NC0083712_NPDES Permit Draft_20170405

,* ROY COOPER
Governor
MICHAEL S. REGAN
Secretary
Water Resources S. JAY ZIMMERMAN
Environmental Quality
Director
April 5, 2017
Mr.Darhyl Boone,Town Manager
Town of Mars Hill
P.O.Box 368
Mars Hill,NC 28754
Subject: Draft NPDES Permit NC0083712
Mars Hill WTP,PC-1
2085 Water Shed Road,Mars Hill 28754
Madison County
Dear Mr.Boone:
In response to your request to renew the subject NPDES permit,the Division of Water Resources(DWR or
the Division)hereby transmits this draft for your review and comment.Please review this document to assure
your understanding of the permit limits and monitoring conditions,and to correct errors,if any.
The Division understands that you have made no significant changes to your facility since the last permit
renewal.We have made the following updates to your previous permit:
1. added Turbidity monitoring with a monthly average limit of 50 NTU and daily maximum limit of 50
NTU for Turbidity;monitoring frequency is 2/month
2. removed Total Iron and Total Manganese
3. removed Total Copper monitoring because it did not show reasonable potential to exceed applicable
water quality standards
4. added effluent and upstream quarterly monitoring for Total Hardness
5. added electronic reporting of discharge monitoring reports(eDMR)in Section A. (4.).
The NC 2007-2014 Water Quality Standard(WQS)Triennial Review was approved by the NC
Environmental Management Committee(EMC)on November 13,2014. The US EPA subsequently approved
the WQS revisions on April 6,2016 with some exceptions.The NC Division of Water Resources NPDES
Permitting Unit is required to implement the new dissolved metal standards in all permits public noticed after
April 6, 2016.
The new standards for most metals include acute standards.Furthermore,the freshwater standards for several
metals are expressed as the dissolved form of the metals,and seven metals have hardness-dependent
equations.As a result,the NPDES Permitting Unit will need site-specific effluent hardness data and instream
hardness data,upstream of the discharge,for each facility monitoring these metals in order to calculate permit
limitations.Effluent hardness and instream hardness sampling,upstream of the discharge,has been added to
this permit at a monitoring frequency of quarterly. See Section A. (1.)Effluent Limitations and Monitoring
Requirements.
Beginning December 21, 2016, federal regulations require electronic submittal of all discharge monitoring
reports(DMRs)and specify that,if a state does not establish a system to receive such submittals,then
permittees must submit DMRs electronically to the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA).The final
NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule was adopted and became effective on December 21,2015.
Nothing Compares
State of North Carolina I Environmental Quality
1617 Mail Service Center I Raleigh,North Carolina 27699-1617
919-707-9000

Mr. Boone
April 5,2017
Page 2 of 2
The requirement to begin reporting discharge monitoring data electronically using the NC DWR's Electronic
Discharge Monitoring Report(eDMR)internet application has been added to your final NPDES permit. [See
Special Condition A. (4.)]For information on eDMR,registering for eDMR and obtaining an eDMR user
account,please visit the following web page:
ht tp://deq.nc,gov/about/divisions/water-resources/edmr.
For more information on EPA's final NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule,please visit the following web site:
http://www2.epa.gov/compliance/final-national-pollutant-discharge-elimination-system-npdes-electronic-
reporting-rule.
Concurrent with this notification,the Division will solicit public comment on this draft by publishing a notice
in newspapers having circulation in the general Forsyth County area,as required by the NPDES Program.
Please provide your comments,if any,to me via email [[e-mail]] or write to my attention
care of DEQ/DWR/NPDES Program no later than May 12,2017.Your written comments are welcome but
not mandatory.
Following the mandatory 30-day public comment period,the Division will review all pertinent comments on
your permit draft, and take appropriate action prior to issuing your NPDES permit final.If you have questions
concerning this draft,please e-mail me or call my direct line(919) 807-6307.
Sincerely,
Derek Denard,Environmental Specialist
Compliance&Expedited Permitting Unit
Division of Water Resources,NCDEQ
Enclosure:NPDES Permit NC0083712(renewal DRAFT)
hc: NPDES Program Files[draft permit and Fact Sheet]
ec: ARO/Landon Davidson[[e-mail]][draft permit,Fact Sheet]
Darhyl Boone,Town Manager[[e-mail]]
Wastewater Operator Certification Group/Maureen Kinney[[e-mail]][draft permit,Fact Sheet]
Aquatic Toxicology Branch/Susan Meadows[[e-mail]][draft permit,Fact Sheet]

