An aggregates and heavy building materials supply company has received a revised permit to release millions of gallons per day of mine dewatering and stormwater discharge into unnamed tributaries of Blounts Creek.
The North Carolina Division of Water Resources issued Martin Marietta Inc.’s Vanceboro Quarry a revised wastewater discharge permit on Wednesday, according to a release.
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“The revised permit requires an assessment of biological integrity, or the condition of the organisms such as fish and insects in a waterway, once every two years through sampling for benthos, or small aquatic organisms that live in water, with the first sampling event to occur between Feb. 1 through March 15, after the discharge begins,” the release states.
The permit also requires the company to monitor monthly for pH levels, total suspended solids and turbidity in the discharge, or effluent, from the mine.
The permit allows for the discharge of 12 million gallons per day from two outfalls into unnamed tributaries of the creek, which is classified as a Class C, swamp, nutrient sensitive waterbody in the Tar-Pamlico River Basin.
Waterways classified as Class C are protected for uses that include aquatic life survival and fish and wildlife maintenance, and agricultural and recreation such as wading or boating.
The division initially approved a permit to the company last February, then rescinded the permit following the March ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court, which sided with San Francisco’s challenge to water quality regulations issued by the Environmental Protection Agency.
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