Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutWQCS00280_NOI_NOV2020DV0370_Response_20200904Town of Liberty a eaaa� riacc re u,c P.O. Box 1006 239 South Fayetteville Street Liberty, North Carolina 27298 (336) 622-4276 phone (336) 622-2665 fax www.Liberty-NC.com September 4, 2020 �cY c✓ //'�i� 2► Lon T. Snider, Regional. Supervisor Water Quality Regional Operations Section Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ-WSRO 450 Hanes Mill Road Suite 300 Winston-Salem, NC 27103 r Subject: Response to Notice of Violation NOV-2020-DV-0370 Sanitary Sewer Overflows June 2020 Collection System -Permit No. WQCS00280 Town of Liberty - Collection System Randolph County Dear Mr. Snider, We are in receipt of your letter dated August 25, 2020 in which you request a response to our violation of permit conditions stipulated in the subject permit and NC GS 143-215.1. The violations included failing to effectively manage, maintain, and operate the subject collection system, so that there are no SSO to the land or surface waters and making an outlet to waters. We have been working on a detailed plan to address the inflow and infiltration problems that have plagued this system for many years. The following steps have already been taken: 1. We have initiated discussion and ha&an inspection referencing our Special Order by Consent (SOC) in order to assist the Town get back on the right footing with our collection and treatment system. We had a follow up meeting about this SOC on Wednesday, January 22, 2020. We had a follow up meeting on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 and made some good progress but due to COVID-19 we have been slower to resolve the SOC. After a conference call week of June 29, 2020, it seems to be in the best interest of the Town to enter into a settlement agreement instead of an SOC. This will continue to be a discussion until the best possible resolution is found. 2. We have been awarded $2M in CDBG-I funding to address severe I&I problems in the lines that primarily feed the Kime Street lift station with the assistance of McGill Associates and the Piedmont Triad Regional Council (PTRC). There is an environmental and -engineering report process that will commence in the coming months. Construction contracts will be awarded no later than April 2021. 3. On February 7, 2019 we were awarded $100,000 from Golden LEAF to complete a comprehensive study of or I&I problems. The results of this study have led to additional Golden LEAF funding awards. This report showed us many areas in our system that have issues and the full study is available upon request. 4. After completing the study, Golden Leaf awarded us another $495,000 to rehab six locations that are approximately 2,500 linear feet of sewer that will be completed in July and August 2020. We are in the final stages of this grant and have additional funds remaining after allocation of the first 2,500 linear feet was completed. We are requesting additional sections to be CCTV'ed to be approved. We should hear soon if we can complete more linear feet with this grant to help reduce I&I in our system. 5. More recently, we have been awarded $3,000,000 in a 100% loan forgiveness program through the Division of Water Infrastructure under the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act 2019 (ASADRA). This project will relocate the Starmount Lift Station out of the 100-year floodplain, rehabilitate Kinro Lift Station and rehabilitate approximately 8,900 linear feet of sewer collection lines that flow to Kinro lift station. A request for qualifications has been released. Construction contracts should.be signed no later than August 1, 2022. One location that is on this SSO is Kinro Rd. That lift station will be rehabilitated and some enflow lines will be rehabilitated. As you can see, we have been diligently working towards an actionable plan to address a multitude of issues facing our wastewater collection and treatment systems. We are severely impacted by compounding problems including a less than one million dollar budget, aging and low-income populous, aging and dilapidated collection system. Findings from the I&I study show that there are several NCDOT stormwater collection lines that feed into our wastewater. collection system. We will conduct additional CCTV investigation to discover the root cause and develop an immediate solution to these issues. All of the I&I and heavy rains continue to overwhelm our system in many ways including overloading all our lift stations located around town. We are continuing to work on our I&I into our system because we believe this is a huge reason we are continuing to have SSO's. I appreciate your thoughtful consideration of this additional information. I stand ready to discuss Liberty's Sanitary Sewer Overflow issues at your convenience. Sincere regards, William Doerfer, Town manager Liberty, NC