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Home My WebLink AboutWQ0006560_Rescission Information 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 SENT VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL ONLY: NO HARD COPY WILL BE MAILED June 8, 2022 Thomas L Johnson Mason Mountain Mine tjrocks@frontier.com SUBJECT: 15A NCAC 02U Rule Change Mason Mountain Mine Macon County, North Carolina Non-discharge Permit No. WQ0006560 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- DocuSign Envelope ID: C59D7C58-4915-4A69-9E46-AC5DBB2C6DE9 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 DocuSign Envelope ID: C59D7C58-4915-4A69-9E46-AC5DBB2C6DE9