The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About19980260 Ver 6_Re_ U-2579DEF Onsite Lime Spill_DWR_20210714 Wanucha, Dave From:Chapman, Amy Sent:Thursday, July 15, 2021 6:57 PM To:Kiser, Marcus K Cc:Puckett, Lester L; Tucker, Mezak; McLaughlin, Zachery R; Suggs, Phillip H; Wyrick, Scott D; Euliss, Amy; Braquet, Stephanie; Wanucha, Dave Subject:Re: U-2579DEF Onsite Lime Spill_DWR Thank you very much Marcus. Amy Chapman Supervisor 401 and Buffer Transportation Permitting Branch Department of Environmental Quality 919-707-3871 office amy.chapman@ncdenr.gov th 512 N Salisbury Street, 12 Floor 1617 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1617 Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties. Based on the current guidance to minimize the spread of COVID-19, the Department of Environmental Quality has adjusted operations to protect the health and safety of the staff and public. Many employees are working remotely or are on staggered shifts. To accommodate these staffing changes, all DEQ office locations are limiting public access to appointments only. Please check with the appropriate staff before visiting our offices, as we may be able to handle your requests by phone or email. We appreciate your patience as we continue to serve the public during this challenging time. From: Kiser, Marcus K <mkkiser@ncdot.gov> Sent: Thursday, July 15, 2021 3:43 PM To: Chapman, Amy <amy.chapman@ncdenr.gov> Cc: Puckett, Lester L <lpuckett@ncdot.gov>; Tucker, Mezak <mtucker@ncdot.gov>; McLaughlin, Zachery R <zrmclaughlin@ncdot.gov>; Suggs, Phillip H <psuggs@ncdot.gov>; Wyrick, Scott D <sdwyrick@ncdot.gov>; Euliss, Amy <aeuliss@ncdot.gov>; Braquet, Stephanie <scbraquet@ncdot.gov>; Wanucha, Dave <dave.wanucha@ncdenr.gov> Subject: RE: U-2579DEF Onsite Lime Spill Amy, I wanted to send a follow up email from our conversation earlier today. Crews are finishing up the lime cleanup operation and are currently reinstalling EC measures. The project is still shut down and will remain shut down until all EC measures are reinstalled and the project re-inspected. I am going out to the project tomorrow morning to perform a re-inspection of the site and I will follow up with pictures. I am optimistic that everything will be cleaned up and reinstalled by mid-morning. Like we mentioned in our conversation earlier today, we are having internal discussions about the proper procedure to have project staff (Contractor / Sub-Contractor) removed from the project along with conversations about the revocation of level 2 foreman who were in charge of management and oversite of the sub- contractor’s performance. The following remedial actions were/are being taken in regards to the overflow. 1  Placed impervious dikes to isolate culvert water system and pumped contaminated water into sediment basins  Removed contaminated water from the basins via water truck to dispose of  Flushed pipe system numerous times with clean water until pH values returned to normal levels (pH currently 6.8 both up and downstream 200ft beyond the pipe outlet)  Replaced wattles downstream of system in case of contamination  Removal of all lime residue in checks/ditches/EC Measures on grade  Upon satisfactory completion of the above steps and with DOT approval impervious dikes will be removed and normal function of the pipe system will resume Additionally, the following steps will be taken moving forward as procedure for ensuring no spill of material will occur:  2 person confirmation that all gate valves have been fully closed and locks secured on Lime Tanker .  2 person confirmation that all in line valves have been fully closed and locks secured on hoses between hydrant and the Lime Tanker (Slurry Pot) .  2 person confirmation that the water hose attached to the hydrant meter has been disconnected from the meter.  2 person confirmation that the hydrant has been de-energized and locks placed on the valve preventing water from being released at the hydrant .  Recording water meter reading at the end of each shift to ensure no water has run through the system during the night.  Competent person will be on the ground monitoring closely any slurry placement near catch basins, drop inlets or slope drains to prevent accidental discharge into those structures.  