MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT WATER AND SCIENCE ADMINISTRATION NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Washington County State Discharge Permit 24DP0788, NPDES Permit MD0021776: City of Hagerstown, Department of Utilities applied for renewal of the permit to discharge an average of 8.00 million gallons per day (MGD) of treated wastewater from the Hagerstown WWTP located at 1 Clean Water Circle, Hagerstown, MD 21740 to the Antietam Creek, designated as Use IV-P water, which is protected for holding or supporting adult trout for put-and-take fishing, and as a public water supply. The Department is proposing a Tentative Determination (TD) to reissue the discharge permit with the following effluent limitations: BOD5, 12 mg/l maximum monthly average and 18 mg/l maximum weekly average (Summer, 5/1-10/31) and 30 mg/l maximum monthly average and 45 mg/l maximum weekly average (Winter, 11/1-4/30); Total Suspended Solids, 30 mg/l maximum monthly average and 45 mg/l maximum weekly average; BOD5 and TSS Percent Removed, 85 % minimum monthly average; Total Ammonia Nitrogen as N (Interim Limits), 3.6 mg/l monthly average (Summer, 5/1-10/31) and 6.2 mg/l monthly average (Winter, 11/1-4/30); Total Ammonia Nitrogen as N (Final Limits), 1.6 mg/l monthly average (Summer, 5/1-10/31) and 3.2 mg/l monthly average (Winter, 11/1-4/30); Total Phosphorus (TP) as P, 7309 pounds/year maximum annual load; Total Nitrogen (TN) as N, 97458 pounds/year maximum annual load; E. Coli, 126 MPN/100 ml maximum monthly geometric mean value; Total Residual Chlorine, 0.027 mg/l instantaneous maximum; Dissolved Oxygen, 8.0 mg/l at any time (Summer, 5/1-10/31) and 5.0 mg/l at any time (Winter, 11/1-4/30); and pH maintained between 6.5 and 8.5. The final Total Ammonia Nitrogen as N limits will take effect 12 months after the permit’s effective date. The interim limits will take effect upon permit issuance and remain in place until the final limits take effect. The effluent limits for TSS, TP, and E. Coli are in conformance with each pollutant’s approved water quality TMDLs for the Antietam Creek watershed (02-14-05-02). The annual maximum loading rate effluent limits for TSS, TP, and TN are in conformance with the Chesapeake Bay TMDL for Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sediment, accepted by EPA on 12/29/2010. The effluent limits are established to ensure compliance with State water quality standards. The minimum monitoring and reporting requirements for effluent and raw wastewater influent are mandated to ensure compliance with the permit requirements. Per MD Environmental Article § 1–602(a)(2), an EJ score was calculated for this facility. The EJ Score is 82.4. This score is calculated from the following factors: Pollution Burden Exposure Percentile, Pollution Burden Environmental Effects Percentile, and Sensitive Population Percentile. For more information on how the score was calculated, launch the MDEnviroScreen tool from this website - https://mdewwp.page.link/EJ. The public hearing documents, including the permit application, draft permit, and Summary Report & Fact Sheets (SRFS), are available on MDE’s website at https://mdewwp.page.link/WWPPortal. Search for “24DP0788” under “State Num” and click on the “More Info” button for the permit entry of your interest to generate a list of available documents for download. The Department has received a request for a public hearing on the tentative determination for the above permit and has scheduled the hearing for Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at 05:30 PM. The Public Hearing will be conducted virtually via Google Meet, with an option to listen only by phone. To participate online, you must register using the following link: https://mdewwp.page.link/PublicMeetings. Alternatively, those who want to monitor the virtual hearing in listen-only mode can call +1 484-546-5103 and enter this PIN: 858046986#. The hearing will be recorded and transcribed. Persons who wish to present information regarding the tentative determination may speak at the public hearing, submit written comments at the public hearing, or submit a written statement to the Department no later than 5 p.m. on March 30, 2026. All comments will be considered in making a final determination. Comments received via any submission method will be given equal weight. Written comments can also be mailed to the Maryland Department of the Environment, Water and Science Administration, 1800 Washington Blvd. Ste. 455, Baltimore, Maryland 21230-1708, Attn.: Mr. Yen-Der Cheng, Chief, Municipal Permits Division, or emailed to Yen-Der.Cheng@Maryland.gov. The supporting information for the tentative determination, including the draft permit and fact sheet, may be reviewed by contacting Mr. Cheng at the above address or by telephone at (410) 537-3363 or 1-800-633-6101 to schedule an appointment. Copies of documents may be obtained for $0.36 per page. Any hearing-impaired person may request an interpreter to be present at the public hearing by giving ten working days’ notice to Mr. Cheng at the address or telephone number listed above. 2/13, 2/20/26 #12068110