WS-29296_48461_G_ELIG_20221117_TF-EligibilityLetter

November 17, 2022

Mr. Steve Barnwell Huffman Oil Company
P.O. Box 730 Burlington, NC 27216 RE: Commercial State Trust Fund Eligibility Application D&M Grocery – Facility ID # 00-0-000009253 6066 NC 704 Highway East Sandy Ridge, Stokes County, North Carolina Incident # 48461 UST # - WS-29296 Dear Mr. Barnwell: This letter is to acknowledge receipt of and respond to your request for eligibility determination for access
to the North Carolina Leaking Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Funds for the above-referenced property. Review of your application by the Underground Storage Tank (UST) Section of the Division of Waste Management is now complete.
Information supplied to the State Trust Fund indicates that the following USTs are associated with the subject site:
• One 2,000-gallon gasoline UST (installed 4/26/1962 and in temporary closure),
• One 4,000-gallon gasoline UST (installed 4/26/1962 and in use),
• One 3,000-gallon gasoline UST (installed 4/26/1962 and in use),
• One 4,000-gallon kerosene UST (installed 10/1/1989 and in use), and
• One 8,000-gallon gasoline UST (installed 5/3/1995 and in use).
In addition to the USTs, there are three aboveground storage tanks (ASTs) located on the property. They include one 2,000-gallon diesel AST installed in about 2010 and in use, one 500-gallon used oil AST install
date unknown and not in use, and one 500-gallon heating oil AST install date unknown and not in use. These three ASTs are located on parts of the property at distance from the UST area and dispensers. The application states that none of the ASTs have had a release.
A release was discovered from the water quality testing of a neighboring private water supply well in which petroleum related compounds were reported on May 25, 2022. The release was reported to the Winston-

Salem Regional Office (WSRO) by submittal of a UST-61 form May 26, 2022. The tanks had been upgraded to meet the required federal corrosion protection, leak detection, and spill/overfill prevention
standards at the time of the release discovery. A review of the tank operating fees database indicates that all fees were paid prior to the release discovery. Based on the aforementioned information, the release is conditionally eligible for reimbursement from the Commercial Trust Fund for reasonable and necessary costs incurred for any environmental assessment and cleanup of this site. To remain eligible, you must proceed with corrective action, if required, by and in accordance with North Carolina Administrative Code (NCAC) 15A 2L .0115 or 15A NCAC 2L .0106, whichever is applicable. Failure to mitigate the spread of contamination may cause you to be determined ineligible to receive reimbursement from the Commercial Trust Fund. In accordance with North Carolina General Statute (N.C.G.S.) 143-215.94B(b)(3), any discharge or release
reported on or after January 1, 1994, is subject to a $20,000 deductible if prior to the discharge or release, the commercial UST from which the discharge or release occurred met the performance standards applicable to tanks installed after December 22, 1988 or met the requirements that USTs must meet by
December 22, 1998 (i.e., the UST systems were required to be protected from corrosion and have spill and overfill protection equipment installed prior to release discovery).
Based on the information available at this time, it appears that the N.C.G.S. 143-215.94B(b)(3) provision for a $20,000 deductible was met. In accordance with N.C.G.S. 143-215.94E, reasonable and necessary costs incurred in the environmental cleanup may be eligible for reimbursement. You may be reimbursed for cleanup costs exceeding $20,000 as follows: 100 percent reimbursed for reasonable and necessary costs between $20,000 and $1 million, and 80 percent reimbursed for reasonable and necessary costs between $1 million and $1.5 million. According to the WSRO at this phase of the assessment, it is not possible to say if any of the ASTs or their associated dispensers leaked. There appears to be a release of heavier petroleum (heating oil, kerosene, or possibly diesel) based on elevated naphthalene levels in the soil greater than industrial/commercial levels. The source has yet to be determined. If one or more of the ASTs prove to be a contributor to the environmental contamination at the site, the eligibility determination made will be reconsidered. The status of your underground storage tank release assessment or remediation efforts may be affected by the statutory requirements of N.C.G.S. 143-215.94E(e5), as revised by Session Law 2005-365. Subsections (e5)(6) through (e5)(9) of this statute prohibit the Department from pre-approving any work eligible for reimbursement from the Commercial or Noncommercial Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund, unless the
Department determines that sufficient funds will be available to pay the claim within 90 days of final claim approval.
To meet the requirements of this law, the Department is requiring the following: 1) Per 15A NCAC 2P .0402(b)(9), State Trust Fund preapproval is required for all work for which
reimbursement will be requested, with the exception of emergency response actions (applied as per 15A NCAC 2L .0404, Initial Abatement Actions, including mitigation of fire, explosion, and vapor hazards) and assessment activities (applied as per 15A NCAC 2L .0405, Limited Site Assessments).
2) Following the submittal of a Limited Site Assessment Report and associated risk classification (15A NCAC 2L .0406), the Department will use Notice of Regulatory Requirements to direct responsible parties of a release to assess and/or remediate contaminated soil and groundwater according to 15A NCAC 2L .0407 based on the site’s risk prioritization classification under N.C.G.S. 143-215.94E(e4).

3) The above referenced requirements, 1 and 2, are for sites with NO previous release(s) or incident(s). Any site with a prior release(s) or incident(s) must obtain pre-approval for all work to be conducted. Per N.C.G.S. 143-215.94E(j) and (k), please note that you have one year from task completion or the date of this eligibility determination, whichever comes later, to submit a reimbursement claim. The claim can only include costs beginning October 12, 2021 (one calendar year prior to eligibility application date of receipt) or later. If a claim is not submitted within one year of the eligibility determination date or the
completion of the task, costs may be denied. The Commercial Leaking Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Funds will reimburse costs based
on fund availability. Please note that this does not relieve you of any regulatory responsibility. Therefore, you must continue with all required assessment and/or corrective action, unless the site has received a Notice of No Further Action.
To obtain the latest information on implementation guidance or updated forms, please visit http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wm/ust/guidance. Please be aware that this letter does not constitute a final agency decision. Any additional information or comments to rebut this letter may be submitted to my attention at NCDEQ, Division of Waste Management, UST Section, 1646 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1646. Should you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to call or fax me at [phone] or Mark Petermann at [phone]. Sincerely,
Wayne Randolph, CPM
Trust Fund Branch Manager UST Section-Division of Waste Management NC Department of Environmental Quality
MAP: 48461_D&M Grocery, Sandy Ridge, Stokes County, NC cc: Huffman Oil Company, Steve Barnwell, [e-mail] S&ME, Inc., Wayne Watterson, [e-mail] NC DEQ – Winston-Salem Regional Office, [e-mail] NC DEQ - UST Section - Hope Thompson, [e-mail] STF