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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWQCS00160_NOI_NOV2022DV0121_Response_20220513TOWN OF SPARTA P.O. BOX 99 SPARTA, NC 28675 NC Department of Environmental Quality Received MAY 2 0 2022 Winston-Salem Regional Office Phone: 336-372-4257 Fax: 336-372-2051 Email: spartamgrwilmoth@skybest.com TOWN COUNCIL MEMBERS: Wes Brinegar, Mayor Mike Parlier, Mayor Pro Tern Ryan W lmoth, Town Manager Cole Edwards Lloyd Terry, Chief of Police John Brady Peggy Choate, Town Clerk Terry McGrady Whitney Ivey, Town Attorney Milly Richardson To: Lon T. Snider, Regional Supervisor Water Quality Regional Operations Section Winston-Salem Regional Office Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ From: Ryan Wilmoth, Manager Date: May 13, 2022 RE: Response to Notice of Violation & Intent to Assess Civil Penalty Letter Mr. Snider, The Town of Sparta is in receipt of the May 10, 2022 letter concerning the Notice of Violation and Intent to Assess Civil Penalty from your office. We fully understand our responsibility for operations of the collections system in compliance with permit conditions. In reviewing this matter internally with our team, we identified some items of note that we felt contributed to this situation that should be submitted for your consideration. On or about March 15, 2022 our WWTP Operator noticed a substantial decrease in flow totals coming into our facility. This decrease in flow total was of significance so our maintenance division immediately began working to locate and identify any potential source of disruption in our collections system, starting at the treatment facility working outward. A potential obstruction, which was created by a property owner storing brush over a manhole on their property, was identified on March 16, 2022 and removed the same day. Flow was noted to increase through the area once the obstruction was removed, however, totals did not return to normal levels and were actually noted to be reduced on March 17, 2022 when our WWTP Operator reviewed flow data. The team resumed tracing of the collections system at which time the area of active overflow was noted. Our maintenance team began immediate emergency repair work to the disruption, which as detailed in our self -reporting was due to a collapsed outflow of a manhole. Of particular significance, the area of active spill for this NOV is included in the 2020 Earthquake Damage Sanitary Sewer Repair Project (Phase 2), Project ID: ALLEG-2022-002, which the Town of Sparta is actively engaged in repairing suspected sewer line damage that r resulted from the August 8, 2020 earthquake. The North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management- Disaster Recovery, as the funding agency, The Lane Group, providing engineering, and Locke -Lane Construction are also actively engaged with this project. Initial permitting for repair work to this segment of line was submitted early August, 2021 but was not authorized until December 30, 2021. Due to inclement weather in our mountainous area during the months of January and February, coupled with supply chain shortages, construction to this segment was not able to commence prior to the overflow. The contractor was able to mobilize to the area of overflow immediately and has since been actively working to repair this and other contiguous segments that are suspected to have earthquake damage. In closing, the Town of Sparta works diligently to ensure our collections system practices align with current standards and follows all applicable laws and regulations, which hopefully is demonstrated by our history of infrequent violations. We have also been actively engaged in earthquake recovery and repair work within our collections system over the last 21 months to rebuild our infrastructure to levels that will serve our citizens in a manner that surpasses permitting parameters. We appreciate your professional discretion in reviewing of our matter and respect your ultimate decision. Should you have any additional questions or needs for the Town of Sparta, please do not hesitate to contact me directly. Respectively, Ryan E. Wilmoth