STATEMENT Ul UASJS/TECHNICAL SUMMARYAND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S PRELIMINARY DECISION

DESCRIPTION OF APPLICATION Applicant: Cooper Natural Resources Inc.; Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) Permit No. WQ0003642000, (TX01!2038).

**Re~o>ulated** Activity: Industrial Wastewater Permit. Type ofApplication: Renewal. Request: Renewal without Changes. Authority: Federal CleanWater Act §402; Texas Water Code §26.027; 30 TAC Chapter 305, Subchapters C-F, Chapters 307 and 319, CommissionPolicies; and EPA Guidelines.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RECOMMENDATION
The Executive Directorhas made a preliminary decision that this permit, ifissued, meets all statutory and regulatory requirements. It is proposedthe permitbe issued to expire onDecember I, 2014 in accordance with 30 TAC §305.71, Basin Permitting.

REASON FORPROJECT PROPOSED

The applicant has applied to the TCEQ for a renewal ofits existing permit.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND LOCATION
The applicant operates the CedarLake Plant, aproducer ofanhydrous sodium sulfate fi·om brine extracted from wells located throughout Cedar Lake, a saline lake. Withdrawnbrine is piped to a brine storage tankthence to the Chilling Plant, where the hydrous sodium sulfate precipitates out (aka Glauber's salt). The Glauber's salt loses much ofits water at the SwensonEvaporator Czystallizer (SEC) Plant before being subjectec\ to fmiher drying at the DryingPlant. Spent (depleted) brine is returnee\ to Cedar Lake via Seco Draw. Plant floor washwater, condensate from evaporation processes, and storm water also discharge via Outfall 001 to Seco Draw. These wastewaters flow through an oil/water separator locatedjustupstream ofOutfall 001.
Outfall 002 is located at the decant tower ofthe Salt CakeReclamation Pone\ (SCRP). Recoveree\ sodium sulfate (from truck loading and other site activities) is routed to the SCRP where fresh water and/or steamcondensate from the SEC Plant is sprayed over the salt to bringthe salt back into solution where it canbepumped to the brine storage tanlc and processed as field brine. Wastewater from pump house floor washc\own, boosterpump noncontact cooling water, storm water, and when operational, occasional brinetank overflow are routed to the SCRP, from whence they may be c\ischargec\ via Outfall 002. Cooling tower blowdown from the evaporationpone\ is routed to Outfall 003, as is intermittentbrine tank overflow, storm waterrunoff, culvert washwater, and tanlc washdown. Sanitary wastewaters are routed to on-site septic tanks. Freshwater is drawn from water wells located one to two miles west ofthe site.

Theplant site is located adjacent to CedarLake, 8 miles east ofthe intersection ofFarm-to-Market Road 1066 and Farm-to-Market Road 303, south oftheTown ofLoop, Gaines County, Texas 79342.STATEMENT OF BASIS 

### I TECHNICAL SUMMARY AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S PRELIMINARY DECISION TPDES Permit No. WQ0003642000
The effluent is discharged via Outfall 001 to a ditch; thence to Seco Draw; thenceto Cedar Lake; via Ontfall 002 to Salt CakeReclamationPond; thenceto Cedar Lake; via Outfall 003 via culverts to Coyote Draw; thenceto Cedar Lake in Segment No. 1400 ofthe Colorado RiverBasin. The unclassified receiving waters have no significant aquatic lifeuse for the ditch, Coyote Draw, and CedarLake. The effluent limits inthe draft permit will maintain and protect the existing instreamuses. All determinations are preliminary and subjectto additional review and/orrevisions.
The discharge fromthis permit is not expected to have aneffect on any federal endangered or threatened aquatic or aquatic dependent species orproposed species or their critical habitat. This determinationis based on the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's (USFWS) biological opinion onthe State ofTexas authodzation ofthe Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES; September 14, 1998; October 21, 1998 update). To make this determination for TPDES permits, TCEQ and EPA only considered aquatic or aquatic dependent species occurring in watersheds ofcritical concern orhigh priority as listed in Appendix A ofthe USFWS biological opinion. The determination is subjectto reevaluation due to subsequentupdates or amendments to the biological opinion. Thepermit does not require EPAreview withrespect to thepresence ofendangered or threatened species. Segment No. 1400 is not currently listed onthe State's inventory ofimpaired and threatened waters, (the 2008 CleanWater Act Section 303(d) list).
SUMMARY OFEFFLUENT DATA
The following is a quantitative description ofthe discharge described in theMonthlyEffluent Report data for the period .Ttme 2004 thoughMay 2009. The "Average ofDaily Avg" values presented inthe following table are the average ofall daily average values for thereporting period for eachparameter. The "Maximum ofDaily Max" values presented inthe following table are the individual maximmn values for thereportingperiod for eachparameter:
Flow

