NC0004308_NCCN ltr ALCOA stormwater 7-1-15_20150713

July 1, 2015
Teresa Rodriguez
North Carolina NCDENR-Division of Water Resources
Conservation Wastewater Branch
Network 1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1617
T: 919.857.4699
F:919.833.8819
19 East Martin St. RE: Proposed NPDES Stormwater Permit(#NC0004308) for Alcoa
Suite 300 Badin Works
Raleigh, NC 27601
www.ncconservationnetwork.org Dear Ms. Rodriguez:
I write to ask that the North Carolina Department of Environment and
Natural Resources (DENR) deny Alcoa's application for the renewal of
an expired stormwater permit (#NC0004308) for Alcoa Badin Works,
a closed aluminum production facility.
Alcoa's unlined landfill has leached hundreds of pounds of cyanide into
North Carolina waters-mostly Little Mountain Creek and Badin Lake
-for years. In 2014, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency(EPA),the Badin Works discharged 16,309 pounds of cyanide,
against a maximum allowable load of 23.8 pounds per year. Further,
the pollution is not limited to cyanide.Water quality data, from the
outfalls and ambient data from the river,also reveals frequent high
concentrations of fluoride and trichloroethylene (TCE). These
contaminants originate from polluted groundwater and reach the river
through Badin Works' stormwater system.
The state cannot renew this proposed permit without violating the
federal Clean Water Act(CWA). Rather than re-issuing an illegal
permit, DENR should enforce against Alcoa's chronic and ongoing
violations of water quality standards.
I.The Proposed Permit is Illegal under the Clean Water Act and
State Water Quality Standards
Allowing unlimited discharge of cyanide and TCE into the Yadkin River
Basin without enforcement action is incorrect as a matter of law.
The Clean Water Act(CWA) establishes the framework for regulating
pollutant discharge into U.S.waters and regulating water quality
standards. See 33 U.S.C.et seq.The CWA's objective is to"restore and
maintain the chemical,physical,and biological integrity of the Nation's
waters." CWA§ 101(a). Under Section 303(c) of the Act,states are

required to submit water quality standards to the EPA for approval. See 33 U.S.C.§ 1313.
Water quality standards under the CWA include three elements: (1) designated"uses" of a
water body, (2)water quality criteria that protect the use(s) and indicate the allowable
concentration of a pollutant in a body of water,and (3) an anti-degradation provision.Id.
The Clean Water Act provides that states are responsible for enforcing their water quality
standards on interstate waters; and that federal requirements are only a floor,not a ceiling,
for state water quality standards. States may,and North Carolina has,enacted more stringent
standards. See N.C. Gen. Stat.§ 143-211(c);see also 22 U.S.C.§ 1311(b)(1)(c). All surface
waters in North Carolina must meet the standards for Class C (fishable/swimmable)waters;
that is, 5 micrograms per liter(ug/L) of cyanide and 1.8 milligrams per liter(mg/L) of
fluoride.See 15A NCAC§ 02B.0211(3). These are well below the levels that are proposed to
be discharged under this permit.
Additionally,Little Mountain Creek and Badin Lake are classified as WS IV water supply
watersheds; the applicable rule states with respect to nonpoint source and stormwater
pollution in such a watershed that"none shall be allowed that would adversely impact the
waters for use as water supply or any other designated use."See 15A NCAC§02B.0216. That
rule makes clear that any concentration over federal a maximum contaminant level (MCL) is
automatically a water quality violation;the federal MCL for trichloroethylene is 5 ug/L,far
below levels that would reach the river under the proposed permit.
On a fundamental level,the discharge at stake in this permit isn't`stormwater',per se; it is
stormwater commingled with massively polluted groundwater. The proposed permit
explicitly authorizes the discharge of`groundwater,stormwater,and fire protection water'
from several of the outfalls;the past monitoring data suggests the groundwater pollution is in
fact contributing to the effluent at several of the other outfalls proposed to be permitted for
stormwater only. As a practical matter,given the intense contamination,no discharge
containing groundwater from this site is going to comply with state water quality standards
or with the federal Clean Water Act.
EPA's guidance for industrial stormwater makes brutally clear the contradiction inherent in
trying to permit effluent from the Badin Works site as stormwater. EPA has produced a set of
factsheets to guide the permitting of stormwater from industrial operations,including
`primary metal facilities".With respect to slag,here's what EPA advises:
• Confine storage to designated and labeled areas outside of drainage pathways
and away from surface waters
• Collect waste waters used for granulation of slag and direct to a treatment
facility. (These are not allowed under this section.)
• Store slag and dross indoors,under cover, or in sealed containers.
• Establish regular disposal of slag or dross to minimize quantities stored and
handled on-site. (Sector F: Primary Metal Facilities).
But this is not what Alcoa did when the smelter was in operation-slag was buried in
unknown places on the property,or left lying exposed.The slag causing the current
contamination was not stored`indoors' or'under cover'. As long as it remains exposed-
unlined and uncapped in the soil,if not actually still unburied-the site cannot comply with
basic stormwater management requirements. If the site were fully remediated and closed
properly,it might be possible to permit its stormwater under the Clean Water Act. As it

