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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNC0026565_Remission (Justification for Request)_20210617Ramseur Where Family and Friends Meet TOWN OF RAMSEUR 724 Liberty Street, PO Box 545 Ramseur, North Carolina 27316 336-824-8530 Commissioners Jim McIntosh, Mayor Pro Tem JC Parrish Tim Cranford Tanya Kenyon Joy Hooker Attn: PERCS Branch Division of Water Resources 1617 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1617 Lon T. Snider, Regional Supervisor Water Quality Regional Operations Section Winston-Salem Regional Office Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ 450 West Hanes Mill Rd., Suite 300 Winston-Salem, NC 27105 Mr. Snider and PERCS Branch: Mayor Vicki Caudle June 15, 2021 NC Department of Environmental Quality Received JUN172021 Winston-Salem Regional Office Town Clerk/Finance Officer Carol Akers Deputy Town Clerk/Finance Officer Adrienne Hagood I would like to take this moment to submit the Justification for Remission Request. You may be aware that on January 31st we had heavy rain accruing to 3.5 inches over a 6-day period, which resulted in the overflow cited on the Notice dated May 12, 2021 and received in our office on May 19, 2021. Additionally, over the last several years we have been under contract with a 3rd party contractor, Suez. During the time Suez was responsible for the maintenance of our lines, there was very little pro- active desire to repair or upgrade our system. The Town of Ramseur no longer has a 3rd party contractor, the contract terminated September 301h 2020 and we have actively been researching and are in the beginning stages of developing a strategic plan to upgrade not only our sewer system, but waster system as well. For the last 9 %2 months we have been reacting to the history of the lack of maintenance, we have now made the commitment to repair or rebuild our infrastructure. We know it will be a slow process with the budget constraints, but we are following a plan to continue to upgrade our lines and systems. Please reconsider the civil penalty. We, as every small town, is on a conservative budget. Respectfully, Vicki Caudle, Mayor Serving the Town of Ramseur mayor@townoframseur.org 336-824-8530 — office 336-736-9015 - cell STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COUNTY OF RANDOLPH IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT OF CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST Town of Ramseur Ramseur Collection System PERMIT NO. WQCS00195 WAIVER OF RIGHT TO AN ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING AND STIPULATION OF FACTS CASE NO. DV-2021-0076 Having been assessed civil penalties totaling $1,139.11 for violation(s) as set forth in the assessment document of the Division of Water Resources dated May 11 2021 the undersigned, desiring to seek remission of the civil penalty, does hereby waive the right to an administrative hearing in the above -stated matter and does stipulate that the facts are as alleged in the assessment document. The undersigned further understands that all evidence presented in support of remission of this civil penalty must be submitted to the Director of the Division of Water Resources within thirty (30) days of receipt of the notice of assessment. No new evidence in support of a remission request will be allowed after (30) days from the receipt of the notice of assessment. This the \ 5 *in day of V -T U. L , 20 Zi SIGNATURE ADDRESS lo-w/1 off' TaaaNtseA-W. -Po ?v x 5 4 C TELEPHONE 3?x,2T3Le Qoi JUSTIFICATION FOR REMISSION REQUEST Case Number: DV-2021-0076 Assessed Party: Town of Ramseur Permit No.: WQCS00195 County: Randolph Amount Assessed: $1,139.11 Please use this form when requesting remission of this civil penalty. You must also complete the "Request For Remission, Waiver of Right to an Administrative Hearing, and Stipulation of Facts" form to request remission of this civil penalty. You should attach any documents that you believe support your request and are necessary for the Director to consider in evaluating your request for remission. Please be aware that a request for remission is limited to consideration of the five factors listed below as they may relate to the reasonableness of the amount of the civil penalty assessed. Requesting remission is not the proper procedure for contesting whether the violation(s) occurred or the accuracy of any of the factual statements contained in the civil penalty assessment document. Pursuant to N.C.G.S. $ I43B-282.1(c), remission of a civil penalty may be granted only when one or more of the following five factors apply. Please check each factor that you believe applies to your case and provide a detailed explanation, including copies of supporting documents, as to why the factor applies (attach additional pages as needed). (a) one or more of the civil penalty assessment factors in N.C.G.S. 143B-282.1(b) were wrongfully applied to the detriment of the petitioner the assessment factors are listed in the civil penalty assessment document); (b) the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting from the violation (i.e., explain the steps that you took to correct the violation and prevent future