Outfall 001 002 003 Frequency Continuous Intermittent Intermittent
Effluent Characteristics

Outfall 001

002 Parameter Total Dissolved Solids Specific Gravity (* 1) Chlorides Sulfate as S04 Oil and Grease pH (StandardUnits)
Total Dissolved Solids Specific Gravity (*1) Chlorides Sulfate as S04 Oil and Grease Average of Daily Avg (MGD) (1.06) (0.026) (0.027)

Average of DailyAvg mg/L 168,116 164.30 92,968 31, 611 N/A (6.1 S.U. Minimum)
76,948 1.08 26,822 49,206 N/A Page 2 Maximum of Daily Max (MGD) (1.58) (0.28) (0.06)

Maximum of DailyMax mg/L 250,345 1175 116, 886 509,555 12.9 (8.2 S.U. Maximum)
207,091 1.18 95,497 117,690 <5STATEML\ i' '

.. ,, **~T\Cl-JNICAL** SUMMARY AND EXECUTIVE DlRECiCtCS PRELIMINARY DECISION TPDES Penni! No. WQ0003642000 Average of Maximum of Outfall Parameter DailyAvg mg/L Daily Max mg/L pH (Standard Units) (7.2 S.U. Minimum) (8.5 S.U. Maximum)
003 Total Dissolved Solids 157,559.12 227,157 Specific Gravity 

### (*I) 1.14 1160 Chlorides 52,316 97,746 Sulfate as S04 68,317.17 96,633 Oil and Grease N/A 17.7 pH (Standard Units) (6.2 S.U. Minimum) (9.0 S.U. Maximum) 

### (*I) No units are associated with this parmneter, dimensionless.
Based upon a review ofself-reported data above, the facility has not had m1y exceedences ofpermit limitations during the timeperiod evaluated.
PROPOSED PERMIT CONDITIONS
The draft permit authorizes the discharge oftreatedprocess wastewater (e.g., plant floor washwater, condensate from the evaporation processes), spent brine, m1d storm water via Outfall 001 at a daily average flow notto exceed 2.0 million gallons perday; decm1ted brine water, floor washdown water, condensate, non-contact cooling water, and storm water via Outfall 002 on m1 intennittent and flow variable basis; m1d brine water, condensate, tank washdown water, stormwater m1d overflow from the evaporationpond via Outfall 003 onm1 intermittent and flow variable basis.
Final effluent limitations are establishedin the draft permit as follows:
Outfall Number 00I, 002, and 003 Pollutm1t Flow(MGD) Total Dissolved Solids Specific Gravity 

### (*I) Chlorides Sulfate as S04 Oil m1d Grease pH (Standard Units) DailyAverage mg,/1 (Repmi) Report Report Report Report N!A (6.0 S.U. Minimum) 

### (*I) No units are associated with this parameter, dimensionless. Daily Maximurn mg/L (Report) Report Report Report Report 20 (9.0 S.U. Maximum)

Regulations promulgated inTitle 40 ofthe Code ofFederal Regulations require technology-based limitations to be placed in wastewater discharge permits based on effluent limitations guidelines, where applicable, and/or on best professionaljudgment (BPJ) inthe absence ofguidelines. 40 CPRPart 436, Subpart L addresses processing ofsalines from brine lakes, which applies to the withdrawal ofbrine from CedarLake and subsequent processing ofsodium sulfate. Bestpracticable control techuology (BPT) currently available at 40 CPR §436.122 (a) states there shallbe no dischm·ge ofprocess waste water pollutants into navigable waters. However, 40 CPR §436.122(b) allows the aforementioned to be applied on a net basis where the source oftl1e applicant's water supply is the same body ofwater into whichthe dischm·ge is made. The facility draws brine from CedarLake and returns the wastewaters backto the CedarLake. Therefore, the "net limits" are allowed. Previous permitting efforts have determined that total dissolved solids, chlorides, m1d sulfates are primary po1Iutm1ts for chm·acterizing thenature ofthe wastewater discharged. Specific gravity was included as an
Page 3

