The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources (DWR) is set to hold a public hearing on August 19, 2025. The purpose is to gather public comments on the draft renewal permit for Badin Business Park, formerly an Alcoa Inc. aluminum facility in Stanly County.
The hearing will take place at 6 p.m. in the Gene McIntyre Meeting Room at Stanly County Commons, located at 1000 N. First Street, Albemarle, N.C., 28001. Speaker registration begins at 5:30 p.m. onsite via a sign-in sheet.
The Badin Business Park, also known as Alcoa Badin Works, ceased operations in 2010. Despite its closure, DWR continues to regulate groundwater and stormwater discharges from the site under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit (NPDES permit No. NC0004308). The last issuance of this permit was in 2019 and has been administratively continued since then.
Until the permit is renewed by DWR, Badin Business Park must adhere to the existing permit limits. The proposed new permit mandates monitoring for pollutants at specific discharge points and requires results to be tested by a laboratory certified by DWR before being reported back to them.
New monitoring requirements have been introduced in the draft permit, including checks for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and metals at several outfalls discharging into Little Mountain Creek tributary and Badin Lake.
The draft wastewater permit and associated documents are available online under Public Notices and can also be accessed through NCDEQ’s online document repository, Laserfiche: Badin Business Park online permit file. Printed copies can be reviewed at the department’s Mooresville Regional Office located at 610 E. Center Ave., Suite 301, Mooresville, N.C., 28115. Appointments can be made by contacting Andrew Pitner at 704-235-2100.
Public comments can also be submitted via mail or email until August 20. Mailed comments should be addressed to Derek Denard at NPDES Wastewater Permitting with attention to Badin Business Park Permit at the specified Raleigh address. Email submissions should include “Badin Business Park Permit” in the subject line and sent to publiccomments@deq.nc.gov by 5 p.m. on August 20.
All feedback received will be considered when making final decisions regarding the issuance of the permit and its conditions.
