WQ0004268_Site Visit_20151117

Sagcr Crcck, Turkc NC
NCDEQ Site Visit Et Waste Water Systems Update
November 17, 2015

Inches Above Freeboard Limit
35.0
30.0
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0
5.0
Sager Creek Turkey Operations Lagoon Level
u, u, u, u, u, u, u, u, u, u, t u, u, u, u, u, u, u, u, m u, u, u, u, u, u, u, u, u, u, u, u, U, u, M u,
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
N N N N N \ \ N N_ N N \ N \ \ N N N N N N N N N N N N \ N N \ N N N N N N N N \
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \
Vf s0 00 O N V'0 W O N R 00 O Na0 O N 'V' .0 OD O N 'V' 00 O,\ 111 N n 0'
.. N N N N N M\\\ N N NN N M. .. '-
Cr, O• P D` D` O` a` Cr, 0s Cr, 0`
—®lagoon level

Key Ope
rafng Metr'cs Casn Per Day
• September Daily Average 18,567
• October Daily Average 19,587
> November To Date Daily Average 22,982
• Percent throughput increase Sept to Nov = 23%
Sustained throughput increase equates to an annualized
theoretical water use reduction of 44 million gallons by
reducingnecessary production hours

•
ratng
Day
tr'cs - Total Ga
• September Daily Average1,000,992
• October Daily Average 874,017
b November To Date Daily Average 849,342
ns
• Actual usage is trending favorably over the period, with production remaining
consistent.

Key Optratng Metr°cs Wate
Gajons Per case
• September Daily Average 45.3
• October Daily Average 40.3
• November To Date Daily Average 37.0
> Percent Decrease Sept to Nov = 22%
Use
Equates to an annualized theoretical water use reduction of 42
million gallons

SOC Remed'es - Waste Wate
deas
RedLic
> Pack Optimization offering 25% reduction in planned pack days
D Equals 91 pack days eliminated in 2016 vs 2015
D At average of 700,000 gal/day this reduces water use by 63,875,000 gallons annually
• Throughput Improvement - Reinvestment in Facility Processing Equipment
• Target efficiency gain of 20%
D Equals 55 pack days results attained by end of 2016
> At average of 700,000 gal/day, reduction equates to 38,500,000 gallons annually
> Repairs and GMP Improvements
D Target daily water use reduction of 100,000 gal per day. '
C. At estimated 274 pack days, reduction equates to 27,400,000 gallons annually

SIIC Rem
etotl of
k*.
des
tp'au- an
st
ater ".ecivcton
fit'66nrents
D Consideration of receiving wdshed'ariegraded'robt -crops or invest in root crop
washing recirculation system
D Installation of floats in critical pieces of equipment eliminating-oVerflows
> Dry conveyance of vegetable product and veg waste streams
> Reclaim and recirculate cooling water
D Reduce need for gutter systems veg waste water flow
> Leak repairs

Plannt
()
For the Future
• Corporate environmental officials involvement in waste water systems plan
> Collaborative team approach to permanent solutions
• Conduct waste water related environmental assessment of facility
• Form a short and long term plan of improvement
3 > Initial discussions to onset at Dec 2nd meeting with NCDEQ
- b pGtEv ( /sF
v
rw1t- LA U Li Pc)
ev f3E/t AN. /4u 6-44-7- c3-..zov43

