Department of Environmental QualityNovember 21, 2019

Clean Water Act and NPDES Overview

• Clean Water Act of 1972• Section 303 - Classifications and Standards• Section 402 - National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)

• Congress assigned the responsibility of implementation to the EPA• Delegated to North Carolina in 1975• 106 Grant used to administer the program• North Carolina statues and rules used to administer the program• EPA Oversight

• Audits• Approve standards• Approve major permits

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Department of Environmental Quality

NPDES Laws & Regulations(Federal & State)

• Federal CWA - Section 402• Federal Regulations - Part 40 CFR

• State NCGS 143-215.1 (Permitting) • State NCGS 143-215.6A (Compliance)

• State 15A NCAC 02H .0100 (Permitting)• State 15A NCAC 02B .0100 and .0200 (Water quality standards)

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Department of Environmental Quality

Who Needs an NPDES Permit?

• Direct discharge to surface waters (any process wastewater or collected stormwater)

• Indirect discharge/Pretreatment

• Deemed permitted activities

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Department of Environmental Quality

NPDES Permitting Process

• Complete Application:• Draft Permit• Public Notice - 30 day comment period• Public Hearing• Final Permit Decision – Must be made within 90

days of public hearing• If approved, permit will have up to a 5 year

duration

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Department of Environmental Quality

Permit Conditions (Individual Permits)

• Components list and receiving stream characteristics• Effluent Limitations and Monitoring Requirements• Special Conditions• Standard Conditions (Boilerplate)

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Department of Environmental Quality

CPI USA North Carolina LLCSouthport Power Plant – History

• Power Plant Commissioned in 1987• Permit NC0065009 originally issued June 1, 1987• The facility was acquired in 2006 from Primary Energy Ventures

(formerly Cogentrix Southport)• Operates under a Power Purchase Agreement with Progress

Energy (now Duke Energy Progress)• Southport is a combined heat & power cogeneration facility

providing steam to Archer Daniels Midland Co.

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CPI USA North Carolina LLCSouthport Power Plant

• Two Electrical Power Generating Units• Each Unit consists of 3 Stoker Feed Boilers supply superheated

steam to an extraction Turbine• Each Unit Generates ~44 MW (88 MW total)• 2018 Fuel Blend (Heat Input Basis):

• 11% Coal, 40% Tire-Derived Fuel (TDF), 49% Wood

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• Fuel pile runoff (Outfall 001)coal pile runoffFuel pile runoff from wood Tire derived fuel (TDF)

• Low-volume wastewater (Outfall 001):backwash from a boiler feedwater demineralizerboiler blowdownaccumulated water in the floor from miscellaneous sump pumps in the

turbine buildingwash water (17,000 gal/yr) from cleaning of the mechanical drag

system (MDS) • Cooling tower blowdown (Outfall 002)• Reverse osmosis filter reject water (Outfall 004)

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Department of Environmental Quality

Wastewater Generation Consists of the Following

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Wastewater Treatment Components

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• Distribution Box & Weir

Components List – Current Treatment

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Outfall 003

Department of Environmental Quality

• two (2) 500,000 gallon settling basins.

Wastewater Treatment Components• two (2) 500,000 gallon settling basins

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1.9 billion gallons per day maximum flow from Duke Progress Energy Permit NC0007064

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Duke Progress Flow NC0007064

CPI Flow NC0065099

Discharge GallonsDuke Progress Flow NC0007064 1,900,000,000CPI Flow NC0065099 411,539

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Effluent Limits & Monitoring Requirements

EFFLUENT CHARACTERISTICS[Parameter Codes]

DISCHARGE LIMITATIONS

MONITORING REQUIREMENTS

Monthly Average

Daily Maximum

Measurement Frequency

Sample Type

Sample Location

Flow (MGD) 50050 Monitor & Report Continuous Recording Effluent

pH (su) 00400 Not < 6.0 or > 9.0 standard units Weekly Grab Effluent

Total Suspended Solids (TSS) (mg/l) CO530 30.0 mg/l 50.0 mg/l 2 / Month Composite Effluent

Oil & Grease (mg/L)[EPA Method 1664 SGT-HEM] 00556 15.0 mg/l 20.0 mg/l 2 / Month Grab Effluent

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Outfall 001

Department of Environmental Quality

• coal pile runoff, fuel pile runoff (wood & TDF), low-volume wastewaters (backwash from a boiler feedwater demineralizer, boiler blowdown & miscellaneous sumps and MDS wash water)

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Fuel Piles

Coal

Wood

TDF

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coal pile runoff

Wood Chip Pilefuel pile runoff

Wastewater V-Ditch

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wastewater

Coal Pile

coal pile runoff

stormwater

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Tire-Derived Fuel (TDF) Pile

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Mechanical Drag System for Removal of Bottom Ash

Reference: US EPA, Technical Development Document for the Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Steam Electric Power Generating Point Sources Category, EPA-821-R-15-007, p. 7-41 – 7-42

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Ash is contained & trucked off-site to an approved landfill

Effluent Limits & Monitoring Requirements

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Outfall 002

Department of Environmental Quality

• Cooling Tower Blowdown

EFFLUENT CHARACTERISTICS[Parameter Codes]