NPDES Permit NC0083712
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES
PERMIT
TO DISCHARGE WASTEWATER t 1T
NATIONAL POLLUT
PDES
In compliance with the provisions of North Carolina t eral Statute IN
and regulations promulgated and adopted bye North Carolina En
Commission, and the Federal Water Fo.Xlution Control Act,
x
of Mars Hill
is hereby authorized to disc" ge
-a
Town of Mars Mill Wa
THE
YSTEM
15.1, other lawful standards
�nmental Management
r ° ended, the
y ..
from'a,facility located at the
Plant (WTP)
2085 Water Shed Road,"!' -Mars Hill, NC 28754
H
.Madison flunty
to receiving waters designated asfiorth Fork Big Laurel Creek in the French Broad River Basin, in
accordance with e#' uent limitationsj Monitoring requirements, and other conditions set forth in Parts I,
II, III and IV hereof.
This permit shall become'eff52017.
This permit and authorization to discharge shall expire at midnight on September 30, 2020.
Signed this day , 2017.
S. Jay Zimmerman, P.G., Director
Division of Water Resources
By Authority of the Environmental Management Commission
Page 1 of 8

NPDES Permit NCO083712
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.
Town of Mars Hill
is hereby authorized to:
1. continue to operate a wastewater treatment syste lizing conveiii rial water treatment plant
technology [coagulation, flocculation, sedimen :hrr , and filtration] with a maximum, monthly
average wastewater discharge of 0.026 MGD * media filter backwa.&ssh and sedimentation basins
with a design potable flowrate of 0.80 MGD and,wi th wastewater treatment resisting of;
r:
• dechlorination�
• wastewater treatment setti'lli agoop
2.
located at the Town of Tars Hill WTP,
Hill, Madison County,
dischgr`ge fiom said treatment works via Outt'all UQ1, at the location specified on the attached map
into NerftFork Big LaiiW,& eek j6412-1-(2)], a waterbody currently classified C;ORW located
within Subbisin 04-03-04 ji'C: 060101051001 ] of the French Broad River Basin.
X.t
W ,.
Page 2 of 8

NPDES Permit NCO083712
PART I
A. (1.) EFFLUENT LIMITATIONS AND MONITORING REQUIREMENTS
[15A NCAC 02B .0400 et seq., 02B .0500 et seq.]
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,
monitored and reported' by the Permittee as specified below:
EFFLUENT
CHARACTERISTIC LIMITS MONITORING REQUIREMENTS'
[PARAMETER CODES]
Monthly
1 Daily
Measurement
Sample
Sample
Average
Maximum
Frequency
Type
Location
Flow (MGD) 2
50050
2nVi $
Instantaneous
Effluent
or Estimate
Total Suspended Solids (TSS) (mg/1)
C0530
30 ma .
45 mg/1
1�1 2/Month W`
- Grab
Effluent
Turbidity (NTU) 3
0007D
50 NTU
f
50 NTU = ^� 2/1%4onth
Grab
Effluent
pH (su)
00400
9 Nott < 6.0
. standard
units
2/Month
Grab
Effluent
Total Residual Chlorine (µg/1) 4
50060
2/Month
Grab
Effluent
-...
Total Zinc (µg/1)
01092
�
Quarterly
Grab
Effluent
Total Aluminum (µg/l)
01110
4 Quarterly
Grab
Effluent
Hardness - Total as
CaCO3 or Ca M. m L 5'.
00900
Quarterly
Grab
Effluent
Hardness Tam as'
`�
[CaCO3 dr"(+ a'+Mg)] (mg/�.,. ,,
D0900
Quarterly
Grab
U
Upstream
Ammonia lei"en (mg/1)
C0610
Quarterly
Grab
Effluent
Chronic WET Teskg', TGP3B
Quarterly
Grab
Effluent
Footnotes:`
1. Starting December 21; 2016, begin submitting Discharge Monitoring Reports electronically using NC DWR's
eDMR application system-- _ee 0Qition A. (3.).
2. For instantaneous flow moni6ling, the duration -of the discharge must be reported in addition to the
total flow.
3. Turbidity — Effluent turbidity shall not cause receiving -stream turbidity to exceed 50 NTU. If background
turbidity naturally exceeds 50 NTU, the effluent shall not cause background turbidity to increase. Any
discharge exceeding this permit limit will require sufficient instream sampling (upstream and/or downstream)
to verify compliance (effluent vs. background)." [NCAC 02B. 0211(21)]
4. The Division shall consider all effluent TRC values reported below 50 µg/L to be in compliance with the
pen -nit. However, the Permittee shall continue to record and submit all values reported by a North Carolina
certified test method (including field certified), even if these values fall below 50 µg/L.
5. Effluent hardness sampling should be performed in conjunction with testing for hardness dependent metals
(zinc).
6. The Permittee shall sample instream hardness, upstream of the facility's discharge. 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
Page 3 of 8

NPDES Permit NC0083712
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.
7. Chronic WET testing (Ceriodaphnia dubia) 7-day pass/fail test at 3.3% in January, April, July and October.
See condition A. (2.).
Conditions:
• Samples shall be taken at the outfall but prior to mixing with the receiving waters.
• There shall be no discharge of floating solids or foam visible in atifer than trace amounts.
V,
r
Page 4 of 8

