The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission will hold three public hearings to hear public comment on proposed rules for monitoring and minimizing 1,4-dioxane, a substance likely to cause cancer, in wastewater discharged into North Carolina’s surface waters from certain facilities. The hearings are part of a comment period that begins on March 16.
Public Hearing Details
When: 6 p.m., April 9, 2026
Where: Catawba County St. Stephens Branch Library, 3225 Springs Road, Hickory, N.C., 28601
Register: Sign-in and speaker registration will begin at 5 p.m.
Public Hearing Details
When: 6 p.m., April 14, 2026
Where: Fayetteville Technology Community College, Tony Rand Student Center multipurpose room, 2220 Hull Rd. Fayetteville, N.C., 28303
Register: Sign-in and speaker registration will begin at 5 p.m.
Public Hearing Details
When: 6 p.m., May 12, 2026
Where: Percy H. Sears Applied Technologies Building Auditorium, Guilford Technical Community College, 1201 Bonner Dr., Jamestown, N.C., 27282
Register: Sign-in and speaker registration will begin at 5 p.m.
In addition to accepting comments at the hearings, written comments may also be submitted by email to publiccomments@deq.nc.gov with the subject heading “1,4-dioxane minimization” from March 16 through June 15. Written comments may also be submitted by mail to: Bridget Shelton, DEQ-DWR Planning Section, 1611 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C., 27699-1611.
The Environmental Management Commission (EMC) will hold the public hearings to consider the proposed adoption of 1,4-dioxane monitoring and minimization rules 15A NCAC 02B .0513 and 15A NCAC 02H .0924.
These rules have been proposed by the EMC to, first, monitor for the presence of 1,4-dioxane in discharges from: industrial dischargers with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits that fall into certain industry classifications; publicly owned wastewater treatment plants with pretreatment programs that accept waste from at least one significant industrial user (SIU) that meet certain industry classifications; and from the discharges of associated indirect dischargers (SIUs) known to be associated with 1,4-dioxane industry types.
The proposed rules would also require industrial direct dischargers and significant industrial users that detect 1,4-dioxane in their discharge to develop minimization plans that identify approaches to reduce 1,4-dioxane discharges directly or indirectly to surface water.
Public comments will be accepted on these proposed adoptions and the regulatory impact analysis associated with these rule adoptions. In addition, the EMC is also accepting public comments on the following specific topics:
- whether a screening threshold above the lowest reported concentration (currently 1 μg/L) for 1,4-dioxane would be appropriate as a trigger for ongoing monitoring and minimization planning; and
- whether the applicability of the 1,4-dioxane monitoring and minimization rules should be expanded beyond the currently proposed scope of dischargers with certain standard industry classification (SIC) or North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes to include all industrial dischargers.
The public is invited to attend the public hearings to provide written and verbal comments on the proposed rules, the associated regulatory impact analysis, and on the specific topics as requested by the EMC.
Speaking time may be limited based on attendance. Written comments and copies of prepared remarks will be accepted at each hearing.
The proposed rules are available online: EMC proposed rules. The text of the proposed rules can also be found online.
Note: This program is neither sponsored nor endorsed by the Catawba County Library or Catawba County Government.