Comment period opens 8/16/20 and ends 9/15/20.

P U B L I C N O T I C E

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION

1617 MAIL SERVICE CENTER

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA 27699-1617

NOTIFICATION OF INTENT TO ISSUE A CONSENT ORDER

Public notice of intent to issue a State Consent Order to the following:

The City of Albemarle (P.O. Box 190, Albemarle, NC 28002) has requested Special Order by Consent EMC SOC WQ S19-007 for the Long Creek WWTP, a 12.0 MGD WWTP that discharges treated wastewater to Long Creek in the Yadkin-Pee Dee River Basin under the authority of NPDES Permit NC0024244 but is unable to consistently comply with effluent limits for Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Ammonia Nitrogen, Total Suspended Solids (TSS), and Fecal Coliform. The City also holds North Carolina Collection System Permit WQCS00016 for operation of an existing wastewater collection system but is unable to consistently comply with the permit condition regarding sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) as set forth in Permit WQCS00016.

The Environmental Management Commission proposes to issue the Order per Article 21 of Chapter 143, N.C. General Statutes, and other regulations effective October 1, 2020.

Compliance with this order will require the City to begin and complete construction for a WWTP upgrade to attain compliance with final effluent limits in Permit NC0024244. The City shall comply with NPDES permit limits with the exception of the interim effluent limits identified in the Order. Compliance with this order will also require the City to complete construction of a new or improved wastewater collection system to attain compliance with permit WQS00016. This Order will expire on December 31, 2023.

A copy of the Order is available upon request by contacting Derek Denard of the Division of Water Resources at 919-707-3618, or by email at derek.denard@ncdenr.gov. Comments on the proposed Order received no later than 30 days after the publish date of this notice will be considered in the final determination. A public meeting may be held if there is a significant degree of public interest.

Date: _08/11/2020_______________ signed by John E. Hennessy for

Dr. A. Stanley Meiburg, Chairman

Environmental Management Commission