Ms�
* G
01
1411* /11.111. •1111111
EII EEK
vtlll*soMrANy
This letter is in response to the incident f 10/2/15 in which the Sager Creek
Turkey NC facility had a freeboard of inches. At this time there is minimal
chance of an overflow -situation as the facility built up the berm to avoid
circumstances of a nearby stream overflowing into the lagoon. However this
additional 3 to 4 feet of berm is not considered freeboard or additional
wastewater storage by permit but has proven to be beneficial during times of
�n/z4JJ ,
s4l uwA 4ArvF
knots Pa 53 64
tvNL"-U b!p
2YVA-sf
heavy rain or less than favorable weather conditions. The facility has developed a
plan of action to manage the outgoing waste water flow and reduce the current
freeboard level to gain the required 24 inches.
* With inclement weather forecasted for the week end; the management team ,
made the decision to cease operations until Monday with the possibility of more
down days until issue is resolved. This during a verybusy and time constrained
sweet potato season. This not only effects the plant and employees but local
farmers as well.
* Fields will continue to be irrigated at every opportunity, condition and weather
permitting. Other avenues will also be investigated for future events.
* During week end downtime, several repairs were made to water lines and
equipment, with more scheduled.
* All managementpersonnelwere notifiedofthe situation and instructed to
make water conservation and waste a daily priority as well as drive the awareness
down to all employees.
* Weekly updates as to freeboard level will be reported to the NCDENR until such
a time that facility falls back into compliance.
Dan Barnett
Plant Manager, Sager Creek Turkey NC facility

Barber, Jim
From: Gary MacConnell <[e-mail]>
Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2015 3:36 PM
To: Thornburg, Nathaniel
Cc: [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail]; Wessner, Alice;
Honeycutt, Tony; Henson, Belinda; Barber, Jim
Subject: Sager Creek Food Inc. Letter 10-8-2015
Attachments: SAGER CREEK FOOD INC LETTER 10-8-2015.pdf
Nathaniel,
I hope you are doing well and staying dry. Please find attached a letter regarding Sager Creek Food Inc. (formerly Aliens, -
Inc.). After you review the letter and discuss it with staff, could you please give me a call to discuss? On behalf of Sager
Creek I want to thank you for given the necessary attention.
Have.a great day.
Gary S. MacConnell, PE, President
MacConnell & Associates, PC
1903 North Harrison Ave., Suite 101
Cary, NC 27513
PO Box 129
Morrisville, NC 27560
Phone: [phone]
Cell: 919-523-2248 ,
Fax: [phone]
1

1
P.O.'Rox 129
Morrisville, NC 27560
919-467-1239
MACCONNELL
ASSOCIATES, P.C.
October 8, 2015
Mr. Nathanial Thornburg, PE
NCDQ DWR - Water Quality Permitting Section,
Non -Discharge Unit
512 N. Salisbury St.
Raleigh, NC 27604
Re: Sager Creek Food Inc.
Permit No.: WQ0004268 - Wastewater Irrigation System
Sampson County
Project No.: A550,01.00
Dear Mr. Thornburg:
1903 North Harrison Avenue
'Suite 102
Cary, NC 27513
/ Fax 91.9-3I9-6510
This -letter is written in regards to the above, referenced wastewater irrigation system on behalf of
Sager Creek Food Inc. (formerly: Aliens, Inc.). . The facility's treatment process consists of
screening facilities to remove solids (plant debris) followed by a three acre settling lagoon, and
27 acre (facultative) treatment/storage lagoon. Effluent from the lagoon is pumped to onsite arid
off -site spray fields.
The larger treatment/storage lagooniscurrently in violation as the water level is near the top of
the original dikes Several years ago, the top of the dike was raised approximately five feet to.
keep "creekflood water" learn entering the lagoon. Thus, in.riorm.al operation when the facility
is in,compliarice there area.'minimum of two feet from the original lagoon dike top and' five feet
from the ,increased: dike height for a total freeboard of seven feet. This situation has been
reported by plant personnel to the Fayetteville Regional Office. This was confirmed in my
conversation on October 6, 2015 with Tony Honeycutt. I also discussed the situation with Alice
Wessner in the Main NCDEQ Office. I inspected the dike on October 5, 2015 and there was no
evidence of a pending environmental issue as the dike appeared to be functioning satisfactorily.
Tony conveyed a similar opinion towards the dike integrity.
The situation is due to the extraordinary amount of rain we have received in the last 90 days.
The most -recent rain,.event -which lasted approximately two weeks has been termed by media °as

