NPDES) PERMIT Fact Sheet/Permit Evaluation Report
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NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES) PERMIT Fact Sheet/Permit Evaluation Report Oregon Department of Environmental Quality 2020 SW Fourth Avenue, Suite 400 Portland, Oregon 97201 503-229-5263 FAX 503-229-6945 Stimson Lumber Company Plant Location: P. O. Box 68 Scoggins Valley Road Forest Grove, OR 97116 Gaston, Oregon Sources Covered: Receiving Stream: Log pond discharge (outfall 001) Scoggins Creek Land application of process wastewater solids (outfall 002) Source Category: Proposed Action: Minor Industrial Issuance of renewal permit File Information: Source Contact: WQ-Washington County Steven Petrin File No. 85355 Environmental Manager EPA Reference No.: OR 000129-5 (503)357-2131 Prepared by: Date Prepared: April 2004 Raj Kapur Updated: June 2004 Northwest Region - Water Quality Program 503-229-5156 Permit Evaluation Report Stimson Lumber Company 1.0 Description of Proposed Action A National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit was issued by the Department of Environmental Quality (Department) to Stimson Lumber Company (Stimson) on April 25, 1997 (1997 NPDES permit). The 1997 NPDES permit authorizes Stimson to discharge log pond overflow to Scoggins Creek from November to April of each year. The permit expired on March 31, 2002. Stimson submitted a NPDES permit renewal application on October 1, 2001. Supplemental information was submitted by Stimson in March and April 2004. Along with the permit renewal application, Stimson requested that the renewed NPDES permit allow for a longer discharge period into the spring and early summer, when stream flows are higher in Scoggins Creek. Since a timely renewal application was submitted, Stimson has continued to operate under the terms and conditions of the 1997 NPDES permit. The Department is now proposing to renew the NPDES permit for Stimson. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 and subsequent amendments require a NPDES permit for the discharge of wastewater to surface waters. Furthermore, Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS 468B.050) also requires a permit for the discharge of wastewater to surface waters. This proposed permit action by the Department fulfills both federal and state requirements. 2.0 Facility Description 2.1 General Stimson operates a sawmill and hardboard manufacturing facility. Products include commodity hardboard, exterior trim stock, siding face laminate, studs and dimensional lumber. The facility is located on Scoggins Valley Road near Gaston, Oregon. A site location map is presented in Figure 1. i > . |( r «y m l 1 ' • . '. , ' i "# 'v:r......:iM-;l Log Pond n - v\ • V" <* ; X'J i" 1 if' , M'ti;' < . r -, ^.*, ^ »• - Jl . * ' • •'. \ _ Ki ii'lfi »' .. i ."••-.,] -.•^ •• i , •'• m " •••. ! • ' • OJ Figure 1 - Site Location Map 2 Permit Evaluation Report Stimson Lumber Company 2.2 Wastewater Sources The primary source of water used within the mill is obtained from Scoggins Creek although tap water is also used for certain activities. The facility has three distinct activities: sawmill, hardboard plant, and powerhouse. Water flow diagrams for each of these activities are attached to this report. At the sawmill, small quantities of condensate (approximately 11 gallons per minute (gpm)) are discharged to the powerhouse feed water. Wash water from an equipment washing area is treated through a closed loop treatment system; however, there is potential for overflow from this location to enter the log pond. Thus, the washwater is listed as a source of wastewater to the log pond. However, the expected rate is small (less than 1 gpm). Wash down from the barkers is a significant source of wastewater entering the log pond (100 gpm). At the hardboard plant, wastewater is collected and is biologically treated and reused. Waste solids from the biological treatment process are stored in holding ponds and land applied/irrigated onto property owned by Stimson. Land application/irrigation occurs on a year-around basis. At the powerhouse, non-contact cooling waters are directed to the fire water pond for reuse. Other waste streams including boiler blowdown are discharged to the log pond. Storm water runoff from this portion of the facility is also directed to the log pond. Stimson also discharges storm water to Scoggins Creek through a drainage ditch on the southeastern portion of the facility. This storm water discharge is covered by DEQ's general storm water permit for industrial sources (# 1200-Z). 