NC0074306_Draft Permit_20240514

ROY COOPER
Governor
ELIZABETH S. BISER
Secretary
RICHARD E. ROGERS, JR.
Director
Jason Webb
Town of Forest City
P.O. Box 728
Forest City, NC 28043
Dear Mr. Webb:
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NORTH CAROLINA
Environmental Quality
May 14, 2024
Subject: Draft of NPDES Permit NCO074306
Town of Forest City WTP
Rutherford County
Grade I Physical Chemical WPCS
The Division has reviewed your request to renew the subject permit. Please review this draft carefully to ensure a
thorough understanding of the information, conditions, and requirements it contains.
This draft contains the following major changes from the existing permit:
• Section A. (4.) has been updated regarding electronic submission of effluent data. Federal regulations
require electronic submittal of all discharge monitoring reports (DMRs).
• Chronic Toxicity in Section A. (L) and A. (2.) has been updated from monitoring to pass/fail limit per the
Division's 2020 strategy.
• Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen and Nitrate + Nitrite monitoring has been added to Section A. (1).
• A citation has been added to Section A. (3.) regarding the facility's Discharge Monitoring Reporting
Waiver.
• The Duration of Discharge parameter has been added to A. (L); the footnote has been removed.
The NPDES standard conditions (Parts II, III, and IV) that are a part of the permit are not included in this draft
document (cover, map, and Part I). The conditions are the same as in your current permit except that agency and
division names have been updated. The latest version is available at https://bit.ly/3k5NFaL and can be viewed
online or downloaded as a PDF file.
With this notification, the Division will solicit public comment on this draft permit by publishing a notice in
newspapers having circulation in the general Rutherford County area, per EPA requirements. Please provide
your comments, if any, to me no later than 30 days after receiving this draft permit.
Following the 30-day public comment period, the Division will review all pertinent comments and take
appropriate action prior to issuing a final permit. If you have questions concerning the draft, please contact me via
e-mail at [e-mail] or via phone at 919-707-3600.
Sincerely,
S-1— 9--w
Sara Bassett
Environmental Specialist I
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NPDES Compliance and Expedited Permitting
cc: NPDES files [Laserfiche]
Asheville Regional Office [Laserfiche]
Operator Certification Program [Laserfiche]
Aquatic Toxicology Branch [Laserfiche]
Public Water Supply

NPDES Permit NCO074306
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES
PERMIT
TO DISCHARGE WASTEWATER UNDER THE
NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM
NPDES
In compliance with the provision of North Carolina General Statute 143-215.1, other lawful standards
and regulations promulgated and adopted by the North Carolina Environmental Management
Commission, and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, the
Town of Forest City
is hereby authorized to discharge wastewater from a facility located at the
Forest City WTP
581 Vance Street
Forest City
Rutherford County
to receiving waters designated as an unnamed tributary to the Second Broad River in the Broad River
Basin in accordance with effluent limitations, monitoring requirements, and other conditions set forth in
Parts I, II, III and IV hereof.
This permit shall become effective
This permit and authorization to discharge shall expire at midnight on May 31, 2029.
If the permittee intends to continue to discharge at the facility beyond the term of this permit, a renewal
application must be submitted no later than December 2, 2028 (180 days before the expiration of this
permit).
Signed this day
John E. Hennessy, Section Chief Regional Operations
Division of Water Resources
By Authority of the Environmental Management Commission
Page 1 of 9

