STATE OF WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES PUBLIC NOTICE OF INTENT TO REISSUE A WISCONSIN POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (WPDES) PERMIT No.WI-0000825-10-0 Permittee: Ahlstrom NA Specialty Solutions LLC, 600 Thilmany Road, Kaukauna, WI, 54130 Facility Where Discharge Occurs: Ahlstrom NA Specialty Solutions LLC, 600 Thilmany Road Receiving Water And Location: Fox River in Fox River/Appleton of Fox River (lower) in Outagamie County Brief Facility Description and Summary of Proposed Changes: Ahlstrom NA Specialty Solutions LLC's Thilmany Mill manufactures unbleached kraft pulp and specialty kraft paper products. 29.5 Million gallons per day (MGD) is taken from the Lower Fox River for process and noncontact cooling water use. Process water is treated with sodium hypochlorite, bromide, alum, and polymer. Noncontact cooling water is treated with sodium hypochlorite and sodium bisulfite. The mill also utilizes an average of 35,000 gal/month of potable water provided by the City of Kaukauna. Wastewaters from pulping operations are pH neutralized and pretreated in an aerated lagoon. Pulping wastewaters are then pumped from the aerated lagoon to the reactor basin of an oxygen-enriched, activated-sludge, secondary treatment system. Paper mill wastewaters pass through a trash rack, primary clarifier and the secondary treatment system's reactor basin where the paper mill wastewaters combine with pulp mill wastewaters from the aerated lagoon. Primary clarifier effluent may also be pumped to a cooling tower. Phosphorus and nitrogen are added to the reactor basin influent. Effluent from the secondary treatment system's reactor basin is routed to two secondary clarifiers and discharged to the Lower Fox River via Outfall 001. Noncontact cooling water from the Number 3 Turbine condenser and the pulp mill's batch digester secondary condenser blow heat system discharge from Outfall 003 approximately six months of the year, May through October. The noncontact cooling water is dechlorinated with sodium bisulfite prior to discharge to the Lower Fox River. Dewatered solids are taken to the Red Hills Landfill. Sanitary wastes and landfill leachates are sent to Heart of the Valley MSD. Permit Drafter's Name, Address, Phone and Email: Amanda Perdzock, DNR, 101 S. Webster St. PO Box 7921, Madison, WI, 53707, (608) 267-7635, Amanda.Perdzock@wisconsin.gov Basin Engineer's Name, Address, Phone and Email: Barti Oumarou, 625 E County Road Y, Suite 700, Oshkosh, WI 54901, (920) 424-4013, Barti.Oumarou@wisconsin.gov The Department has tentatively decided that the above-specified WPDES permit should be reissued. Cooling Water Intake Structure: The proposed permit contains a determination regarding use of the best technologies available for minimizing impingement mortality and entrainment at the permittee's cooling water intake structure, subject to ch. NR 111, Wis. Adm. Code, and section 316(b) of the federal Clean Water Act. Phosphorus Multi-Discharger Variance: The Department has determined that the permittee is eligible for a phosphorus multi-discharger variance (MDV) in accordance with s. 283.16, Wis. Stats. The MDV provides a time extension for the permittee to comply with the final water quality based effluent limits for phosphorus while contributing funds towards nonpoint pollution control projects to reduce phosphorus. Comments on this determination are requested and additional supporting documentation and data are available upon request. Persons wishing to comment on or object to the proposed permit action, or to request a public hearing, may write to the Department of Natural Resources at the above-named permit drafter's address. All comments or suggestions received no later than 30 days after the publication date of this public notice will be considered along with other information on file in making a final decision regarding the permit. Anyone providing comments in response to this public notice will receive a notification of the Department's final decision when the permit is issued. Where designated as a reviewable surface water discharge permit, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is allowed up to 90 days to submit comments or objections regarding this permit determination. If no comments are received on the proposed permit from anyone, including U.S. EPA, the permit will be issued as proposed. The Department may schedule a public informational hearing if requested by any person and shall schedule a public informational hearing if a petition requesting a hearing is received from 5 or more persons or if response to this notice indicates significant public interest pursuant to s. 283.49, Wis. Stats. Requests for a public informational hearing shall state the following: the name and address of the person(s) requesting the hearing; the interest in the proposed permit of the person(s) requesting the hearing; the reasons for the request; and the issues proposed to be considered at the hearing. Information on file for this permit action, including the draft permit, fact sheet and permit application, may be inspected and copied at either the above-named permit drafter's office or the above named basin engineer's office, Monday through Friday (except holidays), between 9:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Please call the permit drafter or basin engineer for directions to their office location, if necessary. Information on this permit action may also be obtained by calling the permit drafter at (608) 267-7635 or by writing to the Department. Reasonable costs (15 cents per page for copies and 7 cents per page for scanning) will be charged for information in the file other than the public notice, permit and fact sheet. Permit information is also available on the internet at: http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/wastewater/PublicNotices.html. Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodation, including the provision of informational material in an alternative format, will be made to qualified individuals upon request. NAME OF PUBLISHING NEWSPAPER: Post Crescent ADDRESS OF PUBLISHING NEWSPAPER: 306 W Washington Street, Appleton, WI, 54911-4745 Date Notice Issued: September 22, 2025 WNAXLP September 22 2025 LWIX0374684