Additionally a FBDJV representative will sign off that these steps have been completed at the close of each shift. Once again, I apologize on behalf of the NCDOT, Flatiron & SitePrep for this occurrence. I, along with everyone else in the Division very much appreciate you working with us while we get this issue resolved. I’ll follow up again tomorrow once everything is 100% complete and reviewed. Thank You, Marcus K. Kiser, P.E. Resident Engineer Division 9 Winston-Salem Construction Office 2 336 747 7950 office mkkiser@ncdot.gov 1151 North Martin Luther King Jr. Drive Winston-Salem NC 27101 From: Kiser, Marcus K Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2021 1:19 PM To: Braquet, Stephanie <scbraquet@ncdot.gov>; Euliss, Amy <aeuliss@ncdot.gov>; Wanucha, Dave 2 <dave.wanucha@ncdenr.gov>; Chapman, Amy <amy.chapman@ncdenr.gov> Cc: Puckett, Lester L <lpuckett@ncdot.gov>; Tucker, Mezak <mtucker@ncdot.gov>; McLaughlin, Zachery R <zrmclaughlin@ncdot.gov>; Suggs, Phillip H <psuggs@ncdot.gov>; Wyrick, Scott D <sdwyrick@ncdot.gov> Subject: U-2579DEF Onsite Lime Spill All, As many of you know, we have been performing soil stabilization operations for the last 6 weeks on the U-2579DEF project. Our operation yesterday started at 7:00am and ended at 9:00pm. When the operation was complete, Site Prep (Sub-Contractor to Flatiron) went through their standard procedures for cleaning and securing equipment before they left for the night. One of their cleaning procedures is to fill their slurry tank (often referred to as a slurry pot) with fresh water to prevent the tank from clogging up with residue. As usual, they connected the slurry pot to a nearby fire hydrant to fill the tank. Apparently, Site Prep forgot to turn off the water before they left for the night so needless to say, after the tank got full of fresh water, it came out of the overflow spout that is shown in the attached pictures. When crews arrived on site this morning, they noticed that water was pouring out of the tank and running down the grade and that’s when everyone was made aware of the situation. We spent several hours out there this morning looking over the area and from what I can tell, a vast majority of the slurry was captured on the grade and/or in the adjacent ditch lines. I did not notice any residual accumulation on the rocks in the nearby stream, but some residue was noticed in ditch lines and rock checks on the grade. We instructed Flatiron to obtain pH samples upstream, and downstream at 100’ intervals to determine if the lime had an impact on the pH of the waters. The pH of the inlet was 6.8 and the pH of the outlet was 8.4. Flatiron will continue to review & monitor the channel condition over he next few weeks and check the pH until it normalizes. We do have slight lime residue in the pipe system that drains to permit site 8. We have installed impervious dikes at the outlet of the pipe that flows into permit site 8 and we intend on flushing the pipe system, capturing all the water with the impervious dike and pumping the water out and disposing of it properly. Marcus K. Kiser, P.E. Resident Engineer Division 9 Winston-Salem Construction Office 2 336 747 7950 office mkkiser@ncdot.gov 1151 North Martin Luther King Jr. Drive Winston-Salem NC 27101 From: Braquet, Stephanie <scbraquet@ncdot.gov> Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2021 10:06 AM To: Kiser, Marcus K <mkkiser@ncdot.gov> Subject: FW: U-2579D, U-2579E, U-2579F FYI…for your records. 3 Stephanie Braquet Division 9 Environmental Specialist North Carolina Department of Transportation 336 747 7800 office scbraquet@ncdot.gov 375 Silas Creek Parkway Winston Salem, NC 27127-7167 Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties. From: Braquet, Stephanie Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2021 9:30 AM To: Wanucha, Dave <dave.wanucha@ncdenr.gov>; Chapman, Amy <amy.chapman@ncdenr.gov> Cc: Euliss, Amy <aeuliss@ncdot.gov> Subject: U-2579D, U-2579E, U-2579F Good Morning, The above-mentioned project has had a lime spill overnight. This email is only to inform you that it happened, I don’t have any further details at this time. I can give you more information once a site review has been done and I talk to our folks. Thanks Stephanie Braquet Division 9 Environmental Specialist North Carolina Department of Transportation 336 747 7800 office scbraquet@ncdot.gov 375 Silas Creek Parkway Winston Salem, NC 27127-7167 Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties. Email correspondence to and from this sender is subject to the N.C. Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties. 4