The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutNC0000396_Compliance Evaluation Inspection_20240618 SENT VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL ONLY: NO HARDCOPY WILL BE MAILED June 18, 2024 Keith Douthit, Station Manager Email: keith.douthit@duke-energy.com SUBJECT: Compliance Inspection Report Asheville Steam Electric Power Plant NPDES WW Permit No. NC0000396 Buncombe County Dear Permittee: The North Carolina Division of Water Resources conducted an inspection of the Asheville Steam Electric Power Plant on 6/11/2024. This inspection was conducted to verify that the facility is operating in compliance with the conditions and limitations specified in NPDES WW Permit No. NC0000396. The findings and comments noted during this inspection are provided in the enclosed copy of the inspection report entitled "Compliance Inspection Report". There were no significant issues or findings noted during the inspection and therefore, a response to this inspection report is not required. If you should have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mikal Willmer with the Water Quality Regional Operations Section in the Asheville Regional Office at 828-296-4686 or via email at mikal.willmer@deq.nc.gov. Sincerely, Daniel Boss, Assistant Regional Supervisor Water Quality Regional Operations Section Asheville Regional Office Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ ATTACHMENTS: Inspection Report Ec: Teresa Williams, ORC LF DocuSign Envelope ID: 7E83A25A-CB48-4C86-B6E8-45016671157E EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Water Compliance Inspection Report Form Approved. OMB No. 2040-0057 Approval expires 8-31-98 Section A: National Data System Coding (i.e., PCS) Transaction Code NPDES yr/mo/day Inspection Type Inspector Fac Type 1 N 52 NC0000396 24/06/11 C S31112171819 20 21 66 Inspection Work Days Facility Self-Monitoring Evaluation Rating B1 QA ----------------------Reserved------------------- N67707172 73 74 75 80 Section B: Facility Data Name and Location of Facility Inspected (For Industrial Users discharging to POTW, also include POTW name and NPDES permit Number) Asheville Steam Electric Power Plant 46 Duke Energy Ln Arden NC 28704 Entry Time/Date Permit Effective Date Exit Time/Date Permit Expiration Date 01:15PM 24/06/11 22/03/01 Name(s) of Onsite Representative(s)/Titles(s)/Phone and Fax Number(s) /// Teresa Lynne Williams/ORC/828-687-5240/ Other Facility Data 04:10PM 24/06/11 23/11/30 Name, Address of Responsible Official/Title/Phone and Fax Number William A Phipps,200 Cp L Dr Arden NC 28704//828-687-5201/8286875204 Contacted No Section C: Areas Evaluated During Inspection (Check only those areas evaluated) Permit Flow Measurement Operations & Maintenance Records/Reports Self-Monitoring Program Sludge Handling Disposal Facility Site Review Effluent/Receiving Waters Storm Water Section D: Summary of Finding/Comments (Attach additional sheets of narrative and checklists as necessary) (See attachment summary) Name(s) and Signature(s) of Inspector(s)Agency/Office/Phone and Fax Numbers Date Lauren E Armeni DWR/ARO WQ/828-296-4500/ Mikal Willmer DWR/ARO WQ/828-296-4686/ Signature of Management Q A Reviewer Agency/Office/Phone and Fax Numbers Date EPA Form 3560-3 (Rev 9-94) Previous editions are obsolete. Page#1 DocuSign Envelope ID: 7E83A25A-CB48-4C86-B6E8-45016671157E 6/18/2024 6/18/2024 6/18/2024 NPDES yr/mo/day 24/06/11 Inspection Type C3111218 1 Section D: Summary of Finding/Comments (Attach additional sheets of narrative and checklists as necessary) Mikal Willmer and Lauren Armeni, with the Asheville Regional Office, conducted a Compliance Evaluation Inspection of Duke Energy Progress' (Duke) Asheville Combined Cycle Plant on June 11th. This inspection was conducted to determine whether the facility was being operated and maintained in compliance with NPDES Permit # NC0000396 and to discuss operational changes since the submittal of the renewal application. Teresa Williams, ORC, was present and assisted in the inspection. Overall, the facility appeared to be operated and maintained in compliance. The permit is currently in renewal. Duke has provided their comments to the Division of Water Resources for review and potential incorporation. The following items were noted during the inspection: Record Keeping: All requested records were available for review during the inspection. Duke maintains internal checklist for maintenance, process control monitoring and sampling. Solids: No reported issues or build-up of solids within the Wastewater Sump. The belt filter press has not been used, but the ORC indicated they would attempt to haul pressed solids to the County Landfill if needed. Permit/Outfalls: Staff continue to sample outfalls 001, 002, 101, 001A & 001C as listed in the currently expired permit. Outfall 004 was never used and 005 has not been in use since approximately 2015. The waste stream has changed significantly since the coal plant was shut down and the ash basins were closed. Since the change, internal outfalls 101, 001A and 001C are no longer needed and the waste constituents can be accurately captured from Outfall 001. Outfalls 004 & 005 can also be removed from the permit due to the closure of the coal plant. Outfall 001 receives cooling tower blowdown water, stormwater from the fuel oil storage area and surfaced groundwater from the closed ash basin. Outfall 002 is comprised of some industrial stormwater and primarily water from Lake Julian that flows over the air filters of the evaporative cooling system before being discharged subaqueously back into the lake. Primary effluent constituents to monitor with new waste stream are likely Oil & Grease, Total suspended solids, Temperature and pH. Updates/Changes: During the inspection, the WesTech treatment system (receives surfaced groundwater from closed ash basin for