on the proposed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and associated fact sheet for the Port Townsend Paper Corporation (PTPC) pulp and paper mill.
We will accept comments April 24 – June 21, 2013.
Ecology will be available to answer questions about the proposed permit during an informal open house:
May 14, 2013
At the Port Townsend Community Center, 620 Tyler
Street, Card Room
4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
A public meeting, including a presentation on the proposed
permit followed by a question/answer opportunity and formal
hearing to accept oral comments, will take place:
June 4, 2013
At the Elk’s Lodge #317, 555 Otto Street, Port Townsend
Starting at 6:30 p.m.
Permit
PTPC operates a pulp and paper mill that discharges wastewater
to Glen Cove in Port Townsend Bay. Under state and federal
law, a NPDES permit is required to discharge wastewater.
An NPDES permit is normally issued every five years. This
permit:
Sets limits on the kinds, amounts and concentrations of
pollutants a facility may release.
Requires a facility to measure, test and report its
pollutants.
Waste 2 Resources Program April 2013
Prescribes “best management practices.”
Specifies additional studies necessary to determine the wastewater’s impact on the
environment.
Sets other legal conditions necessary to discharge wastewater.
The permit was last reissued in 2004. Proposed updatesto the permit include:
Lower biological oxygen demand and total suspended solids permit limitsfor the aerated
stabilization basin (ASB) discharge.
Addition of:
A pH limit for the discharge of sanitary wastewater
Various studies necessary to further assess potential impacts to the environment
(groundwater, receiving water, and sediment quality)
A compliance schedule to remove sludge build up in the ASB.
An engineering study examining the treatment efficiency of the ASB for odor
causing pollutants in the wastewater.
More information on these changes is found in the proposed fact sheet.
Effective comments:
Tell us how well, based on current laws, rules and regulations, the proposed permit
protects receiving water.
Provide input on limits, conditions and requirements.
Let us know if you think we made errors interpreting state and federal permitting
requirements.
Are specific. Tell usspecifically what your concern is and how you think the permit
should be changed.
When the comment period ends, Ecology will review and consider all comments received and
make appropriate changes to the permit before issuing it
Facility description
The mill is located at 100 Mill Road in Port Townsend. It:
Produced an average of 625 tons/day of unbleached Kraft pulp and 267 tons/day of old
corrugated cardboard pulp between September 2004 and June 2012. The unbleached pulp
is either sold or processed into paper for sale.
Employs approximately 325 people.
Comment period April 24 – June 21, 2013
Read the proposed permit at these locations
Port Townsend Public Library
1220 Lawrence Street
Port Townsend, WA 98368
WA Dept. of Ecology
300 Desmond Way SE
Lacey, WA 98503
Online:
http://apps.ecy.wa.gov/industrial/proposed.asp
Submit written comments to:
Stephanie Ogle, P.E.
WA Dept. of Ecology
Industrial Section
P.O. Box 47600
Olympia, WA 98504-7600
PTPC.comments@ecy.wa.gov
https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/publications/1307041.pdf
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