By Nicole Eastman, Riverkeeper Assistant
A sampling site at Badin Lake
This week, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) released the final National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System stormwater permit for the Alcoa Badin Business Park. Although Yadkin Riverkeeper and our partners hope to see the legacy toxic sites left behind by Alcoa in West Badin cleaned up, this permit is a hopeful example of the public comment process and DEQ’s consideration of the public’s concerns.
Over the past year, DEQ has met with Yadkin Riverkeeper, the Duke Environment Law and Policy Clinic, the Concerned Citizens of West Badin, and NC Environmental Justice Network to discuss the contents of the draft stormwater permit. Major recommendations from partners during the draft permit's public comment period, which were included in the final permit, include:
Adding monthly effluent limits for fluoride (1.8 mg/L) and cyanide (5.0ug/L) for Outfall 011
Language stating DEQ may require Alcoa to conduct more frequent monitoring in the future
Additional signage for outfalls on the lake to ensure the public is aware of the fish consumption hazards on Badin Lake
Increased monitoring for Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) and Total Hardness from semi-annual to quarterly for all outfalls to allow for the assessment of Aluminum in freshwaters. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) aluminum criteria is calculated based on the pH, DOC, and Total Hardness in the waterbody
Additional record keeping and reporting to monitor Alcoa’s use of a Fluoride Treatment System
Required split-sampling with the DEQ regional office and Alcoa throughout the permit period for comparison of results
Alcoa must use a lab with a sensitivity level below the permit discharge requirements if there are approved methods capable of achieving this
YRK made additional recommendations that were not included in the final permit such as:
Eliminating the outfalls discharging to the lake (DEQ responded stating this would be the responsibility of Cube Hydro and they support this recommendation)
Increasing the sampling frequency if Outfall 5 continues to exceed a pollutant limit
Requiring the removal of contamination sources prior to the issuance of future NPDES permits to Alcoa (DEQ stated they will continue issuing permits until Alcoa is required to remediate the area under Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA))
Addressing the cumulative environmental justice impacts of the facility on the West Badin Community
These additions to the permit are a step in the right direction. However, Yadkin Riverkeeper will continue to work with the Duke ELPC and the CCWB to advocate for environmental justice in a community that has been disproportionately impacted by Alcoa’s legacy contamination for decades. This work will continue until Alcoa removes all of the toxic material in landfills and at unmarked dumping sites across West Badin. YRK appreciates DEQ taking into account our comments for the permit, and we hope Alcoa will be required to completely remediate these sites under RCRA.