NC0039586_Inspection_20220915

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September 15, 2022

Thomas P Haaf, Vice President
Duke Energy Progress Inc.
5413 Shearon Harris Rd.
New Hill, NC 27562

Subject: Compliance Evaluation Inspection
Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant
NPDES Permit No. NC0039586
Wake County

Dear Mr. Haaf:

On August 10, 2022, Jason Robinson of the Raleigh Regional Office (RRO) conducted a compliance
evaluation inspection of the subject facility at 5413 Shearon Harris Road, New Hill, NC. The
assistance provided by Mr. Robert (Bob) Wilson (bORC), Don Sefrit, Scott Brooks (ORC), and Molly
Malloy was appreciated.

The NPDES Compliance inspection consisted of the following:

x Review of the NPDES permit
x Review of the owner/facility information
x Review of monitoring data and Electronic Discharge Monitoring Reports (eDMRs)
x Review of operator logbook
x Walk-thru inspection of the facility and observation of treatment units

1. The current permit became effective on September 30, 2021 and expires on August 31, 2026.
The facility has seven permitted outfalls. The receiving waters are eventually Buckhorn Creek
(Harris Lake Reservoir), a WS-V water in the Cape Fear Basin.

2. The facility is classified as both a WW-2 and PC-2 facility. Scott Brooks is the primary operator
in responsible charge (ORC) and has a WW-2 and PC-2 Certification. Mr. Robert Wilson is one
of the backup operators (bORC) and has a WW-2 and PC-2 certification. The facility has
numerous back-up operators.

3. The facility’s lab is certified to analyze Hydrazine, pH, Chlorine, DO and Temperature under
Lab Certificate #398. Fecal Coliform is analyzed by Pace Raleigh and BOD is analyzed by Pace
Asheville. Temperature of all the samplers at the different outfalls visited were in the
appropriate range.





 
   

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4. A cursory review of laboratory and eDMR date for December 2021 and March 2022 showed
consistent reporting of results and complete chains of custody.

5. ORC Logbooks were inspected and were detailed and complete.

6. Section A.(9) of the previous version of the permit required the Permittee to submit a
Corrective Action Plan summarizing the actions to be taken to achieve compliance with the
total copper and total zinc limits at outfall 006 and a schedule of activities to implement the
plan. A plan was submitted in August 2017, and update reports were submitted in August
2018 and August 2019. Based on the results of a Water Effect Ratio (WER) and Reasonable
Potential Analysis, the limits for Copper and Zinc were eliminated from the permit. If the
facility desires to extend WER based copper elimination for the next permit term, the facility
shall conduct a new WER Study.

7. Section A.(21) of this permit addresses stormwater monitoring requirements. This permit will
continue to cover stormwater requirements until an individual stormwater permit is issued by
the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources. The permit required the development of
a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan. An updated plan dated September 2020 was
available for review, and records of semi-annual monitoring at the stormwater outfalls were
reviewed. Several of the stormwater outfalls were also observed. It is anticipated that a
separate stormwater permit will be issued by DEMLR in the upcoming months.

8. The facility has had no monitoring report violations since 2019.

9. The facility has seven outfalls:

a. Outfall 001 - Internal outfall for cooling tower blowdown discharge
i. Sodium hypochlorite, phosphoric acid and polymers are added.
ii. Sediment collects in the center of the tower basin and is removed during
outages and brought an industrial landfill by Shamrock. This is only
necessary every 6-7 years
iii. This outfall does not have flow limits and averaged 7.78 MGD from July
2021 to July 2022.

