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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWQCS00013_NOV-2023-DV-0266_20230801 (2)NC Dept of aUl -1 C1.3 C I A 11Y Raleigh Regional Office -LIVE INSPIRED" - July 27, 2023 Mr. Scott Vinson, Regional Supervisor Water Quality Regional Operations Section Raleigh Regional Office Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ 1628 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1628 CERTIFIED MAIL Subject: Notice of Violation (NOV-2023-DV-0266) Dear Mr. Vinson: On July 17, 2023 the Town of Cary Utilities Department received a Notice of Violation (NOV) letter dated July 5, 2023 from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water Resources — Raleigh Regional Office for two sanitary sewer overflows (SSO) that occurred on June 20 and June 25, 2023. The NOV letter identifies the June 20 SSO as an NOV and requests written response from Cary to provide additional information within 15 business days from receipt of the letter. The written submittal will be considered by NCDEQ and used to determine if a civil penalty will be assessed. Incident # Start Date Duration Location Cause Total Total Volume DWR (min) Volume Surface Water Action Gal Gal 202300949 3/4/2023 42 4000 Glenaire Debris, 588 588 Notice of Circle, Cary Grease Violation 202300975 3/17/2023 503 1900 Old Reedy Equipment 160 160 Notice of Creek Road, Cary Failure Deficiency Cary takes pride in the operation and management of our 1,000 miles of wastewater collection system. We are an award winning and progressive wastewater utility that has very few reportable or large volume SSO. We place emphasis on responding quickly to sewer emergencies to prevent and minimize any spills that impact our citizens, community, and environment. We appreciate the opportunity to provide information on the recent sewer overflows, our efforts, and justification for why additional enforcement action or civil penalty should not be assessed to the Town of Cary. INCIDENT # 202300949 — 4000 Glenaire Circle. Sewer Overflow Cause - On June 20, 2023 at 12:50 PM, Cary staff conducting a routine monthly inspection of the manhole found the manhole (SP76306091) overflowing. Cary wastewater collection system staff immediately responded and removed the blockage at 1:32 PM. The sewer spill cause was identified as sanitary wipe, paper, and grease. 919.469.4000 1 carync.gov PO Box 8005 Cary, NC 27512 OualilN Sewer Spill Cleanup — The sewer spill flowed from the manhole into an adjacent unnamed tributary to Swift Creek. Due to intermittent heavy rainfall, the creek was flowing at a fast pace and there was little evidence of a spill in the creek or on the ground due to the rainfall. Conductivity readings were collected to assess the stream and are included in Table 1. Sewer Spill Assessment - The Town performed conductivity readings following the overflow to assess the spill. The following table provides a summary of the data collected at the time of the SSO. Due to intermittent heavy rain, there was heavy flow in the stream resulting in low conductivity readings and little variation upstream and downstream of the spill. No fish kill or visible impacts were identified following the spill and spill cleanup. Following removal of the blockage, wastewater flow was monitored, and inflow and infiltration was not a contributing factor. Date/Time => June 20, 2023 1:35 PM Location Result S/cm SSO entry point to creek 68 50' Upstream in creek 66 100' Downstream in creek 65 150' Downstream in creek 63 200' Downstream in creek 65 250' Downstream in creek 64 Table 1. Corrective Actions — After clearing the blockage, the area sewer lines were hydraulicly cleaned, video inspected. The manhole that spilled is inspected and cleaned as needed monthly due to past debris buildup that serves an assisted living community. From this incident, Cary has increased its inspection and cleaning to bi-weekly frequency to prevent another spill. Cary contacted the assisted living management staff and relayed best management practices for sanitary wipe and grease disposal. The assisted living management will relay information to staff and residents to help reduce the volume of materials that are flushed. Cary is also experimenting with a manhole sensor to monitor water level and provide telemetry alarm function to notify staff in the event of a backup in the manhole (SP76306091). INCIDENT # 202300975 — 1900 Old Reedy Creek Road Sewer Overflow Cause - On June 25, 2023, Cary staff while conducting routine pump station inspections