YOUR WATER, YOUR VOICE: Public comment period to oppose discharge permit closes Oct. 31

The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, (EPA) held a public hearing last week in Asheboro, NC, to allow people to submit oral or written comments and data regarding the EPA’s specific objection to a North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality's (NC DEQ) proposed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.

The EPA has objected to the proposed permit for discharges from the City of Asheboro Wastewater Treatment Plant. Right now, Asheboro accepts untreated wastewater from a plastic manufacturer called StarPet, which is then released into the Cape Fear River and our drinking water.

This wastewater contains a chemical called 1,4 dioxane, which is a known human carcinogen, and it has been measured in the finished drinking water leaving the Sweeney plant at high concentrations with startling regularity. The NCDEQ is allowing the city to use a toothless discharge permit due to a ruling by a judge, and now, after a lawsuit by the Southern Environmental Law Center arguing for stronger regulation, the EPA is stepping in to (hopefully) keep our water safe.

encore's John Wolfe joined Cape Fear River Watch's Kemp Burdette to provide public comments at the meeting and here's how it went:

Click HERE to watch the entire public hearing.

How to Provide a Public Comment

All persons interested in EPA’s specific objection to the City of Asheboro WWTP NPDES permit are invited to contribute comments, statements, data, and other information to EPA regarding the specific objections you may:

(1) submit written comments at the hearing; (2) send written comments to EPA at: Environmental Protection Agency, NPDES Permitting Section, Water Division, 61 Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta, GA 30303-8960; (3) email comments to R4NPDESComments@epa.gov or (4) present oral comments at the hearing.

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Kemp Burdette

John Wolfe