### STATEMENT OF BASIS 

### I TECJlNICAL SUMMARY AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S PRELIMINARYDECISION TPDES PermitNo. WQ0003642000
indicator as well as possiblyto collect data to determine a correlation between it and total dissolved solids. 1 

### The existingpermit requires that there be no net increase for these four parameters although the permittee is only required to determine "net"for sulfate. Being that process wastewater may discharge via all outfalls, the total sulfate out is determined using loadings from all outfalls. Thenet requirements are continued in the draft permit. TheBPJ oil and grease and pHlimits are continued in the draft pennit. SUMMARY OF CHANGES FROM APPLICATION
The following changes have been made from the application, which make the draft permit more stringent. Retest requirements for Hexavalent Chromium and Seleniumhavebeenincluded in the draft permit, as the permittee did not test down to the Minimum Analytical Level in effluent results submittedto the TCEQ on June 22,2009.
See the next section for additional changes to the existingpermit. SUMMARY OF CHANGES FROM EXISTING PERMIT
No additional changes have beenmade to the draft permit.
BASIS FORPROPOSED DRAFTPERMIT
The following items were considered in developing theproposedpermit draft:
1. Application submitted with letter dated Jtme 2, 2009 and additional information submitted with letter dated June 22, 2009. 2. Existingpermits: TPDES Permit No. WQ0003642000 issuedMay 6, 2005. 3. TCEQ Rules. 4. Texas Smface Water Quality Standards- 30 TAC §§307.1-307.10, effectiveAugust 17, 2000, and Appendix E, effective February 27, 2002. 5. "Procedures to Implement the Texas Smface Water Quality Standards," Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, January 2003. 6. Memos from theWater Quality Standards Tean1 and the Water Quality Assessment Team ofthe Water Quality Assessment Section ofthe TCEQ. 7. "GuidanceDocument for EstablishingMonitoringFrequencies for Domestic and Industrial Wastewater Discharge Permits," TCEQDocument No. 98-001.000-0WR-WQ, May 1998. 8. EPAEffluent Guidelines: 40 CFR 436 Subpart L (BPT). 9. Consistency with the Coastal ManagementPlan: N/A- This facility is not locataed in the Coastal Zone. PROCEDURES FORFINALDECISION
When an application is declared administratively complete, the ChiefClerk sends a letter to the applicant advising the applicant to publish the Notice ofReceipt ofApplication ru1d Intent to Obtain Penni! in the newspaper. In 

### addition, the ChiefClerk instructs the applicant to place a copyofthe application in apublic place for review m1d copying inthe county where the facility is orwill be located. This application will be in a public place throughout the commentperiod. The ChiefClerk also mails this notice to any interested persons and, ifrequired, to landowners identified inthe permit application. Tins notice informs the public about the