the "thousand year storm". The larger lagoon receives not only rain which 'falls on both
treatment lagoons but runoff and ground water from up -gradient spray fields. Thus, any rain
event is magnified with respect to rain entering the large lagoon.
The ;plant voluntarily shut down for three days while it was, still raining. During that period,
plantpersonnel tdokmeasures (sueh as repair leaks, etc.) ,to enhance water conservation in the
plant. This resulted in the temporary layoff of about 300 persons and an economic hit to the
;company of 'about $75000;0 (at $250,000 per day of lost production). This does not, count_ the_
losses to local farmers whose produce could not be processed nor haulers which could not haul
produce. The plant went back on line on October 6, 2015, and staff is continuing to monitor
conditions with the treatmentandirrigation system.
Sager Creek Food Inc. intends to apply for a permit modification where they will he allowed to.
increase the lagoon water level into the berm depth that has been added to the original dike.
They also intend to go through the.Special Order by Consent process to get relief from potential
fines while the .permit modification is .being reviewed. Could you please give me 'a callto
discuss this at your earliest convenience?
Thank you and have a.great day.
Sincerely,
Gary S.1VIacConnell; PE
President
cc: Dan Barnett, Sager Creek Vegetable Company
Mamaoudou Tirou, Sager Creek Vegetable Company
Reed Wells, Sager Creek Vegetable Company
Alice Wessner; NCDEQ
Tony Honeycutt, NCDEQ
Jim Barber, NCDEQ
Belinda Henson, NCDEQ

Rpwan-Rd
2015 Google
Goosleea
1; • 1993 {,' Imagery Date: 10/18/2014 !at 34.970654° !on -78,237656c' elev 98 ft eye alt 7106

Sager Creek Vegetable Company = Turkey.:
Groundwater Monitoring Data.
Y Y
�Yyyg
t k
xf...
_.
.�
z.,zsX .il_ . Ff av
'iX.'4'" . Z• Z {} i „t > .' 1%y5K"
tFy A'JF :Fn__ C SYY
: a�h�•! : n :.1
L-ew" I er ' ren P,ermit {6 . to 0 `1 ria
O `l'
It :iX A F� r .i F ^ ' k
JZ ,iY H{ #-�}�_ .�'. b'iY'
E •
+V.,�'_*,,.„}'. S �•ai, { }� .tea
Yi?'„ x' F�>a %' 4.. d?� :.'.�MS�C
aX�4
-?« ^5.
-
N
' �'�
h 1
iJ
j
,� Y
• •.`� «t�
yr�,aY,T.lfe
' `zt`.
x2
a. s
�J't_tyK
h' �•i.Y
y'Y Xb K
i •::<.
wTw
,
Tdi ..
tRY
, SK" ZX
'
• {.
y +
.
>
.
�.
'
..
.�,�fi.*�s :4 `'•a
}¢ +}#�h• 4
8K�' . ^8'i.'Y ,a .vtYY.
a ':�an�" e. .e#.
€� _ ,!q
> •. sj��%y a
. �f ?'• 7},n
P ' ''k';+I4X
t.g0..
k'
Airs J•
�•� n ��� �T. f_i y
• zr ° ' � &
FY' A• fj�u J.. :i, X Ztx F kF t ,r
C ,,, r.. Yi`C „i .}! nvz5 ,i� XA' f.+!'s
Y Y .# '.i ,(�� Yiy
S}.r ffi �.• Y. i'" " J
d f; .xi .>'�,•rs,
x cceptable p
�YLy.?z# .:X2TYnto
��r 'Z",n�t ,rsr
• j r JY ♦ Y. Y" "✓ Y y XFYxI�
•y t�¢x; j, +.!
�/..a.a�IA;a-
41 „ it iJi�f4 s { ,. �,e _ l
' '' ifi o X'p
t 7 J < x?5'r' C`Y� v._ .Y�,iA'fi?�l.kc XrP ••^ ` li .' Yi
i2s��5�y�J
..:
�.:..:. ::
0 ':...�
......
•.
:'•MW-1',••MW-2• •MW-3,••MW-4; •.R-1 •R 2a..•R-3. •R-4 :�R 5a ;•.R-6 '•R=7 .•R=8:.•R-9,• •.