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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDraft Nov 2024 WQC Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 6 NORTH CAROLINA ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION WATER QUALITY COMMITTEE November 13, 2024 Meeting Minutes MEETING BRIEF During the November 13, 2024 meeting of the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission’s Water Quality Committee, the Committee: • Approved proceeding to the EMC for public notice and hearings with proposed Triennial Review Amendments to select rules in 15A NCAC 02B .0200, • Requested, without a formal motion, that DWR staff develop a PFAS Minimization Initiative for major and minor industrial direct dischargers to surface water and all SIUs that discharge to POTWs. The minimization initiative will require monitoring for PFAS, and implementation of minimization activities required to eliminate or significantly reduce discharges of PFOS, PFOA, and Gen X (levels TBD) over a 3-5 year period, and • Heard a presentation with updates on DEQ’s work on 1,4-dioxane, including updates regarding the Greensboro Special Order by Consent and the Asheboro legal case. WQC MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE Steve Keen, Chair EMC Chair John Solomon, Ex-Officio Michael Ellison, Vice-Chair Bill Yarborough Tim Baumgartner Kevin Tweedy Marion Deerhake OTHERS IN ATTENDANCE EMC Commissioner Yvonne Bailey EMC Commissioner Robin Smith Ellie Young, EMC Counsel Sushma Masemore, DEQ Assistant Secretary Richard Rogers, DWR Director Julie Grzyb, DWR Deputy Director Karen Higgins, DWR Stephanie Bolyard, DEQ TABLE OF ACRONYMS CFR Code of Federal Regulations CHPP Coastal Habitat Protection Plan Page 2 of 6 CWA Clean Water Act DMS NC Division of Mitigation Services DWR or Division NC Division of Water Resources EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency EMC or Commission NC Environmental Management Commission MCL maximum contaminant level NC North Carolina NCAC North Carolina Administrative Code NCGA North Carolina General Assembly NCGS North Carolina General Statutes NPDES National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System OAH Office of Administrative Hearings OSBM Office of State Budget and Management POTW Publicly owned treatment works, a sewage treatment plant owned and usually operated by a government agency. PFAS per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a group of chemicals RIA Regulatory Impact Analysis RRC Rules Review Commission SCM stormwater control measures SIU significant industrial user SNAP Stormwater Nitrogen and Phosphorus Tool SOC Special (Court) Order by Consent US United States WQC or Committee NC EMC Water Quality Committee WWTP wastewater treatment plant I. Preliminary Matters 1. Meeting called to order and notice provided of NCGS 138A-15 regarding conflict of interest: Chair Keen called the WQC meeting to order at 1:00pm and inquired about any known conflicts of interest. No conflicts were announced. 2. Approval of September 11, 2024 meeting minutes: The Committee approved the draft September 11, 2024 meeting minutes without discussion. Page 3 of 6 II. Items 1. Action - Request Approval to Proceed to the EMC for Public Notice and hearings with Proposed Triennial Review Amendments to Select Rules in 15A NCAC 02B .0200 (Chris Ventaloro, DWR) Chris Ventaloro, DWR, presented this action item. He requested to proceed to the full Environmental Management Commission in January 2025 with a request to proceed to public notice and hearing for the 2023-2025 surface water standards triennial review. This request included a presentation on the proposal to update the primary recreation (Class B) bacterial indicator from the fecal coliform bacteria group to Escherichia coli (E. coli) in 15A NCAC 02B .0219 and the proposal to update the language related to water quality standards variances in 15A NCAC 02B .0226 to include a reference to variances requirements described in 40 CFR 131.14. Mr. Ventaloro provided attachments for the proposed rule changes, the OSBM- approved Regulatory Impact Analysis, and the NC Study of the E. coli and Fecal Coliform Pathogenic Indicators for Recreational Waters – Final Report (January 10, 2024). Commissioner Tweedy asked if there will be changes to the recreational standard in Class C (secondary recreation) waters. Mr. Ventaloro responded that Class C waters will continue to use total coliforms as the bacterial indicator for now. Mr. Ventaloro also indicated that EPA does not currently have national recommended water quality criteria for secondary recreation waters so DEQ will need to determine the appropriate E. coli criteria to protect for this use. Commissioner Tweedy asked about the status of the items that were proposed to be removed from this rulemaking including the updating of the human health criteria exposure factors in 15A NCAC 02B .0208, the updating of select existing human health criteria, the adoption of human health criteria for 1,4-dioxane, and the adoption of technical corrections. Deputy Director Julie Grzyb replied that these items are proposed to be held back due to the continuing work on related legislative reports as well as ongoing litigation related to 1,4-dioxane. EMC Chair Solomon added that the ruling related to the Asheboro litigation was directed at that process but could have implications for these other items. WQC Vice Chair Ellison made