NPDES Permit NC0074306
SUPPLEMENT TO PERMIT COVER SHEET
All previous NPDES Permits issued to this facility, whether for operation or discharge are hereby
revoked. As of this permit issuance, any previously issued permit bearing this number is no longer
effective. Therefore, the exclusive authority to operate and discharge from this facility arises under the
permit conditions, requirements, terms, and provisions included herein.
The Town of Forest City
is hereby authorized to:
Continue operate a conventional water treatment plant with a discharge of wastewaters from filter
backwash. This water treatment plant currently has a design potable flowrate of 8 MGD, and has not
discharged during the previous permit cycle. All decant from the basins is pumped back to the head
of the facility. This facility is located at 581 Vance Street in Forest City in Rutherford County. Water
and wastewater treatment consists of:
• Rapid Mix chamber (coagulation and disinfection)
• Flocculation
• Sedimentation
• Filtration
• Disinfection
• Two (2) 1,000,000 gallon sludge storage lagoons
Chemical treatment consists of:
• Fluoride
• Zinc -orthophosphate
• Poly aluminum chloride
• Sodium hypochlorite
• Sodium hydroxide
2. Discharge from said treatment works at the location specified on the attached map into an unnamed
tributary to Second Broad River [Stream Segment: 9-41-(12.7)], a waterbody currently classified
WS-V in subbasin 03-08-02 [HUC: 0305010504] in the Broad River Basin.
Page 2 of 9

NPDES Permit NCO074306
PART I.
A. (1.) EFFLUENT LIMITATIONS AND MONITORING REQUIREMENTS
[15A NCAC 0213.0400 et seq., 0213.0500 et seq.]
Grade I Physical Chemical WPCS [15A NCAC 08G .0306]
During the period beginning on the effective date of this permit and lasting until expiration, the
Permittee is authorized to discharge filter backwash from outfall 001. Such discharges shall be limited
and monitored' by the Permittee as specified below:
EFFLUENT CHARACTERISTICS
Parameter Code
LIMITATIONS
MONITORING REQUIREMENTS
Monthly
Average
Daily
Maximum
Measurement
Frequency
Sample T
pType
Sample
Location
Flow (MGD) 50050
Monitor & Report
2/Month
Instantaneous
Effluent
Duration of Discharge 81381
Hours
Monitor & Report
2/Month
Instantaneous
Effluent
TSS (mg/L) C0530
30 mg/L
45 mg/L
2/Month
Grab
Effluent
pH (s.u.) 00400
6.0 s.u. < pH < 9.0 s.u.
2/Month
Grab
Effluent
Total Residual Chlorine 50060 2
�µg/L)
—7
17 µg/L
2/Month
Grab
Effluent
Turbidity (NTU) 00070
Monitor & Report
Monthly
Grab
Effluent
Aluminum (µg/L) 01105
Monitor & Report
Quarterly
Grab
Effluent
Total Copper (µg/L) 01042
Monitor & Report
Quarterly
Grab
Effluent
Manganese (µg/L) 01055
Monitor & Report
Quarterly
Grab
Effluent
Total Fluoride (µg/L) 00951
Monitor & Report
Quarterly
Grab
Effluent
Total Zinc (µg/L) 01092
Monitor & Report
Quarterly
Grab
Effluent
TKN (mg/L) 00625
Monitor & Report
Quarterly
Grab
Effluent
NO3-N + NO2-N (mg/L) 00630
Monitor & Report
Quarterly
Grab
Effluent
Total Nitrogen (mg/L) 6 C0600
Monitor & Report
Quarterly
Calculated
Effluent
Total Phosphorus C0665
Monitor & Report
Quarterly
Grab
Effluent
Hardness — Total as CaCO3 (mg/L) 3 00900
Monitor & Report
Quarterly
Grab
Effluent
Hardness — Total as 00900
CaCO3 (mg/L)
Monitor & Report
Quarterly
Grab
Upstream
Whole Effluent Toxicity 5 TAA313
Pass/Fail
Quarterly
Grab
Effluent
Footnotes:
1. The permittee shall submit discharge monitoring reports electronically using the NC DWR's eDMR
application system [see Section A. (4)].
2. The Division shall consider all effluent TRC values reported below 50 µg/L to be in compliance with the
permit. However, the Permittee shall continue to record and submit all values reported by a North Carolina
certified laboratory (including field certified), even if these values fall below 50 µg/L.
Page 3 of 9

