NC0069311_LV20150255 Request to Remit_20160113

Water Resources
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
January 13, 2016
CERTIFIED MAIL 7013 2630 0001 8998 4032
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
J. Bryce Mendenhall, Director
Franklin County Public Utilities
1630 US # 1 Hwy
Youngsville, North Carolina 27596
Dear Mr. Mendenhall:
PAT MCCRORY
m®
DONALD R. VAN DER VAART
Secretary
S. JAY ZIMMERMAN
Director
RECENED/NCDE610V4R
)Ate 19 2016
VNater Quafrty
Permitting Sell"
Subject: Your Request to Remit Civil Penalties - Partial Remission
Case Number: LV-2015-025.5 [for May2015]
for the Franklin County Public Utilities WWTP
NPDES Permit NCO069311
Franklin County
In accordance with North Carolina General Statute 143-215.6A(f), the Director of the North Carolina Division of
Water Resources (the Director) considered the information you submitted in support of your request for
remission, and has remitted $1000.00 [50% excluding costs] of the $2,029.71 civil -penalty assessment. The
revised civil penalty therefore totals $1,029.92 including $29.71 in investigative costs. A copy of the decision is
attached.
Therefore, your outstanding balance of $1,029.71 is due and payable. At this stage of the remission process, you
may avail yourself of one of the following two options:
1) You may pay this balance.
If you decide to pay the penalty, please make your check payable to the Department of Environmental Quality
(DEQ). Send the payment, within thirty (30) calendar clays of receiving this letter, to the attention of.
Attn: Wren 'Iliedford
NCDEQ/DWR/Point Source Branch
NPDES Unit
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1617
;17
2) You may request the Environmental Management Commission's (EMC's) Committee on
Civil Penalty Remissions (the Committee) to make the final decision on your remission
request considering your additional oral input, as warranted.
If payment is not received within 30 calendar days from your receipt of this letter, your current request for
remission and this letter of denial will be delivered to the Committee on Civil Penalty Remissions for final agency
decision.
Page 1 of 2

If you or your representative would like to speak before the Committee, you must complete and return the
attached Request for Oral Presentation Form within thirty (30) calendar days of receiving this letter. Send
completed fonn(s) to:
Wren Thedford
NCDEQ/DWR/Point Source Branch
NPDES/Compliance and Expedited Permitting Unit
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1617
If you make such a request, the EMC Chairman will review the supporting documents and your request for an oral
presentation. If, in his/her judgment, the Chairman determines that there is compelling reason to require a
presentation, you will be notified as to when and where you should appear. If your presentation is not required,
the final decision will be based upon the written record.
Please be advised that the EMC's Committee on Civil Penalty Remissions will make its remission decision based
on the original assessment amount. Therefore, the EMC may choose to uphold the original penalty and offer no
remission, they may agree with the DWQ Director's remission recommendation detailed above, or the penalty
amount may be further remitted.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. If you have questions, please contact me via email at
ioe.corporon(a,nedenr.gov or call my direct line 919-807-6394.
Sine
d, L.G.
ES Complia ce and Expedited Permitting
Attachments: Director's Decision; Request for Oral Presentation form
he: Central Files
RRO, Attn: Danny Smith, Supervisor SWPS
NPDES Enforcement File
Page 2 of 2

DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES
CIVIL PENALTY REMISSION FACTORS
Case Number: LV-2015-0255 Region: Raleigh County: Franklin
DMR for May, 2015 [$2,029.71 ]
Assessed Entity: Franklin County Public Utilities WWTP Permit: NCO069311
❑ (a) Whether one or more of the civil penalty assessment factors were wrongly applied to the
detriment of the petitioner: Not asserted.
❑ (b) Whether the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting from
the violation: Not asserted.
x (c) Whether the violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident:
Franklin County Public Utilities [FCPUJ offered the following in support of remission:
• Through several phone calls and email over the summer months, our office communicated
extensively with staff of the Regional Office Supervisor Danny Smith regarding severe
fluctuations in the influent and effluent BOD rates at our facility.
• Developed [anl intensive testing campaign
• Enlisted services of SK Environment and Engineering PLLC with assessment.
• Determined that it was outside influence affecting plant (not operations)
dramatic change in influent quality (increase flow and decrease BOD)
• Permittee authorized $40, 000 in capital funds to replace media, completed by late August.
• Staff reviewed water usage reports and narrowed sampling to coincide with our top ten major
water users as identified by billing department
• Our pretreatment coordinator in conjunction with the owner of our third party lab preformed site
visits to three of our potential suspect and reviewed operations include SDS data for their
processes.
• Franklin Countyfailed quarterly toxicity
• Franklin County was unable to identify the incoming culprit/source of toxicity
• Franklin County provided copies of the report, sampling records etc. to RRO.
DWR Comments: RRO concurs that the Permittee applied extensive efforts and resources to identify the
cause of the limit violations and return to compliance; Franklin County communicated regularly with
RRO throughout this upset. Unfortunately, the Permittee was unable to identify the actual source(s) of the
toxicity/BOD issues. Concerning the Permittee's compliance history, a review of BIMS indicates that the
Division issued no limit -violation CPAs against Franklin County prior to this upset. Similarly, there have
been no subsequent limit violations following the plant upset [see DMRs September, October and
November, 2015].
❑ (d) Whether the violator had been assessed civil penalties for any previous violations:
Not asserted.
❑ (e) Whether payment of the civil penalty will prevent payment for the remaining necessary
remedial actions: Not asserted.
DECISION (Check One)
Request Denied ❑
Full Remission ❑ Retain Enforcement Costs? Yes',0 No ❑
co
Partial Remission�i] $ 000 _ (Enter Amount)
/Z 6
% ff Poupart ate
rev 1.0 — 831.09

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
COMMISSION
COUNTY OF FRANKLIN
IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT
OF CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST:
Franklin County Public Utilities WWTP
DWR Case Numbers LV-2015-0255 [May]
REQUEST FOR ORAL PRESENTATION
NPDES Permit NCO069311
I hereby request to make an oral presentation before the Environmental Management Commission's Committee On Civil Penalty
Remissions in the matter of the case noted above. In making this request, I assert that I understand all of the following statements:
• This request will be reviewed by the Chairman of the Environmental Management Commission and may be either granted or
denied.
• Making a presentation will require the presence of myself and/or my representative during a Committee meeting held in Raleigh,
North Carolina.
• My presentation will be limited to discussion of issues and information submitted in my original remission request, and because
no factual issues are in dispute, my presentation will be limited to five (5) minutes in length.
The North Carolina State Bar's Authorized Practice of Law Committee has ruled that the appearance in a representative capacity at
quasi-judicial hearings or proceedings is limited to lawyers who are active members of the bar. Proceedings before the Committee on
Remissions are quasi-judicial. You should consider how you intend to present your case to the Committee in light of the State Bar's
opinion and whether anyone will be speaking in a representative capacity for you or a business or governmental entity. If you or your
representative would like to speak before the Committee, you must complete and return this form within thirty (30) days of receipt of
this letter.
Depending on your status as an individual, corporation, partnership or municipality, the State Bar's Opinion affects how you may
proceed with your oral presentation. See www.ncbar.com/ethics, Authorized Practice Advisory Opinion 2006-1 and 2007 Formal
Ethics Opinion 3.
• If you are an individual or business owner and are granted an opportunity to make an oral presentation before the Committee,
then you do not need legal representation before the Committee; however, if you intend on having another individual speak
on your behalf regarding the factual situations, such as an expert, engineer or consultant, then you must also be present at the
meeting in order to avoid violating the State Bar's Opinion on the unauthorized practice of law.
• If you are a corporation, partnership or municipality and are granted an opportunity to make an oral presentation before the
Committee, then your representative must consider the recent State Bar's Opinion and could be considered practicing law
without a license if he or she is not a licensed attorney. Presentation of facts by non -lawyers is permissible.
If you choose to request an oral presentation, please make sure that signatures on the previously submitted Remission Request form
and this Oral Presentation Request form are: 1) for individuals and business owners, your own signature and 2) for corporations,
partnerships and municipalities, signed by individuals who would not violate the State Bar's Opinion on the unauthorized practice of
law.
Also, be advised that the Committee on Civil Penalty Remissions may choose not to proceed with hearing your case if the Committee
is informed that a potential violation of the statute concerning the authorized practice of law has occurred.
This the day of 120
SIGNATURE
TITLE (President, Owner, etc.)
ADDRESS
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