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Home My WebLink AboutWQ0003442_Rescission Options Letter_20220608 North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality | Division of Water Resources Asheville Regional Office | 2090 U.S. Highway 70 | Swannanoa, North Carolina 28778 828.296.4500 June 8, 2022 Wesser Ruby Mine, LLC Nantahala Gorge Ruby Mine CLRS PO Box 159 Almond, NC 28702 SUBJECT: 15A NCAC 02U Rule Change Nantahala Gorge Ruby Mine CLRS Swain County, North Carolina Non-discharge Permit No. WQ0003442 Dear Permittee, We wanted to bring to your attention a change in the rules that govern closed-loop recycle systems per 15A NCAC 02U. Pursuant to15A NCAC -2U.0113, item 18, effective March 21, 2019, Gem Mining Facilities meeting the following requirements are now considered “permitted by regulation”: “Recycling of rinse water for separating gems from gravel, sand, or rock in a flume at commercial gem mine facilities with total system flow of less than 100,000 gpd, provided the wastewater is contained within storage structures, no biological or chemical additives are used, and the facility develops and maintains a spill control plan in the event of a wastewater release. The facility shall notify the appropriate Division regional office in writing noting the owner, location, and that the design complies with the required criteria.” If you determine that your facility meets these requirements, a permit rescission request may be submitted to Nathaniel Thornburg with the Non-Discharge Permitting Unit through the following methods: Email requests can be sent to Nathaniel.Thornburg@ncdenr.gov -or- North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality | Division of Water Resources Asheville Regional Office | 2090 U.S. Highway 70 | Swannanoa, North Carolina 28778 828.296.4500 Letter requests can be mailed to: Division of Water Resources Non-Discharge Branch C/O Nathaniel Thornburg 1617 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1617 If you have specific questions or wish to discuss further, please contact me at 828-296-4653 or via email at Melanie.Kemp@ncdenr.gov. Sincerely, Melanie Kemp, Environmental Specialist I Water Quality Regional Operations Section Asheville Regional Office Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ EC: LF