North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 15A - Environmental Quality › Chapter 02 - Environmental Management › Subchapter H - PROCEDURES FOR PERMITS: APPROVALS › Section .1200 - SPECIAL ORDERS › Section 02H .1206 - WATER QUALITY SPECIAL ORDERS BY CONSENT

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a)
				  Applications for Water Quality Special Orders by Consent:
(1) A person that accepts responsibility for
				  causing or contributing to pollution of the waters of the State may apply for a
				  Special Order by Consent (Order, or SOC). Applications shall be submitted to
				  the Division of Water Resources. An Order establishes a schedule of corrective
				  actions necessary to achieve compliance and alternative limitations that will
				  be effective until corrective actions are completed or until the completion
				  date specified in the Order, whichever comes first.
(2) Applications by permittees shall be made
				  in triplicate on forms supplied by the Division along with a nonrefundable four
				  hundred dollars ($400.00) processing fee. The application form shall include
				  the following information:
(A) applicant's
				  name, title, and contact information;
(B) facility name and permit number (if
				  applicable);
(C) date of
				  pre-application meeting with the appropriate Regional Office of the Division
				  and the name of the Division's representative at the meeting;
(D) a description of the existing treatment
				  process, a summary of violations of permit conditions or limits, and an
				  explanation of the circumstances contributing to the violations;
(E) if a flow increase is requested, actual
				  and proposed plant flows and flow allocations and demonstration of the need for
				  the flow increase per Paragraph (c) of this Rule; only facilities owned by a
				  unit of government may request a flow increase, per
				  G.S.
				  143-215.67(b);
(F) the results of an evaluation of the
				  treatment units, operational procedures, and performance of the existing
				  facility conducted by the permittee or other person. The person preparing these
				  results shall sign the document. The evaluation shall include the following:
(i) a determination that noncompliance is not
				  due to failure by the permittee to operate, manage, and maintain the wastewater
				  disposal system and that the existing wastewater disposal system is being
				  operated in such a way as to attain, under the existing conditions, the highest
				  degree of treatment for which it was designed;
(ii) recommendations as to how the
				  efficiencies of these facilities can be maximized;
(iii) a certification that the facilities
				  cannot be operated in a manner that would achieve compliance with permit
				  limits; and
(iv) a determination of
				  the permit limits that the facility can be expected to meet if operated at its
				  maximum efficiency during the term of the SOC. These may include interim limits
				  for the various phases of construction.
(G) a predicted schedule for activities
				  necessary to achieve permit compliance;
(H) a list of funding sources to be used to
				  complete the proposed activities and bring the facility into compliance. The
				  list shall indicate whether the funds have been secured or can be secured in
				  time to conform to the schedule in Part (I) of this Subparagraph. If the
				  permittee has applied for but not secured funding, it shall provide copies of
				  those applications. If the permittee cannot verify that it has secured the
				  necessary funding, it may propose alternative steps to achieving compliance
				  with its permit;
(I) other
				  information relevant to the Director's evaluation of the application,
				  including:
(i) unavoidable future violations
				  of permit conditions or limits;
(ii) a description of any process
				  modifications that have been made to date to ensure optimum performance of
				  existing facilities;
(iii) a
				  description of collection system rehabilitation work completed or scheduled
				  (including dates);
(iv) a
				  description of any coordination with industrial users or actions taken to
				  address their contribution to the permit violations;
(v) any other actions taken to correct
				  problems and achieve compliance prior to applying for the SOC.
(vi) the date and results of the last
				  Industrial Waste Survey; and
(vii)
				  whether or not the facility is acting as a regional facility receiving
				  wastewater from other municipalities having independent pretreatment
				  programs;
(3)
				  Applications shall be signed as follows:
(A)
				  in the case of a City or Town, by a ranking elected official or other duly
				  authorized employee;
(B) in the
				  case of a corporation, company, industry, or other private entity, by a
				  principal executive officer of at least the level of vice-president, or his
				  duly authorized representative;
(C)
				  in the case of a School District, by the Superintendent of Schools or other
				  duly authorized employee;
(D) in
				  the case of a partnership, by a general partner and in the case of a limited
				  partnership, by a general partner; and
(E) in the case of a sole proprietorship, by
				  the proprietor.
(4) If
				  an application is incomplete or if the Division staff determines that
				  additional information is necessary to its review of the application, the
				  Director shall notify the applicant of the additional items or information
				  required to complete the application. If the applicant does not complete its
				  application within 60 days of the notification, the Director may return the
				  application to the applicant and terminate the Division's review. The applicant
				  must submit a new application, revised to address the deficiencies already
				  noted and with a new processing fee, to renew its request for an
				  Order.