b. Outfall 002 – Treatment and internal outfall for domestic Sanitary Waste Treatment Plant
discharge. All domestic wastewater from the facility is treated at this location.
i. The dual package plant at this site includes a primary treatment tank,
equalization basin, aeration basin, sludge holding tanks, clarifiers, chlorine
contact tanks, recirculating bed filters and sand filters. However, this dual
package plant has not been used in several years and is being kept as a
backup, except for the equalization basin and sludge holding tanks.
ii. Instead of using the dual package plant at this site, the wastewater is
treated using T-Max Units, Ax-Max Units and UV disinfection. The T-Max
units act as septic tanks, and the Ax-Max units utilize filter media. There
are three UV cylinders in series that are replaced every six months. The
most recent version of the permit had the T-Max and Ax-Max units and
the UV disinfection added to it.
iii. This outfall has a monthly flow limit of 0.65 MGD and averaged 6,700 GPD




 
   

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between July 2021 and July 2022.
iv. Sludge is stored in basins in the package plant and hauled by Granville
Farms. Sludge hauling records were observed.

c. Outfall 003 – Internal outfall of Metal Cleaning Wastes.
i. Neutralization basin with a monthly flow limit of .05 MGD. Flows are
measured during discharge using pump logs, as allowed in the permit.
ii. Treatment includes two concrete ponds.
iii. Staff stated there hasn’t been a release from this outfall in years.
iv. This internal outfall is located inside the protected area and was not
visited during this inspection.

d. Outfall 004 - Internal outfall for low volume wastes, including membrane backwash water.
i. Treatment includes a sedimentation basin, mainly to treat TSS.
ii. Outfall has a monthly average flow limit of 1.5 MGD. Flows averaged
181,000 GPD between July 2021 and July 2022. Flows are measured using
pump logs.
iii. This internal outfall is located inside the protected area and was not visited
during this inspection.

e. Outfall 005 – Internal outfall for Radwaste system.
i. No flow limit in the permit for this outfall. Flows are estimated during
discharge. Flows averaged 20,000 GPD in between July 2021 and July 2022
ii. Staff stated that this outfall typically only releases one or two times a
month.
iii. This internal outfall is located inside the protected area and was not visited
during this inspection.

f. Outfall 006 – Internal outfalls 001 – 005, as well as the cooling tower bypass (water that is
pulled from the lake but is not used in the cooling tower) combine and are discharged at
external Outfall 006, which is located in the Shearon Harris Reservoir.
i. The sampling for this outfall is done in a small building and raised manhole.
ii. Composite and grab samples are collected from the manhole.
iii. There is no flow limit for this outfall. Flows are determined by adding all
other flows from outfall 001-006 and a bypass line from the make-up
pumps. The flow average at this outfall was approximately 14.66 MGD
between July 2021 and July 2022. The majority of this comes from Outfall
001, the discharge from the cooling tower.
iv. The actual effluent discharge pipe is located in the Shearon Harris Reservoir
(approximately 30 feet deep) and cannot be visually observed.

g. Outfall 007 – Treatment and Outfall for the Harris Energy & Environmental Center, which
is located down the road at 3932 New Holleman Rd, New Hill, NC.
i. This system includes two lined, aerated lagoons in series, a polishing pond,
liquid chlorination, a tertiary sand filter, and tablet de-chlorination.
ii. This outfall has a monthly flow limit of .02 MGD and averaged 114,100 GPD
between July 2021 and July 2022.
iii. Flow is manually released from Lagoon #2 into the polishing pond and




 
   

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manually released from the polishing pond to the tertiary filter.
iv. Sodium hypochlorite is manually added after Lagoon #2.
v. All samples are grab samples, except for chronic toxicity, which is tested
quarterly via a composite sample.
vi. This outfall is located in a northern finger of Harris Reservoir in a woody,
swampy area. The effluent discharge pipe was not visited.

If you have any questions regarding the attached reports or any of the findings, please contact Jason
Robinson at: [phone] (or email: [e-mail]).

Sincerely,

Scott Vinson, Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Raleigh Regional Office
Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ

ATTACHMENTS
Compliance Inspection Report

Cc: DWR Laserfiche
Regional Office w/attachment
[e-mail]
[e-mail]