After receiving feedback at a public hearing and during the comment period, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Resources has approved the renewal of the permit regulating wastewater discharge from Martin Marietta Materials Inc.’s Vanceboro Quarry.
The division held a public hearing Nov. 19 in Washington, North Carolina on the permit’s draft as part of a public comment period. The division’s report on the comments is available online: Vanceboro Quarry hearing officer’s report. The permit is also available online.
Beginning April 1, 2025, the new permit will regulate mine dewatering and stormwater from the mine to unnamed tributaries of Blounts Creek, which is classified as a Class C, Swamp, Nutrient Sensitive waterbody in the Tar-Pamlico River Basin.
The permit includes a requirement to monitor twice per month for pH, total suspended solids (TSS), and turbidity – a measure of suspended material – in the discharge, or effluent, from the mine.
In addition, once the permittee begins discharging, the permit requires monitoring for biological integrity every two years through the study of benthic macroinvertebrates, or benthos. Benthos are small aquatic organisms that live in water.
Permit details and a technical fact sheet can be found online: DWR Vanceboro Quarry Permit file.