NC0047384_Comments_20200723

DARSWEIL L. ROGERS, COMMISSIONER
WADE R. FOWLER, JR., COMMISSIONER
EVELYN 0. SHAW, COMMISSIONER
D. RALPH HUFF, III, COMMISSIONER
DAVID W. TREGO, CEO/GENERAL MANAGER
Ms. Brianna Young
N.C. Division of Water Resources
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1617
' 1 FAYETTEVILLE PUBLIC WORKS COMMISSION
VL C 955 OLD WILMINGTON RD
(� S P.O. BOX 1089
H ME OWN UTILITY FAYETTEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA 28302-1089
TELEPHONE [phone]
WWW.FAYPWC.COM
July 23, 2020 EI\FEED
JUL 2 2020
NCDEQ/DWR/NPDES
Subject: Fayetteville PWC Response to State Consent Order No. S19-010 for City of
Greensboro's T.Z. Osborne WWTP
Dear Ms. Young:
Fayetteville Public Works Commission (PWC) has been notified that the City of Greensboro (City)
has requested a Special Order by Consent (SOC) for its T.Z. Osborne WWTP, requiring
rehabilitation of its wastewater to address elevated discharges of 1,4-dioxane. The public notice
for this SOC was issued on June 17, 2020. The WWTP discharges into South Buffalo Creek within
the Cape Fear River basin under NPDES permit NCO047384. Fayetteville PWC is concerned about
elevated loading of 1,4-dioxane into the Cape Fear River because our major drinking water supply
source is the Cape Fear River. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has classified
this compound as a likely human carcinogen although no federal maximum contaminant level
(MCL) has been established in drinking water.
Fayetteville PWC is respectfully requesting the North Carolina Division of Water Resources
(DWR) consider the following comments:
The SOC's 2-year schedule for limiting the discharge to protect the EPA health advisory
level in downstream drinking water intakes to 35 µg/L is too lenient. The City has
demonstrated the ability to keep dioxane levels in their effluent well below 35 ug/1 and we
believe the City should be constrained to levels consistent with their existing 1,4-dioxane
discharge concentrations. Our limited knowledge of the City's industrial customers
appears to indicate that the primary source of 1,4 dioxane is Diamond Shamrock. Since
Diamond Shamrock should be able to either stop treating waste streams that contain 1,4
dioxane or utilize batch treatment and test that waste stream prior to discharge, there is no
reasonable justification for allowing continued discharge of elevated levels of 1,4 dioxane
from this facility. The first -year reduction goal of 60 µg/L does not represent continued
progress given recent monitoring data and actions already taken by the City towards
protecting downstream water intakes. Fayetteville PWC also notes that the factual recitals
in the draft SOC do not provide any detail regarding the City's efforts to reduce 1,4-dioxane
in its effluent, nor is there any detail regarding the efforts of the City's customers (like
Diamond Shamrock) to reduce their input of 1,4-dioxane into the City's WWTP.
BUILDING COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS SINCE 1905
AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Ms. Brianna Young
July 23, 2020
Page 2
As such, Fayetteville PWC requests that the first -year limit be 35 µg/L and the second -year
limit be capped at the current discharge levels. This can be accomplished by the City
requiring its industrial sources of 1,4-dioxane to treat their waste stream using best
achievable technology and test it to ensure compliance before discharging into the City's
treatment system. We note that the City of Asheboro has required an industrial source to
install best available treatment technology to reduce that source's input of 1,4-dioxane into
Asheboro's WWTP and believe the City should impose similar requirements on its
significant sources of 1,4=dioxane inputs. Fayetteville PWC also requests that no 1,4-
dioxane be discharged into the river that could have been removed by proactive steps at
source reduction and/or enhanced monitoring to prevent "accidental" discharge. Given the
lag time between when a sample is submitted and the results are received, it appears likely
that the high concentration levels in the river will have already passed the intake at
Pittsboro before sampling results are even back from the lab. Additionally, the only real
option for responding to an "accidental" release is to shut down the intake but this could
only be done for a few hours at most. The majority of downstream water treatment
facilities do not have treatment capabilities for removing 1,4-dioxane.
Therefore, meaningful action to reduce or eliminate sources of 1,4-dioxane inputs into the
City's WWTP is the best way to protect the public downstream. The SOC does not explain
why its requirements are the best that the City WWTP and its customers can do.
2. A long-term strategy and written plan to control loading to the Cape Fear River is needed.,
and this 2-year SOC for the City is just one component of the larger issue of 1,4-dioxane
loading to the river. Because the Department's larger investigation regarding the sources
of 1,4-dioxane in the Cape Fear River, including discharges by Asheboro and Reidsville,
is ongoing, Fayetteville PWC believes the SOC should expressly reserve the Department's
right to revise the SOCs requirements based on new information. After the 2-year SOC is
complete, a 1,4-dioxane limit should to be included in the facility's NPDES permit. DEQ
also needs to prepare a written long-term plan to protect the Cape Fear River as a drinking
water source. This plan must include reduction targets from the major sources, a consistent
plan for how to incorporate 1,4-dioxane into NPDES permits, continued sampling, and a
schedule to reliably meet the EPA health advisory for drinking water.
3. There must be meaningful public disclosure of all of the Department's efforts to address
1,4-dioxane in the Cape Fear River basin. As noted above, very little information is
available to the public about the efforts of the City's WWTP and its customers (such as
Diamond Shamrock) to reduce inputs of 1,4-dioxane. This lack of transparency prevents
other WWTPs from understanding what the City has done when developing their own plans
to reduce 1,4-dioxane inputs. It also prevents downstream drinking water systems, their
customers, and the public at large from having confidence that these efforts will be
coordinated and effective at achieving EPA's health advisory level. For example, the
City's monitoring plan for compliance should be shared with other utilities in the
watershed. The monitoring plan should include both grab and composite sampling to