treatment before discharging to Outfall 001), operated by WesTech personnel, was in the process of being cleaned. Staff indicated they planned to switch to just pH adjustment in the coming weeks. The ORC reported Duke’s pH building was scheduled to be completed by the end of June and planned to have WesTech stay on until the end of July as they test the new inline pH system. The Wastewater sump receives the remaining flows that make-up the discharge to outfall 001 and is continuously monitored for pH. The ORC reported they plan to have the lift station pumps automatically shut down if the pH hits 9 to allow plant personnel to assess and make any necessary adjustments. Fuel Storage Area Drainage Pump Station: The ORC indicated they may add the runoff from this area to the stormwater permit since staff have to man the pump station when the pumps are in use. Flows currently discharge to Outfall 001. NC0000396 17 (Cont.) Page#2 DocuSign Envelope ID: 7E83A25A-CB48-4C86-B6E8-45016671157E Permit:NC0000396 Inspection Date:06/11/2024 Owner - Facility: Inspection Type: Asheville Steam Electric Power Plant Compliance Evaluation Record Keeping Yes No NA NE Are records kept and maintained as required by the permit? Is all required information readily available, complete and current? Are all records maintained for 3 years (lab. reg. required 5 years)? Are analytical results consistent with data reported on DMRs? Is the chain-of-custody complete? Dates, times and location of sampling Name of individual performing the sampling Results of analysis and calibration Dates of analysis Name of person performing analyses Transported COCs Are DMRs complete: do they include all permit parameters? Has the facility submitted its annual compliance report to users and DWQ? (If the facility is = or > 5 MGD permitted flow) Do they operate 24/7 with a certified operator on each shift? Is the ORC visitation log available and current? Is the ORC certified at grade equal to or higher than the facility classification? Is the backup operator certified at one grade less or greater than the facility classification? Is a copy of the current NPDES permit available on site? Facility has copy of previous year's Annual Report on file for review? Comment: Permit Yes No NA NE (If the present permit expires in 6 months or less). Has the permittee submitted a new application? Is the facility as described in the permit? # Are there any special conditions for the permit? Is access to the plant site restricted to the general public? Is the inspector granted access to all areas for inspection? The facility's permit is expired and in renewal. Significant changes have been underway since the last modification and should be reflected in the draft permit. See summary for further details. Comment: Page#3 DocuSign Envelope ID: 7E83A25A-CB48-4C86-B6E8-45016671157E Permit:NC0000396 Inspection Date:06/11/2024 Owner - Facility: Inspection Type: Asheville Steam Electric Power Plant Compliance Evaluation Operations & Maintenance Yes No NA NE Is the plant generally clean with acceptable housekeeping? Does the facility analyze process control parameters, for ex: MLSS, MCRT, Settleable Solids, pH, DO, Sludge Judge, and other that are applicable? Staff take process control samples for TSS, pH and other parameters from the current WesTech treatment system that receives flows from the old ash basin's surfaced groundwater. Comment: Standby Power Yes No NA NE Is automatically activated standby power available? Is the generator tested by interrupting primary power source? Is the generator tested under load? Was generator tested & operational during the inspection? Do the generator(s) have adequate capacity to operate the entire wastewater site? Is there an emergency agreement with a fuel vendor for extended run on back-up power? Is the generator fuel level monitored? Preventative maintenance is carried out by Duke staff and generators are excercised weekly. Three generators are located on the lower side of the site to maintain process controls and treatment. Adequate fuel is maintained onsite in the event of an extended outage. Comment: Flow Measurement - Effluent Yes No NA NE # Is flow meter used for reporting? Is flow meter calibrated annually? Is the flow meter operational? (If units are separated) Does the chart recorder match the flow meter? 001 flow was calculated utilizing a staff gage and 002 utilizes pump logs. Duke has requested the use of pump logs to document flows due to process design. Comment: Effluent Sampling Yes No NA NE Is composite sampling flow proportional? Is sample collected below all treatment units? Is proper volume collected? Is the tubing clean? # Is proper temperature set for sample storage (kept at less than or equal to 6.0 degrees Celsius)? Page#4 DocuSign Envelope ID: 7E83A25A-CB48-4C86-B6E8-45016671157E Permit:NC0000396 Inspection Date:06/11/2024 Owner - Facility: Inspection Type: Asheville Steam Electric Power Plant Compliance Evaluation Effluent Sampling Yes No NA NE Is the facility sampling performed as required by the permit (frequency, sampling type representative)? Permit requires grab samples.Comment: Effluent Pipe Yes No NA NE Is right of way to the outfall properly maintained? Are the receiving water free of foam other than trace amounts and other debris? If effluent (diffuser pipes are required) are they operating properly? Outfall 002 discharges below the surface of Lake Julian. Outfall 001 is across the highway from the facility. Internal outfalls were observed during inspection. See summary for details Comment: Upstream / Downstream Sampling Yes No NA NE Is the facility sampling performed as required by the permit (frequency, sampling type, and sampling location)? Sampling is being conducted at locations listed in current permit.Comment: Page#5 DocuSign Envelope ID: 7E83A25A-CB48-4C86-B6E8-45016671157E