NPDES Permit NCO083712
A. (2.) CHRONIC TOXICITY MONITORING (QUARTERLY)
[15A NCAC 02B .0500 et seq.]
The permittee shall conduct guarterl chronic toxicity tests using test procedures outlined in the "North
Carolina Ceriodaphnia Chronic Effluent Bioassay Procedure," Revised December 2010, or subsequent
versions.
The effluent concentration defined as treatment two in the procedure document is 3_3%. The testing
shall be performed as a Ceriodaphnia dubia 7-day pass/fail test. 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, ailing for this testing must be
obtained during representative effluent discharge and shall bb'performed at the NPDES permitted final
effluent discharge below all treatment processes. �, ti
All toxicity testing results required as part of this perinit condition will be,entered on the Effluent
Discharge Monitoring Form (MR-1) for the mow e��hich it was performed,: using the parameter
code TGP3B. Additionally, DWR Form AT-1 (or gW*DiVf�ion,,of,
to be sent to the`following address:
Attention: North Carolinater Resources
W teK. Sciences Section? quatic Toxicology Branch
1621 Maii�Service Center
Ralei ;,North Carolina 2 699-1621
Completed Aquatic Toxicity"1 st worms shall be filed with tie W.ater ciences Section no later than 30
days after the end of th`r�orting peed for which the report is made.
VA
Test data shall be complete aid accurate and include. all supporting chemical/physical measurements
performed in,aociatiaon with `tl t�xacity testa; as we%ll as all dose/response data. Total residual
chlorine of thee effluent toxicity sate must be; ea pied and reported if chlorine is employed for
disinfection of the waste strpan.
Should there be no discharge of flow from-*e.facility during a month in which toxicity monitoring is
required, the peimittee 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 Water Sciences Section at fhe address cited above.
Should the permittee fail to monitor during a month in which toxicity monitoring is required, then
monthly monitoring will begin immediately. Upon submission of a valid test, this monthly test
requirement will revert to quarterly in the months specified above.
Should any test data from this monitoring requirement -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.
NOTE: Failure to achieve test conditions as specified in the cited document, such as minimum control
organism survival, minimum control organism reproduction, 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.
Page 5 of 8

NPDES Permit NCO083712
A. (3.) ELECTRONIC REPORTING OF 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.) Signatory Requirements
• Section D. (2.) Reporting
• Section D. (6.) Records Retention'
• Section E. (5.) Monitoring Reports
1. Rep orHnp Requirements f Supersedes Section l
E.
The permittee shall report discharge monitoringI electronically using *.NC DWR's Electronic
Discharge Monitoring Report (eDMR) internet a Jtion,
Monitoring results obtained during the previous month(sall be summarized for each month and
submitted electronically using eDMR:. The eDMR systeml6,ws permitted facilities to enter
monitoring data and submit DMRs electronically using the inft et. Until such time that the state's
eDMR application is compliant with EPA's Cross -Media ElectrAnjo Reporting Regulation
(CROMERR), permittees4ill-be'required to submit all discharge monitoring data to the state
electronically using" " IVIR and willbe required to complete the eDMR submission by printing,
signing, and submitting otie signed original and a copy of the computer printed eDMR to the
following address:
NC DEQ /, Division- of Water l(gources / W8te Quglity Permitting Section
ATTENTION: Central,Files
1617 Mail Service Center`
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1617
.
If a permittee is unable to use the eDMR system due to a demonstrated hardship or due to the
facility being physically located'iri an area where less than 10 percent of the households have
broadband access, then-4 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
mailing address above. See "How to Request a Waiver from Electronic Reporting" section below.
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, 2020, the permittee must electronically report the following compliance
monitoring data and reports, when applicable:
Sewer Overflow/Bypass Event Reports;
Pretreatment Program Annual Reports; and
Page 6 of 8

NPDES Permit NC0083712
• 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: htt ://www2.e a. =ov/com )liance/final-national- iollutant-
dischar e-elimination-s stem-n -des-electronic-re ortin g-rule.
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:
http://dpq.ne. iov/about/divisions/water-resources/edmr
Page 7 of 8

NPDES Permit NC0083712
4. Signatory Requirements (Supplements Section B. (11.) (b) and Supersedes Section B. (11.) (d)1
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. (I 1.)(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:
http://dpq.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:
"I 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 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.)1
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 8 of 8

r • fir: �-` I k a 11' Knq
j North Fork ,
YNorthFork Bi Laurel Creek
t— [flows south]
•
Aproximate ,
•`
Facility Boundary f
Water- Shed Rd
K a
VVIrl
Gap
Y;' ;•,fir ' 1 /
Big Laurel r 4.�
C eek ,
32
23 �r Copyriaht.L 2.G13 hlatI ialGe6grap Society. •-cub'e
ti
Town of Mars Hill - Mar Hill WTP
NPDES Permit NCO083712
2085 Water Shed Road, Mars Hill 28754
Receiving Stream: North Fork Big Laurel Creek Stream Class: C;ORW
Stream Segment: 6-112-1-(2) Sub -Basin 4: 04-03-04
River Basin: French Broad HUC: 060101051001
County: Madison
N
SCALE
1:24,000
35.938964° N,-82.495081° W
NC Grid: D9NW
USGS Quad: Bald Creek, NC