NC0024406_24406- Draft Cover Letter-2020_20210311

ROY COOPER
Governor
MICHAEL S. REGAN
Secretary
S. DANIEL SMITH
Director
Mr. Paul Draovitch, Senior Vice President
Environmental, Health and Safety
Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC
Mail Code EC13K
P.O. Box 1006
Charlotte, North Carolina 28201-1006
Dear Mr. Draovitch:
NORTH CAROLINA
Environmental Quality
December 15, 2020
Subject: Draft NPDES Major Modification
Permit NC0024406
Belews Steam Station
Stokes County
Facility Class I
The Division has received your request for a Major Modification of the subject permit.
Enclosed with this letter is the modified permit. Please review this permit modification carefully to
ensure thorough understanding of the conditions and requirements it contains.
The draft permit modification contains the following significant changes from your current
permit:
• The Technology Based Effluent Limits for Total Arsenic, Total Mercury, Total Selenium, and
Nitrate/nitrite as N have been updated to reflect the latest EPA changes to the Effluent
Guidelines per 40 CFR 423 (Internal Outfall 002).
• The TSS limits at Internal Outfall 009 have been increased from 30 mg/L to 90 mg/L
(Monthly Average) and from 45.0 mg/L to 135.0 mg/L (daily maximum) to reflect the fact
the facility is using a lagoon for treating domestic waste and these limits meet the
requirements of 15A NCAC 2B .406. In addition, monitoring for ammonia nitrogen, pH, and
temperature have been add to Internal Outfall 009 per 15A NCAC 2B .406.
• Leachate flow has been added to the Lined Retention Basin (Outfall 006) to accommodate
treatment of future leachate flows from the CCR landfill that will be constructed at the site.
NORTH NA
Department
nt 0! of Environmental Uuali�
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources
512 North Salisbury Street 11617 Mail Service Center I Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1617
919.707.9000

• Monitoring for Total Iron have been removed from Outfall 003 and Outfall 006a since all the
wastewater flows have been rerouted from the Ash Basin to the Lined Retention Basin.
• A narrative condition for discharge of pollutants in bottom ash transport water was added to
Outfall 006.
Please provide any comments you have regarding the draft permit modification to this
office by January 18, 2021. At this time, the Division is also publishing a notice in the newspapers of
general circulation in Stokes County, inviting public comment on the Draft Modification. Following
the 30-day comment period, we will review all pertinent comments received and take appropriate action
on the permit modification.
If you have any questions about the NPDES permit process, please contact me at the
following e-mail address: sergei.chernikov, c@i,ncdenr.gov, or telephone number: 919-707-3606.
Sincerely,
Sergei Chernikov, Ph.D.
Environmental Engineer III
Industrial NPDES Permitting Unit
cc: Central Files
NPDES Files
EPA Region IV (e-copy)
Winston-Salem Regional Office/Water Quality (e-copy)
Winston-Salem Regional Office/PWS (e-copy)
WSS/Aquatic Toxicology Unit (e-copy)