The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources (DWR) has scheduled a public hearing for August 19 to gather feedback on the draft renewal permit for Badin Business Park, formerly the Alcoa aluminum facility in Stanly County.
The hearing will take place at 6 p.m. in the Gene McIntyre Meeting Room at Stanly County Commons, located at 1000 N. First Street, Albemarle. Those wishing to speak can register onsite starting at 5:30 p.m.
Badin Business Park’s aluminum products facility, also known as Alcoa Badin Works, closed operations in 2010. Despite its closure, DWR continues to regulate groundwater and stormwater discharges from the site under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit (No. NC0004308). The most recent permit was issued in 2019 and remains active until a new one is approved.
The proposed renewal would require ongoing monitoring for pollutants at specific discharge points. These results must be tested by laboratories certified by DWR and reported back to the agency. New requirements include additional monitoring for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and metals at several outfalls that flow into a tributary of Little Mountain Creek and Badin Lake.
Draft versions of the wastewater permit and related documents are available online through Public Notices as well as in NCDEQ’s Laserfiche document repository via the Badin Business Park online permit file. Printed copies can be reviewed by appointment at the department’s Mooresville Regional Office.
Appointments to review documents can be made by contacting Andrew Pitner, regional supervisor, at 704-235-2100. Materials cannot be removed from DWR offices but may be copied onsite with payment according to state law.
In addition to verbal comments during the hearing, written comments will be accepted by mail or email until August 20. Comments should be sent either to Derek Denard at NPDES Wastewater Permitting or emailed to publiccomments@deq.nc.gov with “Badin Business Park Permit” in the subject line; voicemails may also be left at 919-707-8448 before the deadline.
“All comments will be considered in the final determination regarding permit issuance and permit provisions,” according to DWR.