Ms. Brianna Young
July 23, 2020
Page 3
capture the full picture of 1,4-dioxane loading, and the plan should include a commitment
to provide these data to the public in a timely manner.
4. North Carolina's long-term strategy should be built around a North Carolina -developed
MCL for drinking water. The state's Emerging Compounds Science Advisory Board
should play an active role in development of the MCL and in developing the long-term
strategy.
Right now, there is lack of clarity between the NC Groundwater Standard, the NC Surface
Water Narrative Standard, and the EPA Health Goal. NC should formally evaluate and
adopt an MCL or modify existing water quality standards to eliminate confusion about
what is the correct number to protect public health.
5. For a long-term strategy to be successful, improved sharing of data is needed. The SOC
requires the City to submit reporting to DWR. No mention of sharing sampling results with
downstream utilities is made. In addition, requirements for sharing exceedances of 35 µg/L
are not included in the plan. Additional data reporting requirements should be incorporated
into this SOC and any other future SOCs for 1,4-dioxane in the Cape Fear River watershed.
Transparency is needed to ensure public trust in the process and to monitor progress against
the strategy's timelines.
6. Given the lack of meaningful information contained in the draft SOC, and the absence of
a public repository regarding the City's efforts to reduce its 1,4-dioxane discharges,
Fayetteville PWC is concerned that there is not sufficient information before the EMC for
the Commission to conclude that entering into the SOC is appropriate or that it will lead to
compliance with EPA's health advisory goal within the Cape Fear River. Making detailed
information available to the public would also afford interested parties a more meaningful
opportunity to comment on the draft SOC.
7. Fayetteville PWC believes careful consideration should be given to the operative language
of the SOC itself. For example, Paragraph 2(b)(i)(v) requires the City to modify its 1,4-
dioxane monitoring plan "as circumstances warrant." Similarly, Paragraphs 2(b)(9) and
2(c)(5) contain requirements to modify SIU permits or other pretreatment programs or
mechanisms "as appropriate." Fayetteville PWC is concerned that this type of aspirational
language lacks the detail and specificity necessary to be enforceable. Objective,
identifiable benchmarks and criteria for future action are critical to making the SOC's
requirements meaningful. Vague or undefined commitments in an enforceable consent
order invite future disputes among the parties and are far less likely to foster compliance
with EPA's health advisory goal.
Fayetteville PWC is also contributing to the understanding of 1,4-dioxane in the Cape Fear River
watershed by sharing results of our monitoring in the river, the P.O. Hoffer Water Treatment
Facility and the effluent from our Cross Creek and Rockfish Creek Water Reclamation Facilities.
We believe each utility in the Cape Fear River watershed has an obligation to work collaboratively
to protect public health through the sharing of data, engagement in activities such as the 1,4-

Ms. Brianna Young
July 23, 2020
Page 4
dioxane stakeholder group and making earnest progress in limiting emerging compounds in our
public water supplies. We expect DEQ to continue to make water quality data available in a timely
manner and be transparent in its process to hold sources of these compounds accountable for their
removal from discharges.
It is requested that a public meeting be held to discuss these concerns, disclose the full
administrative record for the draft SOC, and ultimately develop an SOC that results in the highest
feasible reduction of 1,4-dioxane in the shortest possible time. Fayetteville PWC also believes a
second comment period following the public meeting and disclosure of the administrative record,
but before redrafting of the SOC occurs, may also be appropriate.
No other river basin in the State of North Carolina comes close to having the level of 1,4-dioxane
contamination that is occurring in the Cape Fear River Basin.
Sincerely,
J�� 4&,/
Mick Noland. PE
Chief Operations Officer
Water Resources Division
Fayetteville Public Works Commission