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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 o�nom,m oi m �o�mendi Ouai� 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 o.p.m.m or a m—.m a..i