The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources (DWR) will hold a public hearing on August 19 to gather input from the public regarding the draft renewal permit for Badin Business Park, formerly known as Alcoa Badin Works. The aluminum facility, located in Stanly County, ceased operations in 2010 but remains under regulation due to ongoing groundwater and stormwater discharges.
The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, August 19, 2025, at 6 p.m. in the Gene McIntyre Meeting Room at Stanly County Commons in Albemarle. Individuals wishing to speak can register onsite beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Badin Business Park operates under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit (No. NC0004308), which was last issued in 2019 and has been administratively continued since then. The DWR requires the facility to comply with existing permit limits until a new permit is issued.
The proposed draft permit includes expanded monitoring requirements. In addition to previous standards, it now calls for testing for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and metals at several outfalls that discharge into a tributary of Little Mountain Creek and Badin Lake.
According to DWR, “DWR’s proposed permit will continue to require Badin Business Park to monitor for pollutants at certain outfalls, or discharge points, to have results tested at a laboratory certified by DWR, and to report those findings to DWR.”
Documents related to the draft wastewater permit are available online through Public Notices and in NCDEQ’s document repository Laserfiche via the Badin Business Park online permit file. Printed copies may be reviewed by appointment at the department’s Mooresville Regional Office.
Appointments can be made by calling Andrew Pitner, regional supervisor at the Mooresville office. File materials must remain onsite but can be copied upon payment according to state statute G.S. 132-6.2.
In addition to providing comments during the public hearing, residents may submit feedback by mail addressed to Derek Denard of NPDES Wastewater Permitting or via email at publiccomments@deq.nc.gov with “Badin Business Park Permit” as the subject line. Comments sent by mail must be postmarked no later than August 20; email comments are accepted until 5 p.m., August 20. Voicemail submissions are also accepted at 919-707-8448.
“All comments will be considered in the final determination regarding permit issuance and permit provisions,” according to DWR.