NPDES Permit NCO074306
3. Effluent hardness sampling should be performed in conjunction with testing for hardness dependent metals
(cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, silver, and zinc).
4. The Permittee shall sample instream hardness, upstream of the facility's discharge if flow is available. The
sample shall be representative of the hardness in the receiving stream. If the Permittee is a member of the
Monitoring Coalition Program, sampling for instream hardness may be waived as long as the Monitoring
coalition agrees to sample hardness at the nearest upstream location, at a minimum frequency of quarterly,
and the Permittee has obtained approval from DWR-NPDES Permitting Unit that the upstream station being
monitored by the Coalition is representative of the receiving stream for this discharge. The Permittee is
responsible for submitting instream hardness test results with its permit renewal application package. If
Coalition membership is cancelled or the Coalition terminates instream hardness sampling at the approved
station, the Permittee will immediately notify the Division and resume sampling for instream hardness,
upstream of its discharge.
5. Toxicity testing should be performed using Ceriodaphnia dubia 48 hour acute pass/fail test @ 90%
concentration during the months of January, April, July, and October. [See Section A. (2)].
6. For a given wastewater sample, TN = TKN + NO3-N + NO2-N, where TN is Total Nitrogen, TKN is Total
Kjeldahl Nitrogen, and NO3-N and NO2-N are Nitrate and Nitrite Nitrogen, respectively.
Conditions:
All samples collected should be from a representative discharge event.
THERE SHALL BE NO DISCHARGE OF FLOATING SOLIDS OR VISIBLE FOAM IN OTHER THAN
TRACE AMOUNTS.
Page 4 of 9

NPDES Permit NCO074306
A. (2.) ACUTE TOXICITY PASS/FAIL LIMIT (QUARTERLY)
[15A NCAC 02B .0500 et seq.] [15A NCAC 02B .0200 et seq.]
The permittee shall conduct acute toxicity tests on a quarterly basis using protocols defined in the
E.P.A. Document EPA/600/4-90/027 entitled "Methods for Measuring the Acute Toxicity of Effluents
to Freshwater and Marine Organisms." The monitoring shall be performed as a Ceriodaphnia dubia 48
hour static test. The effluent concentration at which there may be at no time significant acute mortality is
90 % (defined as treatment two in the procedure document). Effluent samples for self -monitoring
purposes must be obtained during representative effluent discharge below all waste treatment. The tests
will be performed during the months of January, April, July, and October. These months signify the
first month of each three month toxicity testing quarter assigned to the facility. Effluent sampling for
this testing shall be performed at the NPDES permitted final effluent discharge below all treatment
processes.
Should any single quarterly monitoring indicate a failure to meet specified limits, then monthly
monitoring will begin immediately until such time that a single test is passed. Upon passing, this
monthly test requirement will revert to quarterly in the months specified above.
All toxicity testing results required as part of this permit condition will be entered on the Effluent
Discharge Monitoring Form (MR-1) for the month in which it was performed, using the parameter code
TAA3B. Additionally, DWQ Form AT-2 (original) is to be sent to the following address:
Attention: North Carolina Division of Water Quality
Environmental Sciences Section
1621 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1621
Or, results can be sent to the email, ATForms.ATBkdeq.nc.gov
Completed Aquatic Toxicity Test Forms shall be filed with the Water Sciences Section no later than 30
days after the end of the reporting period for which the report is made.
Test data shall be complete and accurate and include all supporting chemical/physical measurements
performed in association with the toxicity tests, as well as all dose/response data. Total residual chlorine
of the effluent toxicity sample must be measured and reported if chlorine is employed for disinfection of
the waste stream.
Should there be no discharge of flow from the facility during a month in which toxicity monitoring is
required, the permittee will complete the information located at the top of the aquatic toxicity (AT) test
form indicating the facility name, permit number, pipe number, county, and the month/year of the report
with the notation of "No Flow" in the comment area of the form. The report shall be submitted to the
Environmental Sciences Section at the address cited above.
Should the permittee fail to monitor during a month in which toxicity monitoring is required, then
monthly monitoring will begin immediately until such time that a single test is passed. Upon passing,
this monthly test requirement will revert to quarterly in the months specified above.
Page 5 of 9

