NOTICE OF PROPOSED WATER POLLUTION CONTROL PERMIT
FOR THE PEARL HARBOR NAVAL SHIPYARD AND
INTERMEDIATE MAINTENANCE FACILITY
CHLORINATION UNITS AND DECHLORINATION UNITS
PEARL HARBOR, ISLAND OF OAHU
NPDES PERMIT NO. HI 1120801
DOCKET NO. HI 1120801
March 31, 2020
The State Department of Health (DOH) tentatively proposes to issue a renewal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to discharge chlorinated and dechlorinated once-through, non-contact cooling water from its vessels at PHNSY&IMF, to receiving State waters, subject to special conditions to:
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
PEARL HARBOR NAVAL SHIPYARD AND
INTERMEDIATE MAINTENANCE FACILITY (PHNSY&IMF)
The proposed NPDES permit for the existing discharge will expire five (5) years from the date of issuance.
The Permittee owns and operates the facility located at 667 Safeguard Street, Suite 100, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii 96860, which provides repair and maintenance services for Navy vessels and other military vessels.
Pearl Harbor Navy Public Works Center (PHNPWC) operates a saltwater system that draws water from the Pearl Harbor estuary near the vicinity of Pier B-2. The collected seawater is pumped from a sump into the Navy’s saltwater distribution system which supplies the cooling water for the Permittee. No treatment or additives are applied to the seawater used for the cooling system.
The cooling water supplied to the Permittee must be chlorinated to prevent biological fouling (biofouling) in the cooling systems onboard vessels. Portable Dockside Chlorination Units (DCUs) and Topside Chlorination/Dechlorination Units (TCDUs) are used to produce chlorine from seawater in the intake system. Collectively, the permit and fact sheet refer to DCUs and TCDUs as chlorination units (CUs). The CU is an electrolytic hypochlorite generator that uses electrical energy to create non-spontaneous, oxidation-reduction of the major constituents of the chloride and bromide rich seawater. Intake water from the PHNPWC is sent through the CU and the resulting chlorinated seawater is injected into the operating suction seachests of the authorized vessel’s cooling systems to prevent biofouling. Authorized vessels are vessels that are berthed at Piers B-1 to B-21, S-1 through S-21, Y-2, Y-3, F-12, F-13 and GD-1 to GD-5.
Persons wishing to comment upon or object to the proposed NPDES permit or to request a public hearing, should submit their comments or requests in writing no later than 30 calendar days after the date of this notice, either through e-mail at: cleanwaterbranch@doh.hawaii.gov or by mail at 2827 Waimano Home Road, Room 225, Pearl City, HI 96782.
Copies of the proposed public notice permit and other information are available for public inspection, Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) from 7:45 a.m. until 4:15 p.m., at the DOH Clean Water Branch (CWB) office located at the 2827 Waimano Home Road, Room 225, Pearl City, HI 96782. Copies may be bought. The public notice permit and fact sheet are also available on the internet at: http://health.hawaii.gov/cwb/site-map/home/public-notices-and-updates. For more information or if you have special needs due to disability that will aid you in inspecting and/or commenting on the public notice permit and related information, please contact Mr. Darryl Lum, Supervisor of the Engineering Section, CWB, at the above address or (808) 586-4309 (Voice) at least seven (7) calendar days before the comment deadline. For those who use a TTY/TDD, please call through Sprint Relay Hawaii, at 1-711 or 1-877-447-5991.
All written comments and requests received on time will be considered. If DOH determines that there is significant public interest, a public hearing may be held after at least 30 calendar days of public notice.
If DOH’s position is substantially unchanged after considering all timely written comments and all oral comments at any public hearing that may be held, then the DOH will issue the NPDES permit and this action will be final.
Please notify anyone you know who would be interested in this matter.
BRUCE S. ANDERSON, Ph.D.
Director of Health
(SA1274769 3/31/20)
