NC0081949_E. coli Sampling_20230320

Baker, Caroline D
From: Pitner, Andrew
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 4:29 PM
To: Scheller, Roberto
Subject: FW: [External] RE: NC0081949 Tuckertown Powerhouse and NC0076775 Falls
Powerhouse E. coli Monitoring
FYI
Andrew Pitner, P.G. - [e-mail]
Division of Water Resources - Water Quality Regional Operations
Mooresville Regional Office (MRO)
North Carolina Department of Environment & Natural Resources
610 East Center Avenue, Suite 301, Mooresville, NC 28115
MRO Main Phone: [phone]
Direct Office Phone: [phone]
MRO Fax: [phone]
DWR website: http://www.ncwater.org
NOTICE: Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be
disclosed to third parties unless the content is exempt by statute or other regulation.
From: Coco, Nick A <[e-mail]>
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2023 3:29 PM
To: Ken McRae <[e-mail]>; Paul Tran <[e-mail]>; Jim Wentz
<J i m. [e-mail]>
Cc: Montebello, Michael J<[e-mail]>; Kountis, Elizabeth <[e-mail]>;
Higgins, Karen <[e-mail]>; Pitner, Andrew <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: [External] RE: NC0081949 Tuckertown Powerhouse and NC0076775 Falls Powerhouse E. coli Monitoring
Dear Paul, Ken and Jim,
During the last 2 weeks since sending the letter of request for participation in the Division's E. coli study on March 8,
2023, a few clarifying questions have been asked and we would like to share the questions and responses to help avoid
any confusion during the duration of this study.
1. The holding time for bacteria is 8 hours based on Table II in 40 CFR Part 136.3. Is there a reason that a six -hour
limit has been set?
Response: The 6-hour time is to give the lab time to process the sample and get it into the incubator within the
8-hour holding time. This time limit is consistent with the work that the Division is conducting as part of this
study.
2. The letter states, "Each site will be sampled for fecal coliform (Method SM 9222 D-2015 or SM 9221 E-2014 or
IDEXX Colilert°-18)."According to the requirements in 40 CFR Part 136.3, Tables IA and IH, when testing fecal
coliform, Colilert-18 is only approved for wastewater samples, not ambient samples (upstream/downstream).
Response: This is correct and should have been clarified in the letter. When testing fecal coliform, Colilert-18 is
only approved for wastewater samples, not ambient samples (upstream/downstream). The Colilert-18 method
is not approved for fecal coliform in instream samples and shall not be used for those samples. However, it can
be used for all sample types when determining E. Coli.
3. How should our results be reported? Will this be within the eDMR system or has a separate data submittal
process been developed?

Response: Data is to be reported in your eDMRs. A separate outfall, Outfall EC1, has been set up for your data
submittal.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact either me or Elizabeth Kountis (e-mail:
[e-mail], phone: [phone]).
Best,
Nick Coco, PE (he/him/his)
Engineer ///
NPDES Municipal Permitting Unit
NC DEQ/ Division of Water Resources / Water Quality Permitting
Office: [phone]
[e-mail]
"Email is preferred but 1 am available to talk by via Microsoft Teams"
Physical Address: 512 North Salisbury St.,Raleigh, NC, 27604
Mailing Address: 1617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC, 27699-1617
D_ E
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NORTH CAROLINA7AM Q
ClAi
Department of Environmental Quality
Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the North
Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.
From: Coco, Nick A
Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2023 9:05 AM
To: Ken McRae <[e-mail]>; Paul Tran <[e-mail]>; Jim Wentz
<J i m. [e-mail]>
Subject: RE: [External] RE: NCO081949 Tuckertown Powerhouse E. coli Monitoring
Hi all,
Ken did a really great job summarizing out discussion. I just wanted to mention that it's upstream and downstream of
the facility, as well as the sump outfall, as Ken noted. Please look at the letters for more specifics regarding which
parameters will need to be sampled for, since it is not just e. coli at each of these sampling locations.
Just to show the snippet from the letter related to parameters: "Each site will be sampled for fecal coliform (Method SM
9222 D-2015 or SM 9221 E-2014 or IDEXX Colilert®-18), E. coli (Method IDEXX Colilert) or IDEXX Colilert®-18), and
turbidity (Method SM 2130 B-2011) and be accompanied by a routine probe reading for temperature, dissolved oxygen
(DO), standard conductivity, and pH. Each instream sampling event shall also be accompanied by a concurrent
precipitation recording. If standard conductivity cannot be measured via probe at any site, standard conductivity is to be
measured in the laboratory (Method SM 2510 B-2011). Five samples shall be taken at each sampling site during each
month within the swim season of April, May, June, July and August 2023, representing a variety of climatic conditions
including before and after rainfall events. For each sampling site, individual samples must be collected at intervals
greater than 12 hours."