DISCHARGE LIMITATIONS

MONITORING REQUIREMENTS1

Monthly Average

Daily Maximum Measurement Frequency

Sample Type

Sample Location

Flow (MGD) 50050 Monitor & Report Continuous Recording Effluent

pH (su) 00400 Not < 6.0 or > 9.0 standard units Weekly Grab Effluent

Free Available Chlorine (mg/l) 2 50064 0.2 mg/l 0.5 mg/l Weekly Grab Effluent

Total Chromium (mg/l) 01034 0.2 mg/l 0.2 mg/l Monthly Composite Effluent

Total Zinc (mg/l) 01092 1.0 mg/l 1.0 mg/l Monthly Composite Effluent

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Cooling Towers

Effluent Limits & Monitoring Requirements

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Outfall 004

Department of Environmental Quality

• Reverse osmosis filter reject water

EFFLUENT CHARACTERISTICS[Parameter Codes]

DISCHARGE LIMITATIONS

MONITORING REQUIREMENTS

Monthly Average

Daily Maximum

Measurement Frequency

Sample Type

Sample Location

Flow (MGD) 50050 Monitor & Report Continuous Recording EffluentTemperature (ºC) 00010 Monitor & Report Weekly Grab Effluent

pH (su) 00400 Not < 6.0 or > 9.0 standard units Weekly Grab Effluent

Total Suspended Solids (TSS) (mg/l) CO530 30.0 mg/l 100.0 mg/l 2 / Month Grab EffluentOil & Grease (mg/L)[EPA Method 1664 SGT-HEM] 00556 15.0 mg/l 20.0 mg/l 2 / Month Grab Effluent

Total Dissolved Solids (mg/l) 70295 Monitor & Report Monthly Grab EffluentDissolved Oxygen (DO) (mg/l) 00300 Monitor & Report Monthly Grab EffluentConductively (µmhos/cm) 00094 Monitor & Report Monthly Grab EffluentAmmonia Nitrogen (mg/l) CO610 Monitor & Report Monthly Grab Effluent

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Effluent Limits & Monitoring Requirements

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Outfall 003

Department of Environmental Quality

• Combined flows from Outfalls 001, 002 & 004

EFFLUENT CHARACTERISTICS[Parameter Codes]

DISCHARGE LIMITATIONS

MONITORING REQUIREMENTS

Monthly Average

Daily Maximum

Measurement Frequency

Sample Type

Sample Location

Flow (MGD) 50050 Monitor & Report Continuous Recorder EffluentTemperature (ºC) 00010 Monitor & Report Weekly Grab Effluent

pH (su) 00400 Not < 6.0 or > 9.0 standard units Weekly Grab Effluent

Total Zinc (mg/l) 01092 Monitor & Report Quarterly Composite EffluentTotal Copper (mg/l) 01042 Monitor & Report Quarterly Composite EffluentTotal Nickel (mg/l) 01067 Monitor & Report Quarterly Composite EffluentTotal Chromium (mg/l) 01034 Monitor & Report Quarterly Composite EffluentPPA (126 Priority Pollutants)(40 CFR Part 423, Appendix A)Excluding Zinc and Chromium

NC01 No Detectable Amount Once per permit Cycle Composite Effluent

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Effluent Limits & Monitoring Requirements

• The Permittee shall prevent plant site oils, hazardous substances, or toxic substances from combining with site runoff. There shall be no discharges of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) compounds such as those commonly used for transformer fluid. (Outfalls 001, 002, 003, 004)

• Final discharge shall contain no floating solids or foam visible in other than trace amounts. (Outfall 003)

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Conditions

Special Conditions

• Part I A. (5.) USE OF BIOCIDES: The permittee shall not use any biocides except those approved in conjunction with the permit application. The permittee shall notify the Director in writing not later than ninety (90) days prior to instituting use of any additional biocide used in cooling systems which may be toxic to aquatic life other than those previously reported to the Division of Water Resources. Such notification shall include completion of Biocide Worksheet Form 101 and a map locating the discharge point and receiving stream. Completion of Biocide Worksheet Form 101 is not necessary for those outfalls containing toxicity testing. Division approval is not necessary for the introduction of a new biocide into an outfall currently being tested for toxicity.

• Part I A. (6.) ELECTRONIC REPORTING OF MONITORING REPORTS

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Anticipated Permit Timeline

• Public Hearing – November 21, 2019

• Public Comment Period Closes – 5:00 p.m. on December 23, 2019

• Anticipated Hearing Officer’s Report – January 2020

• Final Permit Decision (90 days) – No later than February 19, 2019

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Department of Environmental Quality

Contact Information

• Derek Denard – Environmental Specialist Compliance & Expedited Permitting Branch

• Email: derek.denard@ncdenr.gov• Phone: 919-707-3618

• John Hennessy – Supervisor Compliance & Expedited Permitting Branch

• Email: John.Hennessy@ncdenr.gov• Phone: 919-707-3615

• Website: https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-resources/water-resources-permits/wastewater-branch/npdes-wastewater-permits

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Department of Environmental Quality