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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNC0089109_HH 5 Feb Mtg Summary_201602051 Heim, Tim From:Davidson, Landon Sent:Monday, February 08, 2016 1:14 PM To:Heim, Tim; Topolski, Robert R Subject:RE: Feb 5 2016 Horsehead Meeting Notes (Please review and provide comment) Thanks, an accurate characterization. Save as .pdf and then to G: drive. L G. Landon Davidson, P.G. Regional Supervisor – Asheville Regional Office Water Quality Regional Operations Section NCDEQ – Division of Water Resources 828 296 4680 office 828 230 4057 mobile Landon.Davidson@ncdenr.gov 2090 U.S. Hwy. 70 Swannanoa, N.C. 28711 Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties. From: Heim, Tim Sent: Monday, February 08, 2016 1:12 PM To: Davidson, Landon <landon.davidson@ncdenr.gov>; Topolski, Robert R <robert.topolski@ncdenr.gov> Subject: Feb 5 2016 Horsehead Meeting Notes (Please review and provide comment) On February 5, 2016 Tim Heim, Landon Davison and Rob Topolski of the Asheville Regional Office traveled to the Horsehead Metals Facility and met with Horsehead Plant Manager Anthony Staley, Environmental Manager Jim Harris, and Environmental Staff member Charlie Howell and performed an inspection of the facility. The meeting and visit were initiated by DWR ARO staff to address concerns related to the recent declaration of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, decision to idle the Horsehead facility for an unspecified amount of time, and layoffs of a significant number of plant staff. Specific concerns included whether qualified staff would remain at the facility during the idle period and potential impacts to industrial wastewater treatment and discharge. Mr. Staley and Mr. Harris stated that all contract workers and approximately 100 temporary employees were included in the layoff. Approximately 80 employees of the plant are considered “intellectual capital” and will continue to be employed full time throughout the idle period. These employees include all of the engineering staff, environmental staff, plant management, operations and maintenance leads, and lead positions in the chemistry laboratory. During the idle period, the focus will be on repairing known problems and issues, process optimization, and cleaning. Most of the major plant processes will be suspended, but the bleed treatment process will continue (only storm water will be processed). 2 Mr. Harris stated that all monitoring, testing and analytical work associated with the discharge permits will continue, and no change to the permits or permit conditions will be requested. The request to increase permitted discharge for the industrial wastewater permit in the Fall of 2015 was related to greater than anticipated storm water which required processing through bleed treatment. DWR staff and Mr. Harris reviewed major elements of the facility and the storm water and industrial wastewater discharge outfalls on the Broad River. No violations of the permit conditions or items requiring correction were observed during this review. Mr. Harris stated that he was aware of the Town of Forrest City Riverstone WWTP’s application to list the Horsehead facility as an Industrial User (IU). Tim Heim, P.E. Environmental Engineer – Asheville Regional Office Water Quality Regional Operations Section NCDEQ – Division of Water Resources 828 296 4500 office email: tim.heim@ncdenr.gov 2090 U.S. Hwy. 70 Swannanoa, N.C. 28778 Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.