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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWQCS00003_NOV and Intent to Assess_20240620Roy COOPER Governor ELIZABETH S. BISER Secretary RICHARD E. ROGERS, JR. Director srnre NORTH CAROLINA Environmental Quality Certified Mail # 7022 2410 0003 1826 0722 Return Receipt Requested June 20, 2024 Courtney L Driver, Director of Utilities City of Winston-Salem PO Box 2511 Winston Salem, NC 27107-9998 SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION & INTENT TO ISSUE CIVIL PENALTY Tracking No.: NOV-2024-DV-0273 Sanitary Sewer Overflows - May 2024 Collection System Permit No. WQCS00003 Winston-Salem Collection System Forsyth County Dear Ms. Driver: A review has been conducted of the self -reported Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSO's) 5-Day Report/s submitted by City of Winston-Salem. The Division's Winston-Salem Regional Office concludes that the City of Winston-Salem violated Permit Condition I (2) of Permit No. WQCS00003 by failing to effectively manage, maintain, and operate their collection system so that there is no SSO (Sanitary Sewer Overflow) to the land or surface waters and the SSO constituted making an outlet to waters of the State for purposes of G.S. 143-215.1(a)(1), for which a permit is required by G.S. 143-215.1. The Winston-Salem Regional Office is providing the City of Winston-Salem an opportunity to provide evidence and justification as to why the City of Winston-Salem should not be assessed a civil penalty for the violation(s) that are summarized below: Total Vol Total Surface Incident Start Duration Vol Water Number Date (Mins) Location Cause (Gals) (Gals) DWR Action 202400856 5/3/2024 135 800 Whispering Brook Roots 4,300 2,150 Notice of Intent Road, Kernersville, NC, 27284 o�.raw D � North Carolina R'qi l Offirr 1 450 Wt l Q�alily D,d.5 il300 1r Resonrces Wlnsioa-Salem Regional Office 4`.A Wes[Hanes Mill Road, Suite 300 Wlnsmn-Salem, North CarolEna 2I105 336W69600 This Notice of Violation / Notice of Intent to Enforce (NOV/NOI) is being issued for the noted violation. Pursuant to G.S. 143-215.6A, a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) may be assessed against any person who violates or fails to act in accordance with the terms, conditions, or requirements of any permit issued pursuant to G.S. 143-215.1. This office requests that you respond to this Notice, in writing, within 10 business days of its receipt. In your response, you should address the causes of non-compliance, remedial actions, and all other actions taken to prevent the recurrence of similar situations. The response to this correspondence will be considered in this process. Enforcement decisions will also be based on volume spilled, volume reaching surface waters, duration and gravity, impacts to public health, fish kills or recreational area closures. Other factors considered in determining the amount of the civil penalty are the violator's history of non-compliance, the cost of rectifying the damage, whether the spill was intentional and whether money was saved by non-compliance. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Gary Hudson with the Water Quality Section in the Winston-Salem Regional Office at 336-776-9800 or via email at gary.hudson@deq.nc.gov. Sincerely, Docu Siiggned by: L uti l . <Jn, J" 1.49E225C94EA... Lon T. Snider, Regional Supervisor Water Quality Regional Operations Section Winston-Salem Regional Office Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ North Carolina 6rpartmr ofE,,r.... otal Quality l Oivisim of Water Resources Wlnstnn. Salem Regional Office 1450 West Hanes Mill Ra45uite300 I Winston-S,le North Carolina 27105 336,7769800