discovered an air release valve (ARV) on a temporary pump bypass force main leaking. The force main and ARV are in place and were being used to support a planned sewer interceptor rehabilitation project. The ARV was intermittently leaking during the pump discharge cycle. Sewer Spill Cleanup — No wastewater debris was associated with the leak, powdered lime was applied to the ground around the ARV and the path the spill traveled to treat the soil. CARY Sewer Spill Assessment - The 160-gallon sewer spill entered Crabtree Creek and spill flow path was ground absorbed. No fish kill or visible impacts were identified following the spill and spill cleanup. Corrective Actions — The ARV was immediately turned off with an isolation valve to stop the spill. The ARV was removed and replaced with a new ARV. The sewer rehabilitation contractor that is managing the bypass pumping operations is making regular daily inspections of the pipeline and ARV to help prevent any additional leaks. We appreciate the opportunity in being able to provide information on both unfortunate sewer spills. We appreciate NC DEQ's consideration in evaluating these sewer spills, the cause, and Cary's record and response to remediate and help ensure that a SSO reoccurrence does not reoccur at these locations. If we can answer any questions or provide any additional information, please feel free to contact Mr. Donald Smith, Wastewater Collection System Manager at (919) 469-4095. Sincerely, amie levels, P.E. Utilities Director Cc: Donald Smith, Wastewater Collection System Manager Paul Campbell, Wastewater Collection System Operator Attachments: • NCDEQ Notice of Violation to issue Civil Penalty— NOV-2023-DV-00266 Collection System Sanitary Sewer Overflow Reporting Form — Incident # 202300949 Collection System Sanitary Sewer Overflow Reporting Form — Incident # 202300975 C"RY NCDept of Enviioruncntal duality DWR State of North Carolina ,��, � (� - 1 ([�',j Department of Environment and Natural Resources Division of Water Resources Raleigh Regional offi�llection System Sanitary Sewer Overflow Reporting Form 7lvislon of Water Resources Form CS-SSO PART I: 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: WQCS00013 (WQCS# if active, otherwise use WQCSD#) Facility: Cary Collection System Incident #: 202300949 Owner: Town of Cary City: Cary County: Wake Region: Raleigh Source of SSO (check applicable): 0 Sanitary Sewer ❑ 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): 4000 Glenaire Circle, Cary NC 27511 Manhole #: SP76306091 Latitude (Decimal Degrees): 35.7772 Longitude (Decimal Degrees): -78.7872 Incident Started Dt: 06/20/2023 Time: 12:50 pm Incident End Dt: 06/20/2023 Time: 01:32 pm (mm-dd-yyyy) (hh:mm AM/PM) (mm-dd-yyyy) (hh:mm AM/PM) Estimated Volume of the SSO: 588 gallons Estimated Duration (Round to nearest hour): 0:42 hours Describe how the volume was determined: Estimation based on visual observation of overflowing manhole Weather conditions during the SSO event: Cloudy with intermittent rain showers 'Ad SSO reach surface waters? 0 Yes ❑ No ❑ Unknown Volume reaching surface waters (gals): 588 Surface water name: Unnamed Tributary to Swift Creek Did the SSO result in a fish kill? [-]Yes QNo ❑ Unknown If Yes, what is the estimated number offish killed? 0 SPECIFIC cause(s) of the SSO: 0 Grease 0 Debris in line 24 hour verbal notification (name of person contacted ): Curtis R Tyree 0 DWR ❑ Emergency Mgmt Date (mm-dd-yyy): 06/21/2023 Time (hh:mm AM/PM): 09:10:00 am If an SSO is ongoing, please notify the appropriate Regional Office on a daily basis until SSO can be stopped. Per G.S. 143-215.1C(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 In 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 Grease When was the last time this specific line (or wet well) was cleaned? line last cleaned on 02/24/2021: manhole last cleaned on 05/15/2023 Do you have an enforceable grease ordinance that requires new or retrofit of grease 0 Yes ❑ No NA ❑ NE traps/interceptors? Have there been recent inspections and/or enforcement actions taken on nearby Yes 0 No E NA ❑ NE restaurants or other nonresidential grease contributors? Explain. No enforcement actions taken against Glenaire. Cary Pretreatment provides education and works with the facility director help mitigate debris from the facility. Have there been other SSOs or blockages in this area that were also caused by Yes 0 No ❑ NA NE grease? When? If yes, describe them: Have cleaning and inspections ever been increased at this location? 