Thanks,
Nick Coco, PE (he/him/his)
Engineer ///
NPDES Municipal Permitting Unit
NC DEQ/ Division of Water Resources / Water Quality Permitting
Office: [phone]
[e-mail]
"Email is preferred but 1 am available to talk by via Microsoft Teams"
Physical Address: 512 North Salisbury St.,Raleigh, NC, 27604
Mailing Address: 1617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC, 27699-1617
D- E
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NORTH CAROLINA7AM Q
kipi
Department of Environmental Quality
Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the North
Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.
From: Ken McRae <[e-mail]>
Sent: Monday, March 13, 2023 4:43 PM
To: Coco, Nick A <[e-mail]>; Paul Tran <[e-mail]>; Jim Wentz
<J i m. [e-mail]>
Subject: [External] RE: NCO081949 Tuckertown Powerhouse E. coli Monitoring
CAUTION: External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless you verify. Send all suspicious email as an attachment to
Report Spam.
Good afternoon all.
Per conversations with Nick Coco we will be collecting samples at Tuckertown and Falls powerhouses as part of a
study of e coli in the water during the months of April, May, June, July, and August. We are asked to take 5 samples per
month during this time.
Samples will be collected at least 100' upstream, 100' upstream, and from the station sump outfall.
I will reach out to the testing facility and verify that these samples can be grabbed from the shoreline.
This means that 5 times per month we will be testing 3 samples at each location. Once I hear back from testing facility I
will know if they will provide collection kits procedures on collection and shipping.
This study is only for 2023 and hopefully will not need to be repeated in the following years.
Ken McRae
From: Coco, Nick A <[e-mail]>
Sent: Monday, March 13, 2023 3:16 PM
To: Ken McRae <[e-mail]>
Cc: Scheller, Roberto <[e-mail]>; Kountis, Elizabeth <[e-mail]>; Montebello,

Michael J <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: NCO081949 Tuckertown Powerhouse E. coli Monitoring
[This email originated OUTSIDE of Eagle Creek. Exercise caution. DO NOT open attachments or click links
from unknown senders or unexpected email.]
Hi Ken,
Sorry for the delay on this. I got a better understanding of what we are looking for and for this facility, we would like
effluent sampling at the sump drain outfall (I believe this is Outfall 004), and instream sampling upstream of all outfalls
and above the Tuckertown Dam in Tuckertown Reservoir, and downstream of all outfalls and below Tuckertown Dam in
Badin Lake.
Please let me know if you have any further questions about the study.
Thanks,
Nick Coco, PE (he/him/his)
Engineer 111
NPDES Municipal Permitting Unit
NC DEQ/ Division of Water Resources / Water Quality Permitting
Office: [phone]
[e-mail]
"Email is preferred but 1 am available to talk by via Microsoft Teams"
Physical Address: 512 North Salisbury St.,Raleigh, NC, 27604
Mailing Address: 1617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC, 27699-1617
D- E
kj/�
NORTH CAROLINA
Department of Environmental Quality
Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the North
Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.
From: Coco, Nick A
Sent: Monday, March 13, 2023 10:01 AM
To: [e-mail]
Cc: Scheller, Roberto <[e-mail]>; Kountis, Elizabeth <[e-mail]>
Subject: FW: NCO081949 Tuckertown Powerhouse E. coli Monitoring
Good morning Ken,
I hope all is well.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) is committed to proposing a statewide Escherichia
coli (E. coli) standard for primary recreation (Class B) freshwaters. Shifting to a statewide E. coli standard requires
additional monitoring across the state. This monitoring is to be conducted in Class B waters by NCDEQ as well as by
NPDES dischargers to Class B waters that are potentially affected by the proposed standard.

The Tuckertown Powerhouse, permitted under NPDES Permit NC0081949, has been selected to take part in the
additional sampling effort necessary for development of the proposed E. coli standard. Please see the attached letter,
which has also been mailed out physically today, March 8, 2023, for additional information regarding the required
sampling.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact either me or Elizabeth Kountis (e-mail:
[e-mail], phone: [phone]).
I had sent this email last week to Mr. Tran and Mr. Gross, but it seems that both emails bounced back. I was able to get
an updated email address for you today as a contact for this facility, and wanted to send this email to you so you were in
the loop.
Best,
Nick Coco, PE (he/him/his)
Engineer III
NPDES Municipal Permitting Unit
NC DEQ/ Division of Water Resources / Water Quality Permitting
Office: [phone]
[e-mail]
"Email is preferred but 1 am available to talk by via Microsoft Teams"
Physical Address: 512 North Salisbury St.,Raleigh, NC, 27604
Mailing Address: 1617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC, 27699-1617
D_ E
kj/�
NORTH CAROLINA
Department of Environmental Quality
Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the North
Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.
From: Coco, Nick A
Sent: Wednesday, March 8, 2023 4:37 PM
To: otran(@cubecarolinas.com
Cc: Montebello, Michael J<[e-mail]>; Pitner, Andrew <[e-mail]>; Grzyb,
Julie <[e-mail]>; Higgins, Karen <[e-mail]>; Wojoski, Paul A
<[e-mail]>; Kountis, Elizabeth <[e-mail]>; [e-mail]
Subject: NCO081949 Tuckertown Powerhouse E. coli Monitoring
Dear Mr. Tran,
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) is committed to proposing a statewide Escherichia
coli (E. coli) standard for primary recreation (Class B) freshwaters. Shifting to a statewide E. coli standard requires
additional monitoring across the state. This monitoring is to be conducted in Class B waters by NCDEQ as well as by
NPDES dischargers to Class B waters that are potentially affected by the proposed standard.

The Tuckertown Powerhouse, permitted under NPDES Permit NC0081949, has been selected to take part in the
additional sampling effort necessary for development of the proposed E. coli standard. Please see the attached letter,
which has also been mailed out physically today, March 8, 2023, for additional information regarding the required
sampling.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact either me or Elizabeth Kountis (e-mail:
[e-mail], phone: [phone]).
Best,
Nick Coco, PE (he/him/his)
Engineer III
NPDES Municipal Permitting Unit
NC DEQ/ Division of Water Resources / Water Quality Permitting
Office: [phone]
[e-mail]
**Email is preferred but 1 am available to talk by via Microsoft Teams**
Physical Address: 512 North Salisbury St.,Raleigh, NC, 27604
Mailing Address: 1617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC, 27699-1617
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NORTH CAROLINA -
Department of Environmental Quality
Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the North
Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.