NPDES Permit NCO074306
Should any test data from either these monitoring requirements or tests performed by the North Carolina
Division of Water Resources indicate potential impacts to the receiving stream, this permit may be re-
opened and modified to include alternate monitoring requirements or limits.
If the Permittee monitors any pollutant more frequently then required by this permit, the results of such
monitoring shall be included in the calculation & reporting of the data submitted on the DMR & all AT
Form submitted.
NOTE: Failure to achieve test conditions as specified in the cited document, such as minimum control
organism survival and appropriate environmental controls, shall constitute an invalid test and will
require immediate follow-up testing to be completed no later than the last day of the month following
the month of the initial monitoring.
A. (3.) DISCHARGE MONITORING REPORTING WAIVER
[15A NCAC 02B .0506]
According to the Division's records, the facility currently has a reporting waiver for submitting
Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs) as wastewater is currently recycled back to the head of the
facility and is not actively discharged. If or when a discharge to the receiving stream stated in this permit
is ever intended or needed, notification to the Asheville Regional Office and the Central Office is
required.
A. (4.) ELECTRONIC REPORTING - DISCHARGE MONITORING REPORTS
[G.S. 143-215.1 (b)]
Federal regulations require electronic submittal of all discharge monitoring reports (DMRs) and program
reports. The final NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule was adopted and became effective on December
21, 2015.
NOTE: This special condition supplements or supersedes the following sections within Part II of this
permit (Standard Conditions for NPDES Permits):
• Section B. (11.)
• Section D. (2.)
• Section D. (6.)
• Section E. (5.)
Signatory Requirements
Reporting
Records Retention
Monitoring Reports
1. Reporting Requirements [Supersedes Section D. (2.) and Section E. (5.) (a)I
The permittee shall report discharge monitoring data electronically using the NC DWR's Electronic
Discharge Monitoring Report (eDMR) internet application.
Monitoring results obtained during the previous month(s) shall be summarized for each month and
submitted electronically using eDMR. The eDMR system allows permitted facilities to enter
Page 6 of 9

NPDES Permit NC0074306
monitoring data and submit DMRs electronically using the internet. The eDMR system may be
accessed at: hM2s:Hdeq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-resources/edmr.
If a permittee is unable to use the eDMR system due to a demonstrated hardship or due to the facility
being physically located in an area where less than 10 percent of the households have broadband
access, then a temporary waiver from the NPDES electronic reporting requirements may be granted
and discharge monitoring data may be submitted on paper DMR forms (MR 1, 1.1, 2, 3) or
alternative forms approved by the Director. Duplicate signed copies shall be submitted to the
following address:
NC DEQ / Division of Water Resources / Water Quality Permitting Section
ATTENTION: Central Files
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1617
See "How to Request a Waiver from Electronic Reporting" section below.
Monitoring results obtained during the previous month(s) shall be summarized for each month and
reported via the eDMR system no later than the last calendar day of the month following the
completed reporting period. Regardless of the submission method, the first DMR is due on the last
day of the month following the issuance of the permit or in the case of a new facility, on the last day
of the month following the commencement of discharge.
Starting on December 21, 2025, the permittee must electronically report the following compliance
monitoring data and reports, when applicable:
Sewer Overflow/Bypass Event Reports;
Pretreatment Program Annual Reports; and
Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 316(b) Annual Reports.
The permittee may seek an electronic reporting waiver from the Division (see "How to Request a
Waiver from Electronic Reporting" section below).
2. Electronic Submissions
In accordance with 40 CFR 122.41(1)(9), the permittee must identify the initial recipient at the time
of each electronic submission. The permittee should use the EPA's website resources to identify the
initial recipient for the electronic submission.
Initial recipient of electronic NPDES information from NPDES-regulated facilities means the entity
(EPA or the state authorized by EPA to implement the NPDES program) that is the designated entity
for receiving electronic NPDES data [see 40 CFR 127.2(b)].
EPA plans to establish a website that will also link to the appropriate electronic reporting tool for
each type of electronic submission and for each state. Instructions on how to access and use the
appropriate electronic reporting tool will be available as well. Information on EPA's NPDES
Electronic Reporting Rule is found at: hops://www.federalre ig ster.gov/documents/2015/10/22/2015-
24954/national-pollutant-discharge-elimination-system-npdes-electronic-reporting-rule
Page 7 of 9

