MO-28945_48148_G_ELIG_20230329_Approval

March 29, 2023
CERTIFIED MAIL RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
7022 0410 0003 1131 6634
Ms. Kathy Holthouser P.O. Box 389 Mount Mourne, NC 28115 RE: Commercial State Trust Fund Eligibility Application Buttery & Beanery - Facility ID # 00-0-0000024532 1653 Mecklenburg Highway Mooresville, Iredell County, North Carolina 28115 Incident # 48148
Dear Ms. Holthouser:
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. This letter supersedes the Eligibility Determination Letters dated July 13, 2022, and March 23, 2023, respectively. Information supplied to the State Trust Fund indicates the following USTs are associated with the site property:
• Two 6,000-gallon gasoline USTs (installed March 6, 1975, and removed November 22, 2021);
• One 550-gallon kerosene UST (installed September 25, 1975, and removed November 22, 2021); and
• Two 1,000-gallon gasoline USTs (installed January 1, 1964, and removed November 22, 2021). As presented in the application a release was discovered November 22, 2021, during UST closure activities.
The release was reported to the Mooresville Regional Office December 3, 2021, by submittal of a UST-61 Form, and Incident #48148 was assigned. Based on the information provided with the application, the tanks had been upgraded to meet the required federal corrosion protection, leak detection, and spill/overfill
prevention standards at the time of 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 associated with the UST system 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 this site is subject to a $20,000 deductible
under N.C.G.S. 143-215.94B(b)(3). In accordance with N.C.G.S. 143-215.94E, reasonable and necessary costs incurred in the environmental cleanup of this incident may be eligible for reimbursement after incurring the initial deductible of $20,000 per occurrence. 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. 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 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 as described
in 15A NCAC 2L .0404, Initial Abatement Actions (including mitigation of fire, explosion, and vapor hazards), and the assessment activities described in 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 May 10, 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 me at [phone], or Kristie Oseguera at [phone] or email at [e-mail] . Sincerely,
Wayne Randolph, CPM Trust Fund Branch Head UST Section-Division of Waste Management NC Department of Environmental Quality
KMO: 48148_Buttery & Beanery, 1653 Mecklenburg Highway, Mooresville, NC 28115 cc: Ms. Kathy L. Holthouser via email at [e-mail] Catawba Valley Engineering & Testing, Mr. Nathan Simmons via email at [e-mail] Mooresville Regional Office, Mr. Ron Taraban via email at [e-mail] Mooresville Regional Office, Mr. Ryan Bond via email at [e-mail] STF