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Home My WebLink AboutNC0046345_Remission (Decision)_20240614_TX-2024-0003 DocuSign Envelope ID:056BECC7-2CA9-4298-85B6-D680A3C27357 Eta`STATE ROY COOPER Governor ELIZABETH S.BISER - L,z.� a2 Secretary *f`QUA,,,, RICHARD E.ROGERS,JR. NORTH CAROLINA Director Environmental Quality 6/14/2024 CERTIFIED MAIL 7019 1120 0001 4877 6208 RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED Summer Woodard, City Manager City of Reidsville 230 West Morehead Street Reidsville,NC 27320 Subject: Remission Request of Civil Penalty Assessment NPDES Permit NCO046345 Reidsville WTP Rockingham County Case Number: TX-2024-0003 Dear Permitee: The Division of Water Resources has considered the information submitted in support of your request for remission in accordance with G.S. 143-215.6A(f) and remitted$2,000.00 of the $2,069.48 total penalty assessment. The revised amount due is $69.48, for the investigative costs. A copy of the remission decision is attached. Two options are available to you at this stage of the remission process: You may pay the remaining enforcement costs of$69.48. If you decide to pay the penalty,please make your check in the amount of$69.48, payable to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Send the payment within thirty (30) calendar days of your receipt of this letter to the attention of. Wren Thedford NC DEQ-DWR-NPDES Permitting 1617 Mail Service Center Raleigh,North Carolina 27699-1617 OR You may decide to have the Environmental Management Commission's (EMC's) Committee on Civil Penalty Remissions make the final decision on your remission request. If payment is not received within 30 calendar days from your receipt of this letter, your request for remission with its supporting documents, and the recommendation of the Division of Water Resources will be delivered to the EMC's Committee on Civil Penalty Remissions for a final agency decision. D E Q�� North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources 512 North Salisbury Street 1 1617 Mail Service Center I Raleigh,North Carolina 27699-1617 NORTH CAROLINA 919.707.9000 OepoNnem of Environmental Uoeltly DocuSign Envelope ID:056BECC7-2CA9-4298-85B6-D680A3C27357 Reidsville WTP Case TX-2024-0003 DWR Remission Decision P.2 You have the option of presenting your request in person to the EMC's Committee on Civil Penalty Remissions. 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 receipt of this letter. Send the completed form to: Caroline Robinson NC DEQ-DWR—NPDES Permitting 1617 Mail Service Center Raleigh,North Carolina 27699-1617 Please be advised that if an in-person presentation is not requested, the Committee's decision regarding your remission request 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 Committee may choose to uphold the original penalty amount and offer no remission,it may agree with the Division of Water Resources' remission recommendation detailed above, or the penalty amount may be further remitted. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. If you have any questions, please contact Caroline Robinson at 919-707-9130, or via e-mail at caroline.robinson@deq.nc.gov. Sincerely, Docu igned by: 83 CE9EB4A1.. John . ennessy, Section Chief Regional Operations NPDES Permitting Division of Water Resources Attachments:DWR Civil Assessment Remission Factor Sheet(copy)& Request for Oral Presentation Sheet ec: Enforcement File: TX-2024-0003 [Laserfiche] DWR WQ Regional Operations—Winston-Salem Regional Office [Laserfiche] DocuSign Envelope ID:056BECC7-2CA9-4298-85B6-D680A3C27357 Reidsville WTP Case TX-2024-0003 DWR Remission Decision P.3 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION COUNTY OF ROCKINGHAM DWQ Case Number TX-2024-0003 IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT OF ) CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST: ) REQUEST FOR ORAL PRESENTATION The City of Reidsville 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 violation of the State Bar occurs. This the day of , 20 SIGNATURE TITLE(President, Owner,etc.) MAILING ADDRESS entail TELEPHONE( ) DocuSign Envelope ID:056BECC7-2CA9-4298-85B6-D680A3C27357 DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES CIVIL PENALTY REMISSION FACTORS Case Number: TX-2024-0003 Region: Winston-Salem County: Rockingham Assessed Entity: Reidsville WTP Permit: NCO046345 ❑ (a) Whether one or more of the civil penalty assessment factors were wrongly applied to the detriment of the petitioner: ❑ (b) Whether the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting from the violation: Permittee States:The City of Reidsville has spent many man hours trying to correct the toxicity issue, $122,000.00 in professional sludge removal, at least$13,000 in toxicity testing, and$26,650.00 in parts(an aeration unit was added to the lagoons, sluice gates and a common pipe valve were installed for the sludge removal process,and they started install on new sedimentation mud valves). The last two multi-dilution tests were 100%or greater and the last pass/fail test was a"pass," therefore the City of Reidsville believes that they have finally fixed the issue and are moving forward. The city has budgeted for more money for continual professional sludge removal to keep the lagoons in the best shape possible. DWR Response: This facility has spent over$160,000.00 to correct their aquatic toxicity issues. Following sludge removal and installing new sedimentation mud valves,they have passed all aquatic toxicity testing since November 2023.ATB recommends a full remission while retaining enforcement costs. ❑ (c) Whether the violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident: ❑ (d) Whether the violator had been assessed civil penalties for any previous violations: ❑ (e) Whether payment of the civil penalty will prevent payment for the remaining necessary remedial actions: DECISION(Check One) Request Denied ❑ Full Remission ® Retain Enforcement Costs? Yes ® No ❑ Original Penalty(without Enforcement Costs) $2,000.00 Partial Remission ❑ %100 or $2,000.00 Subtotal $0.00 Retaining Enforcement Costs $69.48 Total Revised Assessmen �DocuSigned by: $69.48 6/14/2024 8328B44CE9EB4A1... John E. Hennessy Date