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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNC0043532_SOC (issuance)_20211222DocuSign Envelope ID: B014ECBC-B775-4251-A3AB-4C58E4B759B8 NORTH CAROLINA ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION COUNTY OF STANLY IN THE MATTER OF NORTH CAROLINA NPDES PERMIT NO. NC0043532 HELD BY STANLY COUNTY SPECIAL ORDER BY CONSENT EMC SOC WQ NO. S19-003 Pursuant to provisions of North Carolina General Statutes (G.S.) 143-215.2 and 143-215.67, this Special Order by Consent is entered into by Stanly County, hereinafter referred to as the County and the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission, an agency of the State of North Carolina created by G.S. 143B-282, and hereinafter referred to as the Commission: 1. Stanly County and the Commission hereby stipulate the following: a. The County holds North Carolina NPDES permit number NC0043532 for operation of West Stanly WWTP, an existing wastewater treatment works, and for making an outlet therefrom for discharge of treated wastewater to the Rocky River (Outfall 002) and Long Creek (Outfall 001), both Class C waters of this State in the Yadkin -Pee Dee River Basin, but is unable to consistently comply with the final effluent limits for Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Fecal Coliform as set forth in NPDES permit NC0043532. Compliance will require preparation and implementation of plans and specifications for construction and operation of additional treatment works and upgrades. b. Noncompliance with final effluent limits constitutes causing and contributing to pollution of the waters of the State of North Carolina, and the County is within the jurisdiction of the Commission as set forth in G.S. Chapter 143, Article 21. c. The County will secure financing for planning, designing, and constructing a new or improved wastewater treatment and disposal system which, once constructed and operated, will be sufficient to adequately convey and treat wastewater presently being discharged, to such an extent that Stanly County will be able to comply with final effluent limits. d. Since this Special Order is by consent, neither party will file a petition for a contested case or for judicial review concerning its terms. DocuSign Envelope ID: B014ECBC-B775-4251-A3AB-4C58E4B759B8 West Stanly WWTP EMC SOC WQ S19-003 p. 2 2. The County, desiring to comply with the permit identified in paragraph 1(a) above, hereby agrees to do the following: a. Undertake the following activities in accordance with the indicated time schedule: Scheduled Activity Due Date Upon receipt of the required the Division of Water Resources permit(s), begin the bid process for construction activities Within 15 calendar days of receiving required the Division of Water Resources permits Complete bid process for construction activities Within 60 calendar days from initiating bid process Assuming a successful bid process, award contract for construction activities Within 15 calendar days following bid process closure Begin construction With 60 calendar days of awarding contract Complete construction of the upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant and submit a certification of completion (Engineer's Certification) from a professional engineer verifying that the construction has been completed Within 525 calendar days of beginning construction Attain compliance with NPDES permit final limits Within 120 calendar days following completion of construction and certification by professional engineer b. The County will submit quarterly progress reports detailing the work and activities undertaken and completed on the upgrades to the facility. The reports are to be submitted as follows: one copy must be mailed to the Regional Supervisor of the Mooresville Regional Office, Division of Water Resources / Water Quality Regional Operations Section, 610 East Center Avenue, Suite 301, Mooresville, NC 28115, and one copy must be mailed to the Water Quality Permitting Section / NPDES, 1617 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1617. The quarterly reports are due in each respective office no later than the thirtieth (30th) day of January, April, July, and October for the duration of this Order. c. The County will comply with all terms and conditions of the permit except effluent limits for parameters identified in paragraph 1(a) above. See Attachment A for all current monitoring requirements and effluent limits, including interim effluent limits applicable to this Special Order by Consent. The County may also be required to monitor for other parameters, as deemed necessary by the Director, in future permits or administrative letters. During the time in which this Special Order by Consent is effective, the County shall comply with the interim effluent limits for Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Fecal Coliform as listed in the table below. DocuSign Envelope ID: B014ECBC-B775-4251-A3AB-4C58E4B759B8 West Stanly WWTP EMC SOC WQ S19-003 p. 3 Under this Special Order by Consent, ONLY the parameters listed below have been modified from the most current NPDES Permit in effect for Outfall 002. Parameters Units Permit Limits Interim Limits Monthly Avg. Weekly Avg. Monthly Avg. Weekly Avg. Total Suspended Solids (TSS) mg/L 30.0 45.0 45.0 70.0 Fecal Coliform #/100 ml 200* 400* 400* 600* *Geometric Mean Under this Special Order by Consent, ONLY the parameters listed below have been modified from the most current NPDES Permit in effect for Outfall 001. Parameters Units Permit Limits Interim Limits Monthly Avg. Weekly Avg. Monthly Avg. Weekly Avg. Total Suspended Solids (TSS) mg/L 30.0 45.0 45.0 70.0 Fecal Coliform #/100 ml 200* 400* 400* 600* *Geometric Mean d. No later than fourteen (14) calendar days after any date identified for accomplishment of any activity listed in paragraph 2(a) above, submit to the Director of the Division of Water Resources written notice of compliance (including the date compliance was achieved along with supporting documentation if applicable) or noncompliance therewith. In the case of noncompliance, the notice shall include a statement of the reason(s) for noncompliance, remedial action(s) taken, and a statement identifying the extent to which subsequent dates or times for accomplishment of listed activities may be affected. e. The County will continue to operate the wastewater treatment plant as best as possible to prevent/minimize any adverse impacts to the surface waters. 