® North Carolina Pretreatment Consortium Inc. Presented to City of Gastonia 2003 PEER AWARD RECIPIENT 9 OR MORE SIU’s IN RECOGNITION OF YOUR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NC-PC AND THE FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL PRETREATMENT The City of Gastonia’s Pretreatment Program has achieved several significant accomplishments over the past few years. In addition to regulating 19 Significant Industrial Users, approximately 330+ Industrial Waste Surveys and Wastewater Discharge Permits will be issued this year for all food establishments (restaurants, food processors, etc.) and some automotive service entities (car washes, detail shops, car dealerships, and lube shops) in the city of Gastonia. In July 2002 Gastonia held a Mercury Collection and Thermometer Exchange Event to address mercury concerns in the environment. The event removed 898 mercury-containing items from the environment for proper disposal. The City of Gastonia was the first City in North Carolina to hold both a Mercury Collection and Thermometer Exchange Event. Gastonia has begun implementation of a Fats, Oil & Grease (FOG) Reduction Program aimed at reducing sanitary sewer overflows and necessary line cleaning due to grease accumulations. Metals have been a concern in Gastonia’s Treatment System. Pretreatment staff along with others in the Wastewater Treatment Division has worked to develop collection and analysis techniques to accurately monitor metals at extremely low concentrations. Gastonia has received much recognition for its work in this area and has shared this process through multiple presentations and demonstrations for other municipalities and agencies. The City of Gastonia’s Wastewater Treatment Division (WWTD) has developed and implemented an Environmental Management System that conforms to the ISO 14001 International Standard. Gastonia was the first government agency in the State of North Carolina and the third Wastewater Treatment Plant in the country to fully implement a certified program. The WWTD obtained Certification to the ISO 14001 standard on June 15, 2001 and has successfully passed five surveillance audits since the initial audit was conducted. The City of Gastonia’s Pretreatment Program has been nominated by the North Carolina Division of Water Quality’s Pretreatment Group to receive the 2003 Clean Water Recognition Award based on their accomplishment during the past year. These accomplishments led to the City of Gastonia’s Pretreatment Program being selected as a North Carolina Pretreatment Consortium Peer Award Winner for 2003.