total recoverable
metal" synonymously to refer to the metals solubilized by digestion with strong solutions of
mineral acids.) On August 1, 2020, the DEMLR Stormwater Program will publish a fact
sheet about Calculation of Stormwater Benchmarks that will provide more detailed
information.
The Division is particularly interested in public comments on the proposed additional
parameters for special mines. In addition, the parameters that are approved in the final
version of the NCG02 permit will be reevaluated in 2025 based on the monitoring data that
is collected by the special mines.
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NCG020000 Fact Sheet - NC DEQ
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Some parts of the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) have been expanded
or modified. Please refer to the proposed draft General Permit NCG020000 for those
requirements.
3. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
a. Deadlines for Submittal of Discharge Monitoring Reports
One change in the draft renewal permit is the requirement for Discharge Monitoring
Reports (DMRs) for Periods 1 and 2 to be submitted no later than 30 days from that
date that the facility receives the sampling results. Previously, permitted mining
operations were allowed to submit reports on an annual basis and there was not a 30-
day requirement. This requirement was modified in the draft renewal permit so that
the permit would be compliant with federal law and so that mining operations would
submit reports consistently with other types of covered industrial activities in North
Carolina. The administration of this requirement will become easier when eDMR is
implemented. NCG02 permittees are expected to go into eDMR on July 1, 2021.
The permit also provides that for COCs issued between June 1-30 or Dec 1-31,
sampling shall not commence until the next sampling period following initial issuance
of the COC.
b. Submittal Process before eDMR
Before eDMR, original, signed DMR form shall be scanned and uploaded to the
electronic DMR submittal form, which can be found by typing "deq.nc.gov/SW-
Industrial" into a browser window and hitting "enter."
Then, the original signed DMR Forms shall be mailed or otherwise delivered to the
appropriate Regional Office, which is indicated at:
https: [/decnc.gov/contact/regional-offices/.
This is a new process that will assist DEMLR staff in maintaining the digital file on each
permit. During the past two years, all mining permit files have been scanned and are
now available on the Stormwater Laserfiche Repository, which can be found by typing
"deq.nc.gov/SW" into a window browser and hitting "enter."
c. Submittal Process after eDMR
After the Division has created an electronic reporting system to accept NPDES
stormwater permit monitoring data, the permittee shall report discharge monitoring
data electronically using the Division's Electronic Discharge Monitoring Report
(eDMR) internet application. The Division will notify permittees when eDMR is ready
to accept stormwater monitoring data.
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NCG020000 Fact Sheet - NC DEQ
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d. Qualitative Monitoring Reports
The permittee shall record the required qualitative monitoring observations on the
SDO Qualitative Monitoring Report form provided by the Division and shall retain the
completed forms on site. Qualitative monitoring results shall not be submitted to the
Division, except upon the Division's specific requirement to do so. Qualitative
Monitoring Report forms are available the Division's website
(https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/energy-mineral-land-resources/npdes-
stormwater-gps).
4. COMPLIANCE SCHEDULE
The compliance schedule in Part L, Section L-1 advises that the permittee comply with
Limitations and Controls specified for stormwater discharges in accordance with the
following schedule:
Existing Facilities already operating but applying for permit coverage for the
first time: The Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan shall be developed and
implemented within 12 months of the effective date of the Certificate of Coverage
and updated thereafter on an annual basis. Secondary containment, as specified in
Part B, Section 13-9 of this general permit, shall be accomplished within 12 months of
the effective date of the issuance of the Certificate of Coverage.
New Facilities applying for coverage for the first time: The Stormwater Pollution
Prevention Plan shall be developed and implemented prior to the beginning of
discharges from the operation of the industrial activity and be updated thereafter on
an annual basis. Secondary containment, as specified in Part B, Section B-9 of this
general permit, shall be accomplished prior to the beginning of discharges from the
operation of the industrial activity.
Existing facilities previously permitted and applying for renewal under this
General Permit: All requirements, conditions, limitations, and controls contained in
this permit (except new SWPPP elements in this permit renewal) shall become
effective immediately upon issuance of the Certificate of Coverage. New elements of
the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan for this permit renewal shall be developed
and implemented within 6 months of the effective date of this general permit and
updated thereafter on an annual basis. Secondary containment, as specified in Part B,
Section B-9 of this general permit, shall be accomplished prior to the beginning of
discharges from the operation of the industrial activity.
5. BASIS FOR CONTROLS AND LIMITATIONS
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NCG020000 Fact Sheet - NC DEQ July 15, 2020
The conditions of this general permit have been designed using best professional judgment
to achieve water quality protection through compliance with the technology -based
standards of the Clean Water Act (Best Available Technology [BAT] and Best Conventional
Pollutant Control Technology [BCT]). Where the Director determines that a water quality
violation has occurred and water quality -based controls or effluent limitations are required
to protect the receiving waters, coverage under the general permit shall be terminated and
an individual permit will be required. Based on a consideration of the appropriate factors
for BAT and BCT requirements, and a consideration of the factors discussed below in this
fact sheet for controlling pollutants in stormwater discharges associated with the activities
as described in Item 1 (Types of Discharge Covered), this permit retains a set of
requirements for developing and implementing stormwater pollution prevention plans,
and specific requirements for monitoring and reporting on stormwater discharges.
The permit conditions reflect the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) and North
Carolina's pollution prevention approach to stormwater permitting. The quality of the
stormwater discharge associated with an industrial activity will depend on the availability
of pollutant sources. This renewal permit still reflects the Division's position that
implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs) and traditional stormwater
management practices which control the source of pollutants meets the definition of BAT
and BCT. The permit conditions are not numeric effluent limitations, but rather are
designed to be flexible requirements for developing and implementing site specific plans to
minimize and control pollutants in the stormwater discharges associated with the
industrial activity.
Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 122.44(k)(2) authorizes the use of BMPs in
lieu of numeric effluent limitations in NPDES permits when the agency finds numeric
effluent limitations to be infeasible. The agency may also impose BMP requirements which
are "reasonably necessary" to carry out the purposes of the Act under the authority of 40
CFR 122.44(k)(3). The conditions of the renewal permit are retained under the authority
of both of these regulatory provisions. The pollution prevention requirements (BMP
requirements) in this permit operate as limitations on effluent discharges that reflect the
application of BAT/BCT. The basis is that the BMPs identified require the use of source
control technologies which, in the context of these general permits, are the best available of
the technologies economically achievable (or the equivalent BCT finding).
All facilities covered by this general permit must prepare, retain, implement, and (at a
minimum of annually) update a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP). The term
"pollution prevention" distinguishes this source reduction approach from traditional
pollution control measures that typically rely on end -of -pipe treatment to remove
pollutants in the discharges. The plan requirements are based primarily on traditional
stormwater management, pollution prevention and BMP concepts, providing a flexible
basis for developing site -specific measures to minimize and control the amounts of
pollutants that would otherwise contaminate the stormwater runoff.
The pollution prevention approach adopted in the SWPPP in this renewal permit still
focuses on two major objectives: 1) to identify sources of pollution potentially affecting the
quality of stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity from the facility; and 2)
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NCG020000 Fact Sheet - NC DEQ
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to describe and ensure that practices are implemented to minimize and control pollutants
in stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity from the facility and to ensure
compliance with the terms and conditions of the permit.
The Division believes that it is not appropriate at this time to require a single set of effluent
limitations or a single design or operational standard for all facilities which discharge
stormwater associated with industrial activity. This permit instead establishes a
framework for the development and implementation of a site -specific SWPPP. This
framework provides the necessary flexibility to address the variable risk for pollutants in
stormwater discharges associated with the industrial activities that are addressed by this
permit, while ensuring procedures to prevent stormwater pollution at a given facility are
appropriate given the processes employed, engineering aspects, functions, costs of
controls, location, and age of facility (as discussed in 40 CFR 125.3). This approach allows
flexibility to establish controls which can appropriately address different sources of
pollutants at different facilities.
There has been no significant change to this rationale since the previous General
Permit NCG020000.
6. REQUESTED VARIANCES OR ALTERNATIVES TO REQUIRED STANDARDS
There are no requested variances or alternatives to required standards. Facilities
requesting variances to required standards will not be covered under this General Permit
but will instead be required to seek coverage under an individual permit.
7. THE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD
The public notice, containing the NCG02 draft renewal permit and fact sheet are available
at the NC Stormwater Program's Public Notice web site:
https: I Ideq.nc.gov/about/divisions/energy-mineral-and-land-
resources/stormwater/stormwater-program/stormwater-public.
In addition, the historical record on the NCG02 permit is available at the Stormwater
Program Laserfiche Repository, which can be found at:
https://edocs.deq.nc.gov/WaterResources/Browse.aspx?id=280110&dbid=0&repo=Water
Resources.
8. STATE CONTACT
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NCG020000 Fact Sheet - NC DEQ
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Additional information about the draft permit may be obtained at the above address
between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM Monday through Friday by contacting:
Annette Lucas at annette.lucas(@ncdenr.gov or at [phone].
9. SCHEDULE OF PERMIT ISSUANCE
Draft Permit Public Notice - Statewide Notice to publish July 15, 2020;
Draft available on-line by July 15, 2020;
Comment Period Ends August 14, 2020
Permit Scheduled to Issue - No later than September 30, 2020;
Effective October 1, 2020
10 PROCEDURE FOR THE FORMULATION OF FINAL DETERMINATIONS
a. Comment Period
The Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources proposes to issue an NPDES
General Permit for the above described stormwater discharges subject to the outlined
effluent limitations, management practices, and special conditions. These
determinations are open to comment from the public.
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on the permit applications
or on the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources' proposed determinations to
the following address:
Stormwater Program
Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources
1612 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1612
Attn: Annette Lucas
All comments received within thirty (30) days following the date of public notice are
considered in the formulation of final determinations.
b. Public Meeting
The Director of the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources may hold a public
meeting if there is a significant degree of public interest in a proposed permit or group
of permits. Public notice of such a meeting will be circulated in newspapers in the
geographical area of the discharge and to those on the Division of Energy, Mineral and
Land Resources' mailing list at least thirty (30) days prior to the meeting.
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c. Appeal Hearing
An applicant whose permit is denied, or is granted subject to conditions they deem
unacceptable, shall have the right to a hearing before the Commission upon making
written demand to the Office of Administrative Hearing (OAH) within 30 days following
issuance or denial of the permit.
d. Issuance of a Permit When no Hearing is Held
If no public meeting or appeal hearing is held, after review of the comments received,
and if the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources' determinations are
substantially unchanged, the permit will be issued and become effective on the first day
of the month following the issuance date. This will be the final action of the Division of
Energy, Mineral and Land Resources.
If a public meeting or appeal hearing is not held, but there have been substantial
changes, public notice of the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources' revised
determinations will be made. Following a 30-day comment period, the permit will be
issued and will become effective on the first day of the month following the issuance
date. This will be the final action of the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources
unless a public meeting or appeal hearing is granted.
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