The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources will hold a hearing on Dec. 17 to hear public comment on the proposed renewal of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for Lear Corp.’s industrial textile facility near Kenansville. The permit regulates pollutants discharged in the facility’s wastewater.
In addition to accepting public input at the hearing, DWR has extended the comment period for written and emailed comments. DWR will now accept written and emailed comments through 5 p.m Jan. 10.
Lear Corp.’s facility, located off N.C. Highway 903 near Kenansville in Duplin County, is involved in the knitting, weaving, dyeing and finishing processes of synthetic fibers. The facility discharges treated domestic and industrial wastewater to the Northeast Cape Fear River in the Cape Fear River Basin. The river is classified as a Class C waterway protected for uses such as aquatic life propagation, and as Sw, or swamp waters.
Based on public input received during the initial comment period held between Feb. 9 and March 28, 2024, the draft permit has been revised.
The revised draft permit includes requirements for the facility to monitor and sample for per – and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the facility’s wastewater discharge, on-site groundwater, and upstream and downstream of the facility’s wastewater discharge point in the Northeast Cape Fear River.
The revised draft permit also requires Lear Corp. to characterize PFAS compounds used and processed at the plant. Additionally, Lear Corp. is required to develop and implement PFAS Best Management Practices (BMPs) and to perform a study of best available technology (BAT) for reducing or eliminating PFAS in its process wastewaters.
The draft permit includes a condition for reopening the permit to impose limits for PFAS if federal technology-based effluent limitations become available; state surface water quality standards or management practices for certain PFAS compounds are implemented; or if performance standards can be determined from the BAT study.
Public Hearing Details
When: Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, at 6 p.m.
Where: James Sprunt Community College Campus
Monk Auditorium in the Hoffler Building
133 James Sprunt Drive, Kenansville NC 28349
Register: Speaker registration opens at 5:30 p.m. onsite via sign-up sheet.
In addition to accepting comments at the hearing, DWR will also accept written and emailed comments until Jan. 10.
Public comment on the draft permit may be mailed to: Attn: Fenton Brown, Jr., NPDES Wastewater Permitting, Attn: Lear Corporation Permit, 1617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C., 27699-1617 and postmarked no later than Jan. 10.
Public comments may also be submitted by email to: publiccomments@deq.nc.gov. Please include “Lear Corporation Permit” in the email subject line.
The draft permit and a technical fact sheet can be found online. A condensed fact sheet is also available.