HomeMy WebLinkAboutWQ0003924_Sludge Pits Stormwater letter_20230906 O�
ROY COOPER _ n
Governor
ELIZABETH S.BISER
Secretary
RICHARD E.ROGERS,JR. NORTH CAROLINA
Director Environmental Quality
September 6, 2023
Mr. Ronald Buck—President (via email)
Linco Partnership
288 Whitehouse Drive
Lincolnton, NC 28093
Subject: Linco Partnership
Permit No. WQ0003924
Wastewater Irrigation System
Lincoln County
Dear Mr. Buck,
During the time from September 2021 through February 2022, Linco Partnership (Linco) and its
consultants took measures to remove water from the Rinse Pit (Front Pit),the Sludge Pits (Back Pits),
and 300,000-gallon EQ tank associated with the onsite wastewater(WW)treatment system.
The Back Pits were pressure washed and the wastewater was transported as Non-Hazardous Waste to
Waste Connections-Anson for final disposal during the dates of fall of 2021. The waste manifests and
photos of the cleaning activities were provided to the MRO as a matter of record. Water continues to
collect in the Back Pits because of the onsite piping network. As a result of the remedial actions taken to
clean the Back Pits, Linco has requested the water collected in the back pits be classified as stormwater
and not wastewater.
A site visit to the Linco facility was performed on January 25, 2023. The water present in the Back Pits at
the time displayed a sheen.The Back Pits were also nearly full and in danger of overflowing toward a
nearby UT. The concern was that the water present in the pits was wastewater.
Water sampling of the Back Pits was performed by CDG (formerly Shield Engineering) on April 26, 2023.
The MRO received the laboratory analytical data in May 2023. Except for Barium reporting at 6.47 ug/L,
well within the 1000 ug/L standard for surface water, the remaining constituents measured came back
as non-detect (ND).
Based on the cleaning and the sampling results of April 2023, the MRO agrees the water in the Back Pits
can be treated as stormwater rather than wastewater. Linco should coordinate any stormwater
permitting matters with the Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources' Stormwater Program.
The MRO has not signed off on a formal final closure plan that includes all components of the WWT
system present at the facility. Another request for a final closure plan including the Lagoon Closure has
been made by the MRO but the final plan has not been received. The permittee is trying to determine
an economic method for the disposal of the wastewater in the 2-million-gallon lagoon. In August 2023,
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources
Mooresville Regional Office 1 601 East Center Avenue,Suite 301 1 Mooresville,NC 28115
704.663.1699
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the MRO was verbally informed by CDG staff that they are in conversations with the City of Lincolnton to
accept the lagoon wastewater to Lincolnton's POTW. Please keep MRO staff appraised of this matter.
Should you have any questions,feel free to contact Edward Watson by phone at 704-235-2199 or by
email at edward.watson@deg.nc.gov.
Sincerely,
DocuSigned by:
A H PU#44
F161 FB69A2D84A3...
Andrew H. Pinter, P.G., Regional Supervisor
Mooresville Regional Office
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Division of Water Resources
CC: Tom Whitner, P.G., CDG (via email)
William T. Gordon, III, Stites and Harbison, PLLC (via email)
DWR files (Laserfiche)
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources
Mooresville Regional Office 1 601 East Center Avenue,Suite 301 1 Mooresville,NC 28115
NORTHCAROUNAD 704.663.1699
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