3. The County has outstanding civil penalty assessments that total $10,326.25. The County agrees to pay an upfront penalty amount of $326.25, with the remaining amount of $10,000.00 to be held in abeyance until the successful completion of this SOC. At the successful conclusion of this Special Order by Consent, the penalty amount held in abeyance ($10,000.00) will be remitted. Should the Special of by Consent not reach a successful conclusion, the full remaining penalty amount of $10,000.00 will be due immediately by check payable to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. The County also agrees that unless excused under paragraph four (4), the County will pay the Director of the Division of Water Resources, by check payable to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, stipulated penalties according to the following schedule for failure to meet the deadlines set out in paragraphs 2(a), 2(b), and 2(d). DocuSign Envelope ID: B014ECBC-B775-4251-A3AB-4C58E4B759B8 West Stanly WWTP EMC SOC WQ S19-003 p. 4 Violation Description Stipulated Penalty Failure to meet a scheduled date $1,000 per day Failure to comply with interim effluent limits for Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and/or Fecal Coliform $1,000 for exceeding monthly average (or geometric mean) limit; $500 for exceeding weekly average (or geometric mean) limits Monitoring frequency violations for modified parameters $100 per omitted value per parameter Failure to Submit Status Reports $1,000 for the first violation; penalty doubles with each subsequent assessment for late reports Failure to achieve compliance with final effluent limits $5,000 (single penalty) 4. The County and the Commission agree that the stipulated penalties are not due if the Town satisfies the Division of Water Resources that noncompliance was caused solely by: a. An act of God; b. An act of war; c. An intentional act or omission of a third party, but this defense shall not be available if the act or omission is that of an employee or agent of the defendant or if the act or omission occurs in connection with a contractual relationship with the permittee; d. An extraordinary event beyond the permittee's control. Contractor delays or failure to obtain funding will not be considered as events beyond the permittee's control; or e. Any combination of the above causes. Failure within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of written demand to pay the penalties, or challenge them by a contested case petition pursuant to G.S. 150B-23, will be grounds for a collection action, which the Attorney General is hereby authorized to initiate. The only issue in such an action will be whether the thirty (30) days has elapsed. 5. Noncompliance with the terms of this Special Order by Consent is subject to enforcement action in addition to the above stipulations, including injunctive relief pursuant to G.S. 143- 215.6.C. DocuSign Envelope ID: B014ECBC-B775-4251-A3AB-4C58E4B759B8 West Stanly WWTP EMC SOC WQ S19-003 P. 5 6. This Special Order by Consent and any terms or conditions contained herein, hereby supersede any and all previous Special Orders, Enforcement Compliance Schedule Letters, terms, conditions, and limits contained therein issued in connection with NPDES permit number NC0043532. In the event of an NPDES permit modification or renewal, any effluent limit or monitoring requirements contained therein shall supersede those contained in Attachment A of this Special Order by Consent, except as modified and contained in paragraph 2(c) above. 7. This Special Order by Consent may be amended provided the County has made good faith efforts to secure funding, complete all construction and achieve compliance within the dates specified. 8. During the term of this Special Order by Consent, the County will not be permitted to accept additional wastewater from any domestic, industrial, or commercial sources without prior approval from the Mooresville Regional Supervisor and the Water Quality Permitting Section. An initial allocation of 80,000 gallons of additional wastewater will be allowed to be made tributary to the West Stanly WWTP on the effective date of this Special Order by Consent. An additional flow allocation of 30,000 gallons of wastewater may be made tributary to the West Stanly WWTP following the successful completion and placement in service of the new secondary clarifier. New wastewater flow shall not exceed a total of 110,000 gallons during the effective dates of this Special Order by Consent. 9. Failure to meet the scheduled date identified in paragraph 2(a) may terminate this Special Order by Consent and require the County to comply with the terms and conditions contained in the permit identified in paragraph 1(a). 10. The County, upon signature of this Special Order by Consent, will be expected to comply with all schedule dates, terms, and conditions of this document. DocuSign Envelope ID: B014ECBC-B775-4251-A3AB-4C58E4B759B8 West Stanly WWTP EMC SOC WQ S19-003 p. 6 This Special Order by Consent shall expire on January 31, 2023. For Stanly County: la 13 ( Andrew M. Lucas Date County Manager For the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission: DocuSigned by: VAWAJI 54(4, ll w S. Dar%r'S°flffilli; 9irector Division of Water Resources 12/22/2021 Date