0 Yes ❑ No NA ❑ NE Explain. This manhole is inspected and cleaned monthly due to ongoing issues with debris inside the manhole. Have educational materials about grease been distributed in the past? 0 Yes ❑ No ❑ NA ❑ NE When? Quarterly and to whom? Ryan Ferguson Explain? Quarterly debris removal invoices are sent to Ryan Ferguson. Director of Facility Services for Glenaire. Cary Pretreatmen works with Ryan to help minimize the amount of debris generated from their facility which accumulates in this manhole. If the SSO occurred at a pump station, when was the wet well and pumps last checked for grease accumulation? CS-SSO Form Page: 2 Were the floats clean? Yes ❑ No 7 NA D NE Comments: Debris in line What type of debris has been found in the line? Rags Suspected cause or source of debris. Suspected source of debris is Glenaire Retirement Community. Are manholes in the area secure and intact? When was the area last checked/cleaned? 05/15/2023 Have cleaning and inspections ever been increased at this location due to previous problems with debris? RYes DNo DNA ENE R Yes ❑ No ❑ NA DNE Explain: This manhole is inspected and cleaned monthly due to ongoing issues with debris inside the manhole. Are appropriate educational materials being developed and distributed to prevent futt W Yes ❑ No 17 NA D NE similar occurrences? Comments: Cary Pretreatment works with Glenaire to help minimize the amount of debris generated from their facility which accumulates in this manhole. This is ongoing. System Visitation ORC ❑ Yes Backup 0 Yes Name: Ward Renfrow Cart# 1003897 Date visited: 06/20/2023 Time visited: 01:15 PM How was the SSO remediated (i.e. Stopped and cleaned up)? A iet vac truck was used to clear the blockage. Lime was put down on the affected area. CS-SSO Form Page: 3 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: Robert S Garner Date: 06/23//23 10:05 am Signature: exi S, —km Title: lD 23 1 2.� Telephone Number: OH-- 4I 3 - o-q(i Any addition information desired to be submitted should be sent to the appropriate Division Regional Office within five days of t 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: 4 Dept of Environmental Quality State of North Carolina DWK Department of Environment and Natural Resources Division of Water Resources AUG ` 12023 Collection System Sanitary Sewer Overflow Reporting Form ^Mslon of Water Resources Form CS-SSO PART Raleigh 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: WQCS00013 (WQCS# if active, otherwise use WQCSD#) Facility: Cary Collection Owner: Town of Cary City: Cary Source of SSO (check applicable): County: Wake Region: Raleigh 1 Sanitary Sewer ❑ Pump Station / Lift Station Incident M 202300975 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): 1900 Old Reedy Creek Rd, Cary, NC, 27513 Manhole #: SP76505013, 76506006 Latitude (Decimal Degrees): Longitude (Decimal Degrees): Incident Started Dt: 06/25/2023 Time: 1:30 pm Incident End Dt: 06/25/2023 Time: 09:53 pm (mm-dd-yyyy) (hh:mmAM/PM) (mm-dd-yyyy) (hh:mmAM/PM) Estimated Volume of the SSO: 160 gallons Estimated Duration (Round to nearest hour): 8:23 hours Describe how the volume was determined: Observation and estimate of discharge from leaking air release valve Weather conditions during the SSO event: Clear, Sunny SSO reach surface waters? 0 Yes ❑ No ❑ Unknown Volume reaching surface waters (gals): 160 Surface water name: Crabtree Creek (Crabtree Lake) Did the SSO result in a fish kill? ❑ Yes QNo ❑ Unknown If Yes, what is the estimated number of fish killed? SPECIFIC cause(s) of the SSO: 0 Other (Please explai 24 hour verbal notification (name of person contacted ): Zachary Thomas [1 DWR ❑ Emergency Mgmt Date (mm-dd-yyy): 06/26/2023 Time (hh:mm AM/PM): 10:45:00 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 recluired 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 SECTIONS 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 Other (Please explain in Part II) Describe: A planned oroiect is currently underway with a contractor rehabilitating CarvLs gravity sewer pipeline upstream and into tl North Cary Water Reclamation Facility influent pump station. By-pass pumps and a pipeline is in place to facilitate the installation of cure in place pipelining. An air release valve on the bypass pipeline was periodically and intermittently leaking near the influent pump station where the wastewater is being discharged to the water reclamation facility for treatment. Were adequate equipment and resources available to fix the problem? RI Yes No ❑ NA ❑ NE If Yes, explain: The leaking air release valve was immediately turned