WQ0023693_Monitoring (Report)_20190418 (2)

DocuSign Envelope ID:24089D01-730E-4C46-97A0-64B2B4CFB4AD
ROY COOPER
Governor
MICHAEL S.REGAN
Secretary
LINDA CULPEPPER NORTH CAROLINA
Director Environmental Quality
April 22, 2019
Brunswick County
Mr. John Nichols
P.O. Box 249
Bolivia NC 28422
Subject Property: West Brunswick Wastewater Reclamation Facility
Non-Discharge Permit WQ0023693
Wetlands Monitoring Report 8th Year (2019)
Dear Mr. Nichols,
The Wilmington Regional Office (WiRO) received the annual wetlands monitoring report on
March 22, 2019 as required by the non-discharge permit WQ0023693 for the West Brunswick
Wastewater Reclamation Facility. The report covers two separate reuse land application tracts
with wetland"receiver" sites and"reference" sites for three different categories of wetlands. The
first tract is called the International Paper(IP) site and the second tract is called the Mercer's Mill
(MM) site. The three categories of wetlands are Blackwater Swamp Forest (BSF), Headwater
Forest (HF), and Isolated Wetlands (IW) with each having both a "reference" and a "receiving"
monitoring area on each tract. In addition, a modification was made to the permit on two of the
MM application sites in 2017 to increase infiltration limitations from 2.5 gallons per day per square
foot to 4.0 gallons per day per square foot. After reviewing the report, we have the following
observations and conclusions:
• Brunswick County received an unprecedented amount of rainfall during 2018 which led to much
of the monitoring data being inconclusive as noted in the report.
• Equipment malfunctions also contributed to a loss of monitoring data and made some of the usual
data analysis impossible.
• The Carolina Vegetation Survey(CVS)was last conducted in 2017 and will be done once again in
2020. Per the report it appears that the vegetation has changed very little since the first survey was
completed. Some of the sites appear to be transitioning to vegetation more tolerant to increased
inundation,less drying cycles, and more precipitation.
• The report was unable to make conclusions regarding the overall long-term effects or impacts to
the wetland monitoring sites for either wetland function or quality.
• Per the report,there was no evidence of sediment accumulation"directly from the discharge water".
Or D Q
� North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources
Wilmington Regional Office 1 127 Cardinal Drive Extension I Wilmington,North Carolina 28405
NORTH CAROLINA
Da"MoM a enWmn�m mwnq 910.796.7215

DocuSign Envelope ID:24089D01-730E-4C46-97A0-64B2B4CFB4AD Page 2
Brunswick County
2019-0318
Our recommendations and observations are as follows:
1. Continue to monitor the wetland sites in conformity with the current methods.
2. Provide details to the WiRO as to how to prevent future malfunctions of the monitoring equipment.
3. Based upon the monitoring and observations to date,it does not appear that the vegetation transition
is having a negative short-term impact upon the function or quality of the wetlands. However,we
agree that it is not possible at this time to determine the long-term effects or impacts to the wetlands.
If you have any questions,please contact Chad Coburn in the DWR Wilmington Regional Office
at(910)796-7379 or Chad.Coburn(kncdenr.gov.
Sincerely,
II
DocuSigned by:W�
E3ABA14AC7DC434...
Morella Sanchez-King, Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Wilmington Regional Office
Division of Water Resources,NCDEQ
Cc: Scott Frederick— Soil, Water, & Environment Group (via email)
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