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DWQ schedules public hearing for proposed Vanceboro quarry in March
Story Date: 3/11/2013
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Source: NCDENR, 3/8/13
The Division of Water Quality has scheduled a hearing to gather public comment on applications for wetland impacts and treated wastewater discharge from a Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. quarry proposed to be built near Vanceboro in Beaufort County.
The public hearing is scheduled for Thursday, March 14 at the Beaufort County Community College Building 8-Auditorium, 5337 Highway 264 East in Washington, N.C. The hearing will begin at 7 p.m.; doors will open at 6 p.m. for speaker registration and sign-up.
The proposals are for a new Martin Marietta Materials mining facility to be located in an area off Welbourn Road near Vanceboro. Crushed limestone will be mined for use in the construction industry. Pit dewatering, required to extract this material, will create a mix of groundwater, mostly from the Castle Hayne aquifer, and stormwater. This mixture will go to clarification ponds before being discharged to tributaries of Blounts Creek in the Tar-Pamlico River basin. During full production, which may take decades to reach, the flow is estimated to be 9 million gallons per day.
The dewatering/stormwater discharge may influence pH and salinity levels in the receiving streams. DWQ requested that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. provide further studies of these complex issues. The studies indicate that the discharge would have negligible affects on the salinity levels in the waterways, and could result in a rise in pH levels. Summaries of the studies are available in the permit fact sheet, along with the draft permit, on the DWQ website at: http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wq/swp/ps/npdes/calendar.
The applicant is also seeking approval for impacts to 6.69 acres of federal jurisdictional wetlands and impacts to 14,937 linear feet of jurisdictional man-made ditches. The ditches are on property acquired from the Weyerhaeuser Company; the proposed quarry site is surrounded by Weyerhaeuser property used for tree farming. Additional information about the request for approved wetland and stream impacts can be found online at: http://its.enr.state.nc.us/laserfiche8/Login.aspx?db=NCDWQ (Username: public, Password: password).
The public is invited to present oral or written comments at the hearing. Written comments may also be mailed to: Cyndi Karoly, N.C. Division of Water Quality, Wetlands and Stormwater Branch, 1650 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1650; or to Cyndi.Karoly@ncdenr.gov. Comments may also be delivered to: Amy Adams, DWQ Washington Regional Office, 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington, N.C. 27889 or to Amy.Adams@ncdenr.gov . Please identify the Vanceboro Quarry project in the subject line of your correspondence to ensure proper routing. For additional questions, please call Cyndi Karoly at 919-807-6380 or Amy Adams at 252-946-6481. Comments should be received no later than April 12, 2013.
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