The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources (DWR) has renewed the wastewater discharge permit for Badin Business Park, the former Alcoa Inc. aluminum production facility located in Badin, Stanly County.
The renewal follows an extensive review process, including a 48-day public comment period, a public hearing held on Aug. 19, and multiple meetings with community representatives and the riverkeeper.
Although the facility, also known as Alcoa Badin Works, ceased operations in 2010, DWR continues to regulate groundwater, stormwater, and fire protection water discharges under National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit No. NC0004308. The permit, last renewed in 2019, remained in effect until this update was completed.
Significant updates included in the renewed permit — many in response to public comments — are as follows:
Fluoride treatment system requirements: Added detailed description of the fluoride treatment system for wastewater from outfall 005 and required maintenance of a logbook documenting influent and internal sampling results, which both help track wastewater prior to treatment.
Increased monitoring for cyanide and fluoride: Sampling frequency for cyanide and fluoride at outfall 005 has been increased to twice per month.
Effluent pollutant scans: The facility must complete a scan for pollutants in effluent, or wastewater discharge, for all parameters listed in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Form 3510-2C within 180 days of the permit’s effective date for outfalls 005, 012 and 013. This includes analysis for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and metals.
Sensitive test methods: Added clauses requiring the use of sufficiently sensitive analytical methods, performed by a DWR-certified laboratory, capable of detecting pollutants down to applicable permit limits.
Signage at outfalls: Badin Business Park must post signage identifying outfall 013—located northwest of the Badin public recreation area off N.C. 740—and Outfalls 011 and 012, located near the recreation area, as wastewater discharge locations to Badin Lake.
Re-opener clause: Added a clause allowing DWR to increase monitoring requirements through written notification, if data indicate the need for additional oversight to protect water quality.
Increased frequency for key parameters: Required quarterly monitoring for dissolved organic carbon and total hardness at all outfalls. These parameters, along with pH, help determine safe and protective aluminum concentrations.
The permit’s discharge limitations are structured to safeguard human health and aquatic life in the receiving waters. The facility has 12 discharge points, or outfalls. Six outfalls discharge to an unnamed tributary of Little Mountain Creek, which is classified as a Water Supply IV waterbody, and six discharge to Badin Lake, classified as Water Supply IV, Class B, Critical Area waters. All receiving waters are part of the Yadkin-Pee Dee River Basin.
NCDEQ remains committed to working collaboratively with the community by sharing new data, conducting sampling alongside Badin Business Park to ensure accuracy in a practice known as “split sampling,” and collecting samples alongside community members when feasible.
All supporting materials, including the renewed permit and the fact sheet, are available in NCDEQ’s online document repository: Badin Business Park online permit file.