The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutNCG500272_Weyerhaeuser_Nr_Company_CEI_Letter_20240702ROY COOPER Governor ELIZABETH S. BISER Secretary RICHARD E. ROGERS, JR. Director Weyerhaeuser Nr Company Attn: Ross Gardner, Mill Manager 524 Pride Way Elkin, NC 28621-8517 NORTH CAROLINA Environmental Quality July 2, 2024 SUBJECT: Compliance Evaluation Inspection Weyerhaeuser Nr Company Elkin Facility General NPDES Discharge Permit Number NCG500000 Certificate of Coverage Number NCG500272 Surry County Dear Mr. Gardner: On June 19th, 2024, Ron Boone and Michael Gearran of the Winston-Salem Regional Office of the NC Division of Water Resources conducted a compliance evaluation inspection at the Weyerhaeuser Nr Company Elkin facility. The inspection reviewed Weyerhaeuser's compliance status with regards to their certificate of coverage, NCG500272, under NC General NPDES Discharge permit NCG500000. The assistance of Dennis Atkinson and Savannah Dibby was greatly appreciated. It was determined during the inspection that Weyerhaeuser is non -compliant with the permit for the following: AREA OF NON-COMPLIANCE Analyzing Total Residual Chlorine (TRC) in effluent without the proper field laboratory certification. Please inform Mr. Boone of your plans to rectify the violation above, i.e. either obtaining a field lab certification from the state or having your contract lab, who has its own certification for running TRC, take the samples from this point forward. North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources Winston-Salem Regional Office 1 450 W. Hanes Mill Rd, Suite 300 I Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27105 NoanicaaouNn 336.776.9800 Please feel free to contact Mr. Boone at any time by phone at 336-776-9690, or by email at ron.boone@deq.nc.gov, if you have any questions or concerns about this letter or its requirements. Attachments: Water Compliance Inspection Report NORTH CAROLINAD E Q oeo+ro�.m m F,mro��w n�si� Sincerely, DocuSigned by: OD2D3CE3F167456... Jennifer F. Graznak, Assistant Regional Supervisor Water Quality Regional Operations Section Winston-Salem Regional Office Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources Winston-Salem Regional Office 1 450 W. Hanes Mill Rd, Suite 300 1 Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27105 336.776.9800 United States Environmental Protection Agency Form Approved. EPA Washington, D.C. 20460 OMB No. 2040-0057 Water Compliance Inspection Report 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 IN 2 u 3 I NCG500272 111 121 24/06/19 I17 18 I C I 19 I s I 20L] 21111I I I I I I I II I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I II I I I I I r6 Inspection Work Days Facility Self -Monitoring Evaluation Rating B1 QA ---------------------- Reserved ------------------- 67 I 72 I ni I 73 � I 74 79 I I I I I I I80 70 I I 71 I LL -1 I I LJ Section B: Facility Data Name and Location of Facility Inspected (For Industrial Users discharging to POTW, also include Entry Time/Date Permit Effective Date POTW name and NPDES permit Number) 12:45PM 24/06/19 20/12/18 Elkin facility 524 Pride Way Exit Time/Date Permit Expiration Date Elkin NC 28621 01:45PM 24/06/19 25/11/30 Name(s) of Onsite Representative(s)/Titles(s)/Phone and Fax Number(s) Other Facility Data Name, Address of Responsible Official/Title/Phone and Fax Number Contacted Dennis Atkinson,524 Pride Way Elkin NC 286218517//336-244-7911/3365266437 No Section C: Areas Evaluated During Inspection (Check only those areas evaluated) Permit 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 Ron Boone Docusigned by: DWR/WSRO WQ/336-776-9690/ Michael Gearrenosti�� oa.�& DWR/WSRO WQ/336-776-9800/ 7/3/2024 B20F8DD5F2A3460... Signature of Management Q A Reviewer Agency/Office/Phone and Fax Numbers Date FDocusigned by: DWR/WSRO 336-776-9695 7/3/2024 �. ✓J 6 EPA Form 3 65 0ONRevTNJ� revious editions are obsolete. Page# NPDES yr/mo/day Inspection Type NCG500272 I11 12I 24/06/19 117 18 ici cJ (Cont.) Section D: Summary of Finding/Comments (Attach additional sheets of narrative and checklists as necessary) On June 19th, 2024, Ron Boone and Michael Gearran, of the Winston-Salem Regional Office of the NC Division of Water Resources, conducted a compliance evaluation inspection at the Weyerhaeuser Nr Company Elkin facility. The inspection reviewed Weyerhaeuser's compliance status with regards to their discharge certificate of coverage, NCG500272, under NC General NPDES Discharge permit NCG500000. The assistance of Dennis Atkinson and Savannah Dibby was greatly appreciated. It was determined, during the inspection, that Weyerhaeuser is non -compliant with the permit. Inspection findings are summarized below. The facility discharges cooling tower blowdown at a rate of 200 gallons per hour, or 3.3 gallons per minute. Normally, the blowdown occurs automatically and the wastewater goes to the facility's wastewater treatment system. There are times, however, when the operators manually initiate the blowdown process. In this case the wastewater comes out of a hose at the base of the cooling towers and flows onto the asphalt. It then travels across the ground about 250 feet where it then flows into the first of two in -series stormwater ponds. The stormwater ponds discharge directly into the Yadkin River. Flow volume is estimated based on the typical amount of wastewater produced by a normal blowdown cycle. The facility uses municipal water from the Town of Elkin for its cooling towers. As required by the permit, Mr. Atkinson measures Total Residual Chlorine (TRC) at the discharge point of the final stormwater pond. However, Weyerhaeuser does not have field parameter certification for TRC. You must have a certified lab test TRC within 15 minutes of sample collection for the results to be considered valid. Mr. Atkinson stated they are currently using Waypoint Labs, out of Charlotte, NC, to run the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) samples so he will also have them run the TRC samples. Alternatively, you may apply for certification to run this test yourself. Mr. Boone has provided Mr. Atkinson with the information needed to apply for laboratory certification to test the TRC. Mr. Atkinson provided sampling results dating back to 2012 and there are no exceedances of any of the required parameter limits. AREAS OF NON-COMPLIANCE - Testing for TRC in the effluent without the proper laboratory certification. Please inform Mr. Boone of your plans to rectify the violation above, i.e. either by obtaining a field lab certification from the state or having your contract lab, who has its own certification for running TRC, take the samples from this point forward. Please feel free to contact Mr. Boone at any time by phone at 336-776-9690, or by email at ron.boone@deq.nc.gov, if you have any questions or concerns about this letter or its requirements. Page# Permit: NCG500272 Inspection Date: 06/19/2024 Owner -Facility: Elkin facility Inspection Type: Compliance Evaluation Permit (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? Comment: Please refer to the inspection summary section of this report. Yes No NA NE ❑ ❑ ■ ❑ ■ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ■ ❑ ❑ ❑ Page# 3