1

### 0therRequirements No. 3.b. Page 4STATEMENT 

### Of< h!\SiS i J t'l i INICAL SUMMARY AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S PRELIMINARYDECISION TPDES Penni!No. WQ0003642000 application, and provides that an interested personmay file connnents on the application or request a contested case hearing or a public meeting,
Once a draft penni! is completed, it is sent, along with the ExecutiveDirector's preliminary decision, as contained inthe technical sunm1ary or fact sheet, to the ChiefClerk, At that time, Notice ofApplication and PreliminaryDecision will be mailed to the same people and published inthe same newspaper as the prior notice. This notice sets a deadline for maldngpublic conllllents. The applicant mustplace a copy ofthe Executive Director's preliminary decision and draft penni! inthepublicplace with the application. This notice sets a deadline for public cmmnent. Any interestedpersonmay request a public meeting onthe application until the deadline for filing public comments. A public meeting is intended for the taking ofpublic comment, and is not a contested case proceeding. Afterthe public comment deadline, the Executive Directorprepares a response to all significant public connnents on the application orthe draft penni! raised during the public conn11ent period. The Chief Clerkthen mails the Executive Director's Response to Cmmnents and Final Decisionto people whohave filed conn11ents, requested a contested case hearing, orrequested to be onthe mailing list. This noticeprovides that if a person is not satisfied with the Executive Director's response and decision, they can request a contested case hearing or file a request to reconsider the Executive Director's decision within 30 days after thenotice is mailed. The ExecutiveDirector will issuethe permit m11ess a writtenhearing request orrequest for reconsideration is filed within 30 days after the Executive Director's Response to Connnents and Final Decision is mailed. Ifa hearingrequest orrequest for reconsideration is filed, theExecutiveDirectorwill not issue the penni! and will forward the application and request to the TCEQ Connnissioners for their consideration at a scheduled Conm1ission meeting. Ifa contested case hearing is held, it will be a legal proceeding similarto a civilllial in state district court.
Ifthe Executive Director calls a public meeting or the Commission grants a contested case hearing as described above, the Conmrission will give notice ofthe date, time, and place ofthe meeting orhearing. Ifa hearing request orrequest for reconsiderationis made, the Connnission will consider all public connnents inmaking its decision and shall either adopt the Executive Director's response topublic comments orprepare its own response.
For additional information about t!Iis application contact Hailey Jett at (512) 239-0628.

HaileyJett December 18, 2009 Date

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### STATEMENT OF BASIS I TECHNICAL SUMMA <

### YAND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S PRELIMINARY DECISION TPDES Permit No. WQ0003642000 Appendix A CalculatedWater Quality-Based Effluent Limits TEXTOX MENU#I-INTERMITTENT STREAM

The water quality-based effluent limitations demonstrated below are calculated using:

Table 1, 2000 Texas Surface Water Quality Standards (30 TAC 307) for Freshwater Aquatic Life Table 3, 2000 Texas Surface Water Quality Standards for Human Health Procedures to Implement the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Janumy 2003

TPDES Permit No·. PennitteeName: Outfall No: Prepared By: Date:

DISCHARGE INFORMATION: Intermittent Receiving Waterbody: Segment No: TSS (mg/L): pH (Standard Units): Hardness (mg/Las CaC03): Chloride (mg/L): Etllnenl Flow for Aquatic Life (MGD): Critical Low Flow [7Q2] (cfs): Acute Effluent% fur Ayuatic Life: WQ0003642000 Cooper Natural Resources, Inc. 001, 002, and 003 Hailey Jett 1212/2009

1400

11 7.6 610 1600 2 0.1 100

CALCULATETOTAL/DISSOLVED RATIO: Partitiohing Intercept Coefficient Stream/RiverMetal (b) Slope (m) (Kpo) Dissolved Fraction

(Cd!Ct) Water Effects Ratio (WER) Aluminum N/A N/A N/A 1.00 Assumed 1 Assumed Arsenic 5.68 -0.73 83134.89 0.52 Cadmium 6.6 -1.13 264988.04 0.26 Chromium (Tolal) 6.52 -0.93 356044.93 0.20 Clu·omium (+3) 6.52 -0.93 356044.93 0.20 Cluumium ( +6) N/A N/A N/A 1.00 Copper 6.02 -0.74 177569.93 0.34 Lead 6.45 ·0.8 413890.88 0.18 Mercury N/A N/A N/A 1.00 Nickel 5.69 -0.57 124855.07 0.42 Selenium N/A N/A N/A 1.00 Silver 6.38 -1.03 202939.01 0.31 Zinc 6.1 ·0.7 234976.87 0.28 AQUATIC LIFE CALCULATEDAILY AVERAGE AND DAILY MAXIMUM EFFLUENTLIMITATIONS

Acute Standard DailyAvg. Parameter (ug!L) WLAa LTAa (ugl!.) Aldrin 3 3.00 1.72 2.53 Ahr111inu1n 991 991.00 567.84 834.73 Arsenic 360 689.21 394.92 580.53 Cadmium 252.046 986.73 565.39 831.13 Carbmyl 2 2.00 1.15 1.68 

### Page 6 Assumed

Assumed

Assumed

Daily Max. (ug!L)

