The division has published a public notice in the Stokes News & the Winston Salem Journal
PUBLIC NOTICE
N.C. DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INTENT TO ISSUE NPDES WASTEWATER DISCHARGE PERMIT #NC0024406
Public comment or objection to the draft permit modification is invited. All comments received by July 30, 2018 will be considered in the final determination regarding permit issuance and permit provisions.
PERMIT APPLICATION
Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC has applied for a renewal of its NPDES wastewater permit (NC0024406) for the Belews Creek Steam Station, 3195 Pine Hall Road; Belews Creek, NC, Stokes County. The facility discharges treated industrial wastewater to Belews Lake, unnamed tributary to Dan River, and Dan River in the Roanoke River basin. This discharge may affect future allocations in this portion of the Roanoke River basin.
The thermal component of the discharge is subject to effluent limitations under the federal Clean Water Act sections 301/306 and N.C. Administrative Code Section: 15A NCAC 2B.0211 (3) (j), which prohibits an exceedance of 2.8 degrees C (5.04 degrees F) above the natural water temperature, and in no case to exceed 32 degrees C (89.6 degrees F). The permit holder has requested a continuance of a Thermal variance, which would impose an alternative, less stringent limitation on the thermal component of the discharge. The proposed variance imposes a daily average limit of 32.0 degrees C (89.6 degrees F) downstream at the discharge from the Belews Lake Dam (5.3 miles from the outfall. Based on N.C. Administrative Code Section: 15A NCAC 2B.0208 (2) (b) and other lawful standards and regulations, the N.C. Division of Water Resources proposes to continue the Thermal variance and conduct a comprehensive study to obtain a 316(a) variance in conjunction with renewal of the permit.
The draft wastewater permit and related documents are available online at: https://goo.gl/3WtzMF. Printed copies of the draft permit and related documents may be reviewed at the department’s Winston-Salem Regional Office. To make an appointment to review the documents, please call 336-776-9800. Public comment on the draft permit modification should be mailed to: Wastewater Permitting, Attn: Belews Permit, 1617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C., 27699-1617. Public comments may also be submitted by email to: publiccomments@ncdenr.gov. Please be sure to include “Belews” in the email’s subject line.
Comment Period Ends: July 30, 2018
View draft permit and related documents