a motion to approve the proposed action item request, and the motion was seconded by Commissioner Baumgartner. The motion passed unanimously without discussion. Page 4 of 6 2. Discussion - PFAS Minimization Plan Concepts (Julie Grzyb, DWR) Julie Grzyb, DWR Deputy Director, began her presentation with a summary of what happened regarding this topic at the September 2024 WQC meeting. The second motion during that meeting directed DWR to propose a draft rule and draft RIA to establish monitoring for every industrial and NPDES permit and require PFAS source reduction plans as part of every SIU and municipal pretreatment program. Ms. Grzyb provided a description and timeline of Michigan’s PFAS monitoring and source reduction program, noting that they are ahead of the game. Then she stated that DEQ is requesting guidance from the WQC regarding Source Reduction Plans to comply with the second motion from the September 2024 WQC meeting. DEQ’s four questions to the WQC are as follows: 1) Who will be required to monitor? 2) Who will be required to evaluate source reduction options and submit minimization plans? 3) What PFAS levels trigger a minimization plan and what reduction targets ensure success? 4) What is the implementation timeline? Commissioner Ellison asked about cost to sample and analyze for one round the suite of 8 PFAS that DEQ wants to regulate. Stephanie Bolyard, DEQ, replied that it is about $1800 in terms of staff time. EMC Chair Solomon commented that the EMC wants the polluters to pay and it wants to take an 80/20 approach to find the 20% of the SIUs that are the biggest PFAS users and get them to quickly start minimizing. He said that some SIUs will be able to stop using PFAS, or be able clean it out, but that some industries will still have to use PFAS, and that would require other solutions. He said it is best for industries to figure out for themselves the best way to reduce PFAS instead of being locked into a certain number. Commissioner Tweedy asked if the monitoring we are doing now gives us sufficient data to start this process instead of starting over at square one. Ms. Grzyb indicated that we do have a lot of data in the Cape Fear region but generally we don’t have that data statewide. Commissioner Deerhake said it would be important to have a performance evaluation every 2-3 years of each program to ensure that proper enforcement is being done at the Page 5 of 6 SIU level. She also said that there should be some sort of enforcement mechanism so that SIUs don’t consider PFAS minimization as optional. Commissioner Baumgartner noted that the WQC doesn’t have the answers to DEQ’s four questions at the moment, and Chair Keen stated that this agenda item is a discussion item and that further follow-though can occur in January. DWR Director Rogers said that DWR staff will develop a PFAS minimization initiative for major and minor industrial direct dischargers and all significant and direct users that discharge to POTWs. This initiative will require PFOS monitoring and implementation of minimization activities to eliminate or reduce PFOS discharges to less than 12 parts per trillion over a 3-5 year period. Director Rogers said his initiative could include other chemicals like Gen X and PFOA if the WQC agrees. DEQ Secretary Mary Penny Kelley briefly addressed the WQC and noted her appreciation of the progress being made. In conclusion, WQC members agreed on the following statement without passing a motion: The WQC directs DWR staff to develop a PFAS Minimization Initiative for Major and Minor industrial direct dischargers to surface water and all SIUs that discharge to POTWs. The minimization initiative will require monitoring for PFAS, and implementation of minimization activities required to eliminate or significantly reduce discharges of PFOS, PFOA, and Gen X (levels TBD) over a 3-5 year period. 3. Discussion - 1,4-dioxane Update Julie Grzyb, DWR Deputy Director, gave a presentation regarding the Greensboro Special Order by Consent (SOC) and 1,4-dioxane mitigation efforts in the Cape Fear Region. She provided a brief history of the Greensboro SOC and noted that Greensboro has made significant reductions in 1,4-dioxane discharges. She said Greensboro was still requiring SIUs to test samples to identify the cause of any spikes. Ms. Grzyb then discussed the City of Asheboro NPDES permit, noting that an administrative law judge (ALJ) ruled that the 1,4-dioxane limits in the permit were void and unenforceable. The EPA objected to that ruling, noting that it was inconsistent with the Clean Water Act and stating that if a more suitable permit wasn’t developed, then EPA would take over and become the exclusive authority to issue the permit. DEQ has appealed the ALJ’s decision to Wake County Superior Court. Page 6 of 6 Ms. Grzyb said that DEQ is looking for guidance on 1,4-dioxane recommendations. She said DEQ’s main concern is source control limited to certain facilities. A discussion followed amongst Commissioners about how best to proceed. III. Director’s Remarks DWR Director Rogers reserved his comments for tomorrow’s EMC meeting. IV. Conclusion Chair Keen stated that WQC members have received many emails from the public. He noted that they now have DEQ email addresses, and he asked DEQ to consider creating an auto-response to mass emails WQC members receive. That way, people would know their concerns were being heard. The meeting adjourned at approximately 3pm.