7304_RES_20210218

ROY COOPER
Governor
MICHAEL S. REGAN
Secretary
MICHAEL SCOTT
Director
SENT VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
NORTH CAROLINA
Environmental Quality
February 18, 2021
Erik Siebold
Republic Services of North Carolina, LLC
d.b.a. Upper Piedmont Regional Landfill
9650 Oxford Road
Rougemont, NC 27572
SUBJECT: Notice of Violation, October 30, 2020
Compliance Resolution Report
Upper Piedmont Regional Landfill
7304-MWSLF-1997
Person County
Dear Mr. Siebold:
On October 21, 2020, Davy Conners, representing the State of North Carolina, Division of Waste
Management Solid Waste Section (Section), inspected the above referenced facility for
compliance with North Carolina solid waste statutes and rules (Inspection Report). Erik Siebold
and Matt Einsmann were present and represented Upper Piedmont Regional Landfill during this
inspection. The facility was found in violation of the 15A North Carolina Administrative Code
13B .1626 (8)(d). As a result, a Notice of Violation was issued on October 30, 2020.
To achieve compliance, the facility was required to conduct soil and water sampling in
accordance with the sampling requirements noted in the NOV. The following outlines corrective
actions taken by Upper Piedmont both prior to and after the inspection and NOV issuance.
On October 20, 2020, Matt Einsmann notified the Section of a leachate release that occurred in
the leachate containment tanks and secondary containment. According to Mr. Einsmann and Mr.
Siebold, early morning on Monday October 19, 2020, Upper Piedmont was notified of a leak in
their leachate tanks. When Upper Piedmont Staff arrived on site, Tank A and B were full of
leachate and had overflowed into the secondary containment, which had approximately 4 inches
of freeboard remaining. Two leachate releases beyond the containment system were identified.
The first release was from a hole approximately 25 feet above the ground in Tank B, which due to
D_EQ1Aj
NORTH CAROLINA
ileparlment o� EnviranmanGl puaiity
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Waste Management
217 West Jones Street 11646 Mail Service Center I Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1646
919.707.8200

Upper Piedmont Regional Landfill
Compliance Resolution Report
Page 2 of 3
February 18, 2021
static head in the leachate tank, was causing leachate to flow out of the hole beyond the
secondary containment system. The second leachate release came from a leak between the
flange and the secondary containment wall where the leachate inlet pipe enters the leachate
storage system. This leak was of the leachate that had overflowed into the secondary
containment not from the inlet pipe itself. Approximately 200 gallons of leachate were released
from both leaks.
Upper Piedmont responded to the releases by constructing an earthen dam to contain the
leachate. The leachate in the tanks and secondary containment was pumped down over the
course of two days. Additionally, the leachate that had been contained within the earthen dam
was pumped. By Tuesday afternoon the leachate levels in Tank B had been pumped below the
holes and they were patched temporarily until they could be repaired.
During the October 21, 2020 inspection, leachate was observed in the following areas: 1.
saturating the ground surrounding the leachate storage system, 2. in a drainage ditch between
the office building and the tanks, and 3. on the concrete pad next to the leachate storage system.
The following actions had been taken to contain the leachate in these areas, respectively: an
earthen dam had been built surrounding the storage system and the area had been pumped of
most of the leachate, an earthen dam had been built to stop leachate from flowing into a concrete
culvert and the area had been pumped of most of the leachate, and the concrete pad had been
pumped of most of the leachate.
On October 22, 2020, Upper Piedmont submitted the Site Sampling Plan to the Section, which was
approved the same day.
On November 12, 2020, Upper Piedmont submitted the Leachate Release Abatement Report to
the Section and on November 16, 2020, the Section sent a Letter of Approval for the Leachate
Release Abatement Report.
This letter serves as confirmation that the requirements of the October 30, 2020 NOV have been
satisfied and thus the violation has been resolved.
However, on January 14, 2021, Davy Conners and Benjamin Jackson, Permitting Engineer with
the Section, inspected the facility for a pre -operations inspection and discovered that the flange
in the secondary containment wall had not been repaired/replaced and the holes in Tank B were
still only temporarily patched. To prevent future leachate releases and ensure that the leachate
collection system is functioning as designed, these areas must be repaired as soon as possible.
Please submit to Davy Conners photo evidence of repairs once they are made.
D_EW
NORTH CAROLINA Q
Aj
ilupadmu,I ui En irp 0. 1 quality
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Waste Management
217 West Jones Street 11646 Mail Service Center I Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1646
919.707.8200

Upper Piedmont Regional Landfill
Compliance Resolution Report
Page 3 of 3
February 18, 2021
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. If you have any questions, please call me at (919)
621-3685 or e-mail [e-mail].
Sincerely,
Digitally signed by Davy Conners
DN: cn=Davy Conners, o=Division
of Waste Management, ou=Solid
Waste Section,
email=[e-mail],
c=US
Date: 2021.02.18 14:33:09-05'00'
Davy Conners
Environmental Senior Specialist
Division of Waste Management - Solid Waste Section
copies: Ed Mussler, Section Chief
Jason Watkins, Field Operations Branch Head
Andrew Hammonds, Eastern District Supervisor
Ervin Lane, Hydrogeologist
Benjamin Jackson, Permitting Engineer
Amanda Thompson, Environmental Senior Specialist
Jessica Montie, Compliance Officer
Chris Hollinger, Compliance Officer
Matt Einsmann, Republic Services
D_EW
NORTH CAROLINA Q
Aj
ilupadmu,1 ui En irp 0. 1 quality
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Waste Management
217 West Jones Street 11646 Mail Service Center I Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1646
919.707.8200