WQCS00220_NOV2020DV0342_20200810

ROY COOPER
Governor
MICHAEL S. REGAN
secretary
S. DANIEL SMITH
Director
NORTH CAROLINA
£n vironmen tar Quality
CERTIFIED MAIL 7018 1130 0000 1612 7819
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
August 10, 2020
Cathy Howell
Town of Jefferson
302 E Main St
Jefferson, NC 28640
SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION & INTENT TO ISSUE CIVIL PENALTY
Tracking No.: NOV-2020-DV-0342
Sanitary Sewer Overflows - May 2020
Collection System Permit No. WQCS00220
Jefferson Collection System
Ashe County
Dear Permittee:
A review has been conducted of the self -reported Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSO's) 5-Day Report/s submitted by
Town of Jefferson. The Division's Winston-Salem Regional Office concludes that the Town of Jefferson violated
Permit Condition I (2) of Permit No. WQCS00220 by failing to effectively manage, maintain, and operate their
collection system so that there is no SSO (Sanitary Sewer Overflow) to the land or surface waters and the SSO
constituted making an outlet to waters of the State for purposes of G.S. 143-215.1(a)(1), for which a permit is
required by G.S. 143-215.1.
The Winston-Salem Regional Office is providing the Town of Jefferson an opportunity to provide evidence and
justification as to why the Town of Jefferson should not be assessed a civil penalty for the violation(s) that are
summarized below:
Total Vol
Total Surface
Incident Start Duration Vol Water
Number Date (Minn) Location Cause (Gals) (Gals) DWR Action
202001568 5/21/2020 US HWY 16 Severe Natural Notice of Intent
Condition
North Carofins Deps rtment of Environmental Quality I dioision of Water Resources
WinstonSaiem Rs.,onsa Office 14W West lanes Will Road, Swte 3W I WinstonSaJern, North Carolifka 27105
�,•� 336-776-.OLI�5
O

Additionally, the Winston-Salem regional office never received a 5-day report for this SSO, which is
why the volume columns in the above table are blank. Please note that the Town-s failure to submit a
timely 5-day report is a separate violation of your collection system permit. A 5-day report should be
submitted along with your response to this notice,
This Notice of Violation / Notice of Intent to Enforce (NOV/NOI) is being issued for the noted violation. Pursuant
to G.S. 143-215.6A, a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) may be assessed
against any person who violates or fails to act in accordance with the terms, conditions, or requirements of any
permit issued pursuant to G.S. 143-215.1.
This office requests that you respond to this Notice, in writing, within 10 business days of its
receipt. In your response, you should address the causes of non-compliance, remedial actions, and all other
actions taken to prevent the recurrence of similar situations. The response to this correspondence will be
considered in this process. Enforcement decisions will also be based on volume spilled, volume reaching surface
waters, duration and gravity, impacts to public health, fish kills or recreational area closures. Other factors
considered in determining the amount of the civil penalty are the violator's history of non-compliance, the cost of
rectifying the damage, whether the spill was intentional and whether money was saved by non-compliance.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Ron Boone with the Water Quality Section in the
Winston-Salem Regional Office at 336-776-9800 or via email at [e-mail].
Sincerely,
Doc uSigned<by:
-4'B49E225C94EA...
Lon T. Snider, Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Winston-Salem Regional Office
Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ
Cc: Winston-Salem Regional Office - WQS File
Central Files, Water Quality Section
NorthC'3ro;inaDepsrtmentoffnvironrnentalQua:ky I D;usnirofWater Resouroes
WinstonSa;ern. F .onaJOffice 1 450 West Hanes Miil Road. Swte30D I WinsbanSakem, North Caroi:na 27105
'r" '� 336-7 76-9300