5.35 1765.99 1228.20 1758.38 3.56 Assumed Assumed Assumed Assumed Assumed Assumed Assumed Assumed Assumed Assumed Assumed AssumedChlordane Chlorpyrifos Chromium (+ 3) Chromium (+6) Copper Cyanide 4,4'-DDT Dementon Dicofol Dieldrin Diuron Endosulfan I (alpha) Endosulfan II (beta) Endosulfan sulfate Endrin Guthion Heptachlor 

### STATEMEN i c.; 

### BA:,dS .· : cCHNICAL SUMMARYAND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S PRELIMINARY DECISION TPDES Permit No. WQ0003642000

2.4 2.40 1.38 2.02 4.28 0.083 0.08 0.05 

### om 0.15 2412.96 11863.31 6797.68 9992.58 21140.77 15.7 15.70 9.00 13.22 27.98 101.245 299.00 171.33 251.85 532.83

45.78 45.78 26.23 38.56 81.58

1.1 1.10 0.63 0.93 1.96 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 59.3 59.30 33.98 49.95 105.67 2.5 2.50 1.43 2.11 4.46 210 210.00 120.33 176.89 374.23 0.22 0.22 0.13 0.19 0.39 0.22 0.22 0.13 0.19 0.39 0.22 0.22 0.13 0.19 0.39 0.18 0.18 0.10 0.15 0.32 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.52 0.52 0.30 0.44 0.93 Hexachlorocyclohexane (Lindane) 2 2.00 1.15 1.68 3.56 Lead 725.365 4027.81 2307.93 3392.66 7177.67 Malathion N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Meremy 2.4 2.40 1.38 2.02 4.28 Methoxychlor N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Mirex N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Nickel 6535.370 15511.09 8887.85 13065.14 27641.22 Parathion (ethyl) 0.065 

### om 0,04 0.05 0.12 Pentachloropllenol 16.57673 16.58 9.50 13.96 29.54 Phenanthrene 30 30.00 17.19 25.27 53.46 Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) 2 2.00 IJ5 1.68 3.56 Selenium 20 20.00 11.46 16.85 35.64 Silver, (free ion) 0.8 28.79 16.50 24.25 51.31 Toxaphene 0.78 0.78 0.45 0.66 1.39 Tributlytin (TBT) 0.13 0.!3 0,07 0.11 0.23 2,4,5 Trichlorophenol 136 136.00 77.93 114.55 242.36 Zinc 529.683 1898.78 1088.00 1599.36 3383.68
CALCULATE 70% AND 85% OF DAILY AVERAGE EFFLUENT LIMITATIONS Parameter 70% 85%

Aldrin 1.769 2.148 Alumimun 584.310 709.520 Arsenic 406.372 493.452 Cadmium 581.790 706.460 Carbaryl 1.179 1.432 Chlordane 1.415 1.718 Chlorpyrifos 0.049 0.059 Chromium (+3) 6994.81 8493.70 Chromh1m (+6) 9.257 11.241 Copper 176.297 214.075 Cyanide 26.993 32.777 4,4'"DDT 0.649 0.788 Dementon N/A N/A Dicotbl 34.964 42.457 Dieldrin 1.474 1.790 Dimun 123.820 150.352 Endosulfan I (alpha) 0.130 0.158 Endosulf.1n II (beta) 0.130 0.158 Endosulthn sulthte 0.130 0.158 

### Page 7Enc\rin Guthion Heptachlor 

### STATEMENT OF BASIS 

### I TECHNICAL SUA.VL .iZY AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S PRELIMINARY DECISION TPDES PermitNo. WQ0003642000

0.106 0.129 N/A N/A 0.307 0.372 Hexachlorocyclohexane (Lindane) 1.179 1.432 Lead 2374,864 2883.763 Malathion N/A N/A Mercury 1.415 1.718 Methoxychlor N/A N/A Mirex N/A N/A Nickel 9145.60 11105.37 Parathion (ethyl) 0.038 0.047 Pentachlrophenol 9.774 11.868 Phenanthrene 17.689 21.479 Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) 1.179 1.432 Selenium 11.792 14.319 Silver, (free ion) 16.977 20.615 Toxaphene 0.460 0.558 Tributlytin (TBT) 0.077 0.093 2,4,5 Tdchlorophenol 80.188 97.371 Zinc 1119.552 1359.456



### Page 8