occurrences); (c) the violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident (i.e., explain why the violation was unavoidable or something you could not prevent or prepare for); (d) the violator had not been assessed civil penalties for any previous violations; ✓ (e) payment of the civil penalty will prevent payment for the remaining necessary remedial actions (i.e., explain how payment of the civil penalty will prevent you from performing the activities necessary to achieve compliance). EXPLANATION: DWR Division of Water Resources NC Department of.. of Environmentaluai ty JUN 17 2021 State of North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources Division of Water Resources Collection System Sanitary Sewer Overflow Reporting Form Form CS-SSO PART I: Winston-Salem Regional Office This form shall be submitted to the appropriate DWQ Regional Office within five business days of the first knowledge of the sanitary sewer overflow (SSO). Permit Number WQCS00195 (WQCS# if active, otherwise use WQCSD#) Facility: Ramseur Collection System Owner: Town of Ramseur Incident #: 202100370 City: Ramseur Source of SSO (check applicable): County: Randolph Region: Winston-Salem ❑ Sanitary Sewer 0 Pump Station / Lift Station SPECIFIC location of the SSO (be consistent in description from past reports or documentation - i.e. Pump Station 6, Manhole at Westall & Bragg Street, etc): 1341 West Ridge Street Manhole #: Latitude (Decimal Degrees): Longitude (Decimal Degrees): Incident Started Dt: 01/31/2021 Time: 10:30 am Incident End Dt: 01/31/2021 Time (mm-dd-yyyy) (hh:mmAM/PM) (mm-dd-yyyy) Estimated Volume of the SSO: 1 '. gallons Estimated Duration (Round to nearest hour): Describe how the volume was determined: Wastewater Treatment Plant Flows Weather conditions during the SSO event: 03:00 pm (hh:mm AM/PM) 4:30 hours Heavy Rain 1.1" - 3.5" in last 6 days Did SSO reach surface waters? 2 Yes ❑ No ❑ Unknown Volume reaching surface waters (gals): 4000 Surface water name: DEEP RIVER Did the SSO result in a fish kill? ❑ Yes Q No ❑ Unknown If Yes, what is the estimated number of fish killed? 0 SPECIFIC cause(s) of the SSO: [J1 Severe Natural Conc 24 hour verbal notification (name of person contacted ): Marianne Nicolaysen ❑ DWR 21 Emergency Mgmt Date (mm-dd-yyy): 01/31/2021 Time (hh:mmAM/PM): 10:55:00 am If an SSO is ongoing, please notify the appropriate Regional Office on a daily basis until SSO can be stopped. Per G.S. 143-215.1 C(b), the responsible party of a discharge of 1,000 or more of untreated wastewater to surface waters shall issue a press release within 24-hours of first knowledge to all print and electronic news media providing general coverage in the county where the discharge occurred. When 15,000 gallons or more of untreated wastewater enters surface waters, a public notice shall be published within 10 days and proof of publication shall be provided to the Division within 30 days. Refer to the reference statute for further detail. The Director, Division of Water Resources, may take enforcement action for SSOs that are required to be reported to Division unless it is demonstrated that: 1) the discharge was cause by sever natural conditions and there were no feasible alternative to the discharge; or 2) the discharge was exceptional, unintentional, temporary and caused by factors beyond the reasonable control of the Permittee and/or owner, and the discharge could not have been prevented by the exercise of reasonable control. Part II must be completed to provide a justification claim for either of the above situations. This information will be the basis WHETHER OR NOT PART III IS COMPLETED, A SIGNATURE IS REQUIRED AT THE END OF THIS FORM CS-SSO Form Page: 1 PART II: ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS FOR EACH RELATED CAUSE CHECKED IN PART I OF THIS FORM AND INCLUDE THE APPROPRIATE DOCUMENTATION AS REQUIRED OR DESIRED COMPLETE ONLY THOSE SECTONS PERTAINING TO THE CAUSE OF THE SSO AS CHECKED IN PART I (In the check boxes below, NA = Not Applicable and NE = Not Evaluated) A HARDCOPY OF THIS FORM SHOULD BE SUBMITTED TO THE APPROPRIATE DWR REGIONAL OFFICE UNLESS IS Severe Natural Condition Describe the "severe natural condition" in detail? Heavy Rainfall 1.1", 3.5" last 6 days How much advance warning did you have and what actions were taken in preparatio for the event? Not much, just weather report Comments: System Visitation ORC Backup Name: Thomas "Jim" McIntosh III Cert# 28031 Date visited: 01/31/2021 Time visited: 10:00 AM-03:00 PM-05:20 PM How was the SSO remediated (i.e. Stopped and cleaned up)? Rain Subsided • Yes ® Yes As a representative for the responsible party, I certify that the information contained in this report is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge. Person submitting claim: Thomas James McIntosh Date: 02/01/21 08:30 am Signature: Telephone Number: '7'E2cr Title: C-O MS7 411 n't i D4» Any addition information desired to be submitted should be sent to the appropriate Division Regional Office within five days of i knowledge of the SSO with reference to the incident number (the incident number is only generated when electronic entry of th form is completed, if used). CS-SSO Form Page: 2