3.0 Water Quality Issues 3.1 Applicable Water Quality Standards The applicable water quality standards are found in Oregon Administrative Rule (OAR) 340-041. They are intended to be protective of the beneficial uses for the basin, which include domestic water supply, industrial water supply, irrigation, livestock watering, anadromous fish passage, resident fish and aquatic life, salmonid spawning and rearing, wildlife, hunting, fishing, boating, water contact recreation, aesthetic quality, and commercial navigation and transportation. Scoggins Creek is a tributary of the Tualatin River, which is located in the Willamette River basin. The Tualatin TMDL states that the portion of Scoggins Creek below Scoggins Dam is considered spawning habitat for cut-throat trout, coho salmon, and steelhead. The fish use designations were developed by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). These designations have been adopted by DEQ in OAR 340-41, Figure 340B. The fish use designation map specifies that the spawning period for Scoggins Creek is from October 15 to May 15. However, recent fisheries studies in the area (Tualatin Basin Water Supply Feasibility Study, February 2004) did not find evidence of salmonid spawning near the Stimson facility. Scoggins Creek upstream and downstream of the Stimson facility was subjectively rated as "poor to fair" in habitat conditions for salmonids. The Department will work with the ODFW District Biologist to determine whether the fish use designation for Scoggins Creek should be revised. If the fish use designation for Scoggins Creek is revised by ODFW, water quality analysis will be conducted using the revised fish use designation. Selected water quality standards for the Scoggins Creek are presented in Table 1. Note that both the salmonid spawning criteria and the cold water aquatic life criteria for dissolved oxygen is presented. Permit Evaluation Report Stimson Lumber Company TABLE 1: SELECTED SCOGGINS CREEK WATER QUALITY CRITERIA Parameter In-stream Water Quality Criteria Dissolved Oxygen Salmonid Spawning Criteria (OAR 340-041-0016) Not less than > 11.0 mg/L. However, if the minimum inter-gravel dissolved oxygen is (October 15-June 30) 8.0 mg/l or greater, then the DO criterion is 9.0 mg/l. Furthermore, where conditions of barometric pressure, altitude, and temperature preclude attainment of the 11.0 mg/l or 9.0 mg/l criteria, dissolved oxygen levels must not be less than 95 percent of saturation. Cold Water Aquatic Life Criteria The dissolved oxygen may not be less than 8.0 mg/l as an absolute minimum. Temperature The 7-day average maximum temperature of a stream identified as having salmon (OAR 340-041-0028) and steelhead spawning may not exceed 13 °C (55.4 °F) PH > 6.5 and < 8.5 (OAR 340-041-0021) Turbidity No more than a ten percent cumulative increase in natural stream turbidities shall (OAR 340-041-0036) be allowed, as measured relative to a control point immediately upstream of the turbidity causing activity. Total Dissolved Solids The concentrations listed below may not be exceeded unless otherwise specifically (OAR 340-041-0032) authorized by DEQ: 100 mg/L 3.2 Water Quality Criteria for Toxic Substances Table 20 of OAR 340-041 specifies water quality criteria for toxic pollutants. Both criteria for protection of aquatic life and human health are presented in Table 20. Selected aquatic life and human health criteria are presented in Tables 2 and 3. The aquatic life criteria for several metals are based on hardness. For Scoggins Creek, a hardness of 25 mg/L was used to calculate aquatic life criteria for hardness dependent metals. This is a typical hardness for Willamette River basin streams. Aquatic life criteria for selected toxic pollutants are given below: TABLE 2: AQUATIC LIFE CRITERIA FOR TOXIC SUBSTANCES Criteria for Protection of Freshwater Aquatic Life Parameter Unit Acute Chronic Arsenic III MQ/L 360 190 a a Cadmium MQ/L 0.9 0.41 a a Copper MQ/L 5.16 3.86 Iron MQ/L N/A 1000 a a Lead MQ/L 15.75 0.61 Mercury MQ/L 2.4 0.012 a a Nickel MQ/L 469 52 a a Zinc MQ/L 38.6 34.95 a Hardness dependent criteria. A hardness of 25 mg/L was used. Human health criteria for selected toxic pollutants are given below: Permit Evaluation Report Stimson Lumber Company TABLE 3: HUMAN HEALTH CRITERIA FOR TOXIC SUBSTANCES Criteria for Protection of Human Health Parameter Water & Fish Fish Consumption Drinking Ingestion only Water MCL* Arsenic III 2.2 ng/L 17.5 ng/L 0.05 mg/L Cadmium 10 MQ/L N/A 0.01 mg/L Iron 0.3 mg/L N/A N/A Lead 50 ug/L N/A 0.05 mg/L Mercury 144 ng/L 146 ng/L 0.002 mg/L Nickel 13.4 ug/L 100 ug/L N/A Selenium 10 MQ/L N/A 0.01 mg/L *MCL - Maximum Contaminant Level 3.3 Tualatin River TMDL Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act requires each state to develop a list of water bodies that do not meet state surface water quality standards after implementation of technology-based controls. The state is then required to complete a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program for water bodies on the 303(d) list. The TMDL program must address water quality on a basin-wide scale to ensure that overall water quality standards will be met. The Clean Water Act prohibits new or increased discharges until a TMDL has been established for 303(d) water bodies, unless the discharge does not contribute pollutants that cause the stream to violate water quality standards.