NPDES Permit NC0074306
Electronic submissions must start by the dates listed in the "Reporting Requirements" section
above.
3. How to Request a Waiver from Electronic Reporting
The permittee may seek a temporary electronic reporting waiver from the Division. To obtain an
electronic reporting waiver, a permittee must first submit an electronic reporting waiver request to
the Division. Requests for temporary electronic reporting waivers must be submitted in writing to
the Division for written approval at least sixty (60) days prior to the date the facility would be
required under this permit to begin submitting monitoring data and reports. The duration of a
temporary waiver shall not exceed 5 years and shall thereupon expire. At such time, monitoring data
and reports shall be submitted electronically to the Division unless the permittee re -applies for and is
granted a new temporary electronic reporting waiver by the Division. Approved electronic reporting
waivers are not transferrable. Only permittees with an approved reporting waiver request may
submit monitoring data and reports on paper to the Division for the period that the approved
reporting waiver request is effective.
Information on eDMR and the application for a temporary electronic reporting waiver are found on
the following web page:
hltp:Hdeq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-rcsources/edmr
4. Signatory Requirements [Supplements Section B. (11.) (b) and Supersedes Section B. (11.) (d)l
All eDMRs submitted to the permit issuing authority shall be signed by a person described in Part II,
Section B. (I 1.)(a) or by a duly authorized representative of that person as described in Part II,
Section B. (1 l.)(b). A person, and not a position, must be delegated signatory authority for eDMR
reporting purposes.
For eDMR submissions, the person signing and submitting the DMR must obtain an eDMR user
account and login credentials to access the eDMR system. For more information on North
Carolina's eDMR system, registering for eDMR and obtaining an eDMR user account, please visit
the following web page:
hqp:Hdeq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-resources/edmr
Certification. Any person submitting an electronic DMR using the state's eDMR system shall make
the following certification [40 CFR 122.22]. NO OTHER STATEMENTS OF CERTIFICATION
WILL BE ACCEPTED:
7 certify, under penalty of law, that this document and all attachments were prepared under my
direction or supervision in accordance with a system designed to assure that qualified personnel
properly gather and evaluate the information submitted. Based on my inquiry of the person or
persons who manage the system, or those persons directly responsible for gathering the information,
the information submitted is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, true, accurate, and complete. I
Page 8 of 9

NPDES Permit NCO074306
am aware that there are significant penalties for submitting false information, including the
possibility of fines and imprisonment for knowing violations. "
5. Records Retention [Supplements Section D. (6.)]
The permittee shall retain records of all Discharge Monitoring Reports, including eDMR
submissions. These records or copies shall be maintained for a period of at least 3 years from the
date of the report. This period may be extended by request of the Director at any time [40 CFR
122.41].
Page 9 of 9

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Town of Forest City
Forest City WTP
NPDES Permit NCO074306
Receiving Stream: UT to Second Broad River Stream Class: WS-V
Stream Segment: 9-41-(12.7) Sub -Basin #: 03-08-02
River Basin: Broad HUC: 0305010504
County: Rutherford
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SCALE
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Facility Location
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