off and a replacement air release valve was available for installatior If the problem could not be immediately repaired, what actions were taken to lessen the impact of the SSO? Immediate action was taken. Comments: Contractor staff conduct inspections every 2-3 hours of the bvoass pipeline and air release valves. Cary water reclamatic staff conduct site visits and inspection of the pump station every 4 hours. Regular inspections were being performed, but with the short periodic and intermittent discharges of approximatelV 5 gallons per minute, it was not detected until a discharge occurred while staff were onsite. SCADA records and observation of the discharge was used to determine the start of the SSO and volume. System Visitation ORC Q Yes Backup ❑ Yes Name: Donald Smith Cert# 1001030 Date visited: 6/26/2023 Time visited: 9:30 am CS-SSO Form Page: 2 How,was. the SSO remediated (i.e. Stopped and cleaned up)? The SSO was stooped by turning off the leaking air release valve. Powdered activated lime was applied to the ground an raked in to treat the affected soil. No solids were discharged from the air release valve. No fish kill or stream detriment ws observed with the spill. ms 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: Donald Bradley Smith Date: 06/26/23 03:00 pm Signature: Telephone Number: 'jiff — 4(,R —`{ cn 5-- Title: W &99,''- r C.-., C�2Citar S�) eA Any addition information desired to be submitted should be sent to the appropriate Division Regional Office within five days of f 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: J DocuSign Envelope ID: 7FCAE679-55F4-4A10-A588-20DEEE4CC236 NC DePt u{ Enviromnental ROY COOPER c,,,"" ELIZABETH S. BISER RICHARD E. ROGFRS JR, VR'It I Certified Mail # 7020 3160 0000 4109 1345 Return Receipt Requested Jamie Revels, Utilities Director Town of Cary PO Box 8005 Cary, NC 27512-8005 NORTH CA70i NA Environmental Quality July 05, 2023 SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION Tracking Number: NOV-2023-DV-0266 Sanitary Sewer Overflows - June 2023 Collection System Permit No. WQCS00013 Cary Collection System Wake County Dear Permittee: !wii - 1. ?P,I 211eigb Realor" The self -reported Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) 5-Day Report submitted by Town of Cary indicates violations of permit conditions stipulated in the subject permit and North Carolina G.S. 143-215.1. Violations include failing to effectively manage, maintain, and operate the subject collection system so that there is no SSO to the land or surface waters and making an outlet to waters of the State for purposes of G.S. 143-215.1(a)(1), for which a permit is required. Specific incident(s) cited in the subject report include the following: Total Vol Total Surface Incident Start Duration Vol Water Number Date (Mins) Location Cause (Gals) (Gals) DWR Action 202300949 6/20/2023 42 4000 Glenaire Circle, Debris in line, Grease 588 588 Notice of Violation Cary NC 27511 202300975 6/25/2023 42 1900 Old Reedy Creek Rd, Equipment Failure 160 160 Notice of Deficiency Cary NC 27513 Remedial actions, if not already implemented, should be taken to correct the above noncompliance. Please submit a written response to this Notice of Violation. Your response is to be received by the regional office within 15 DocuSign Envelope ID: 7FCAE679-55F4-4A10-A588-20DEEE4CC236 business days following receipt of this violation. Please include any additional documentation about this incident(s) in the response. The submittal will be considered in determining whether the Division will assess a civil penalty for the cited violations. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Kevin Fowler with the Water Quality Section in the Raleigh Regional Office at 919-791-4200 or via email at kevin.fowler@deq.nc.gov. Sincerely, Coocusign.e by: Ualn sit f, hatn kd, 6r B2916FGA632146F Scott Vinson, Regional Supervisor Water Quality Regional Operations Section Raleigh Regional Office Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ Cc: Laserfische NC Dept of Environmental Quality AUG - 1 2023 Raleigh Regional Office Operations Center Donald Smith $6.18 US POSTAGE FIRST-CLASS •� PO BOX 8005 TOWN OF CARY-UTILITIES DEPARTMENT Jul 27 2023 Mailed from ZIP 27512 CARY NC 27512-8005 3 OZ FIRST-CLASS MAIL FLATS RATE '� y USPS CERTIFIED MAIL ZONE 7 11923275 062S0001442150 9407 1118 9876 5417 3533 17 NCDEQ- Div of Water Resources Mr. Scoff Vinson, Regional Supervisor 1628 MAIL SERVICE CENTER - WATER QUALITY - RRO RALEIGH NC 27699-1628 Ill�lllpd�u"Illllgllll�dgn�ql�dlpqlll�l�lqll�l���ql