stands,trying to apply Clean Water Act permitting to this broken site yields a broken and
illegal result.
IL The Proposed Permit Does Not Protect Public Health
This permit places public health at an improbable degree of risk.
On any given weekend in the summer,the beach at the Badin Picnic and Boat Access on State
Route 740 is crowded with families-adults,teenagers,and young children-splashing,
wading,and swimming in this arm of Badin Lake. We have seen this in person. As per the
map in the proposed permit,that beach is the location of outfalls 002 and 020,both listed in
the proposed permit as authorized for stormwater only. Yet,in DENR's permit limits
development factsheet,outfall 002 is listed as having maximum (9.6 mg/L) and average (2.7
mg/L) concentrations of fluoride well in excess of the applicable water quality standard (1.8
mg/L); and maximum (261 ug/L) and average (62.5 ug/L) concentrations of total residual
chlorine,in excess of that standard (17 ug/L). The factsheet does not list monitoring data for
cyanide at that outfall. (NC0004308 Permit Renewal Factsheet,at 7). Similarly,the factsheet
lists outfall 020 as having a monthly maximum (6.5 ug/L) and average (5.3 ug/L)
concentrations of cyanide above the water quality standard (5 ug/L). Chloride does not
appear to have been monitored at outfall 020,and trichloroethylene does not appear to have
been monitored anywhere. (Factsheet,at 11).Without repeating all the data,outfalls 011,
012,and 013,which also discharge into this same sheltered arm of the lake,have even higher
average concentrations of cyanide,fluoride,and total chlorine. (Factsheet,at 8 &9).Even
from this limited data,the outfalls around this heavily used recreational area appear certain
to violate state water quality standards more often than not.
So how does the proposed permit plan to address these violations?It relies on a three-tier
menu of response options triggered by sampling results that exceed'benchmark values'.
Those benchmarks are higher than the applicable water quality standards: 0.02 mg/L
benchmark for cyanide compared to 5 ug/L (=0.005 mg/L) Class C water quality standard; 6
mg/L benchmark for fluoride compared to 1.8 mg/L Class C water quality standard. That is,
under the draft permit,the effluent can violate water quality standards without triggering any
additional response.
Even if it does trigger a response,none of the three tiers in the permit mandates control of the
pollution. Tier One consists mostly of identifying'feasible'options to better control the
violation,and implementing them within two months.Tier Two consists of more monitoring.
Tier Three consists of even more monitoring with the discretionary option for DENR to
require that Badin Works install structural controls. Given the data already on the table,this
is far too little,too late. If DENR will not require a halt to illegal discharges now,when the
permit is up for renewal,what faith can the public have in a discretionary response in the
future?
Again,these outfalls discharge directly into an arm of the lake heavily used for recreation,by
children and well as adults.A similar analysis can be performed for the outfalls into Little
Mountain Creek,which flows downstream across private property before forming the
southern boundary of Morrow Mountain State Park and emptying into the Pee Dee River,in a
stretch that receives heavy boating and fishing use.

III.Instead of Issuing this Permit,DENR Should Force Alcoa to Remediate
Contamination.
We urge DENR,rather than renew an illegal and unsafe NPDES permit,to enforce against
Alcoa for its failure to remediate the groundwater contamination causing the cyanide,
fluoride,and TCE exceedances. At present,Alcoa has not identified any measures to begin
treatment of the contaminated groundwater at the Biden Works site; further,Alcoa continues
to assert that its corrective measures should comprise only monitoring and risk assessment of
the site. Thus,if the proposed permit is granted,stormwater from the site will continue to
exceed state water quality levels.
After nearly 90-years of aluminum production at the Badin Works site,now the source of the
cyanide,fluoride,and TCE contamination,Alcoa has a continuing responsibility to the people
of Stanly County and North Carolina to bring stormwater from the site into compliance with
water quality standards. Moreover,Alcoa owns and continues to benefit from operating the
Yadkin Hydroelectric Project. It does not need or warrant a three-year license to continue
polluting Badin Lake, Lake Tillery,and the Yadkin River. Please do not issue NC0004308,and
instead enforce to obtain the remediation that this site, Badin Lake,and Little Mountain Creek
so desperately need.
Sincerely,
Grady McCallie
Policy Director