NC0025054_Historical information_20091231

August 25, 2009
Subject:
Dear Mr Marrow:
Date Limit Value
06/30/09 5 mg/1
If you have any questions regarding this notice, please contact Cheng Zhang at 919-791-4200.
Sincerely,
xc: Central Files
RRO SWP files
BOD, 5-Day (20 Deg. C) -
Concentration
Beverly Eaves Perdue
Governor
Dee Freeman
Secretary
Thomas S Marrow
City of Oxford
’ PO Box 1307
Oxford NC 275651307
NOTICE OF VIOLATION
Permit No. NC0025054
Oxford WWTP
Case No. NOV-2009-LV-0384
Granville County
S. Daniel Smith
Surface Water Protection Supervisor
Raleigh Regional Office
CERTIFIED MAIL 70081300000011334113
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
The Division of Water Quality has reviewed Oxford WWTP's monitoring report for June 2009
and we noted the following violation(s) had been reported:______
Parameter Reported Value
5.9 mg/1
Limit Type
Monthly
Average
Exceeded
Remedial actions should be taken to correct this problem. It is the duty of every permitted
facility to meet permit limits. We urge you to avoid future occurrences. By doing so, you will
prevent further action by the State regarding the problems this month while protecting our lakes,
rivers and streams.
NCDENR
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Division of Water Quality
Coleen H. Sullins
Director
XnrThf-' arnlinn
North Carolina Division of Water Quality 1628 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1628 Phone [phone] Customer Service
Internet: www.ncwaterqualitv.orK Location: 3800 Banett Drive Raleigh, NC 27609 Fax [phone]
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer - 50% Recycled/10% Post Consumer Pape
October 22, 2009
SUBJECT:
Dear Mr. Donham:
An Equal Opportunity \ Affirmative Action Employer
Mr. Mark Donham
City Manager
City of Oxford
P.O. Box 1307
Oxford, North Carolina 27565-1307
This is to inform you that a review of your toxicity self-monitoring report form for the month of August 2009
indicates a violation of the toxicity limitation specified in your NPDES Permit. You should undertake necessary actions to
eliminate or reduce effluent toxicity to acceptable levels.
In addition, this correspondence contains important information on the Division’s Copper and Zinc Action Level
Policy which is triggered by two or more toxicity limit violations that occur during the toxicity testing calendar quarter
specified by the toxicity testing special condition of your NPDES Permit. Attachments addressing policy implementation
and a copy of the Division’s Toxicity Reduction Guidance have been included with this Notice of Violation.
You should initiate follow-up toxicity testing upon a single WET test failure which occurs during the toxicity
testing calendar quarter.
Beverly Eaves Perdue
Governor
Environmental Sciences Section
1621 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1621
Location: 4401 Reedy Creek Road. Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
Phone: [phone] \ FAX: [phone] \ Customer Service' 1-877-623-6748
Internet: http://h2o.enr.state nc.us/esb/
Dee Freeman
Secretary
NOTICE OF VIOLATION
Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) Testing
Copper and Zinc Action Level Policy
NPDES Permit No. NC0025054
Oxford WWTP
Granville County
CERTIFIED MAIL: 7006 2760 0001 9282 0310
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
• •
NCDENR
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Division of Water Quality
Coleen H. Sullins
Director
Your facility is currently monitoring for copper and/or zinc and the data indicate that the levels of copper/zinc in
your effluent have the potential to cause an exceedance of the NC water quality action level for this (these) parameters) in
your receiving stream during low stream flow conditions. The policy states that whenever a facility experiences two or
more toxicity limit violations during a toxicity testing calendar quarter, the NPDES Permit will be modified to include
numeric limits for copper and/or zinc UNLESS the permittee provides one or more of the following:
NorthCarolinaNaturally
OR
Written notification (a or b above) shall be sent to:
An Equal Opportunity \ Affirmative Action Employer
The permittee, upon experiencing two or more toxicity limit violations during a toxicity testing calendar
quarter must either provide DWQ with:
Please note that if you choose item b) above, you will be given nine months to submit documentation that
eliminates copper and/or zinc as causative effluent toxicants. Your final report should be comprehensive and include all
data used to support your conclusion(s). Should the data indicate copper and/or zinc as the source of effluent toxicity or if
1. Instream measurements of dissolved metal during low flow conditions that demonstrate compliance with
the Action Level standard
2. A revision of the prospective permit limit using improved inputs that in concert with existing or
additional monitoring data demonstrates compliance with the Action Level standard
3. Toxicity Identification Evaluation (TIE) results that definitively rule out copper and/or zinc as causes of
effluent toxicity
4. Demonstration by an alternative method approved by the Division and EPA that copper and/or zinc is not
the cause of toxicity
Environmental Sciences Section
1621 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1621
Location: 4401 Reedy Creek Road. Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
Phone [phone] \ FAX. [phone] \ Customer Service: 1-877-623-6748
Internet: http://h2o.enr.state.nc.us/esb/
NC Division of Water Quality
Environmental Sciences Section
Aquatic Toxicology Unit
1621 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1621
The Division has evaluated your copper and/or zinc monitoring data. The Division has also developed a
prospective NPDES permit limit based on your facility’s instream waste concentration, the copper and/or zinc action level
criterion and a translator procedure. Based on this data your prospective copper permit limit is 15.3 pg/L and your
prospective zinc permit limit is 126.8 pg/L.
a) Written notification indicating acceptance of the prospective copper and/or zinc permit
limit. Notification is due within 30 days after the date of the second WET Notice of
Violation.
b) Written notification indicating your choice of option(s) as noted on page one of this
correspondence. Notification is due within 30 days after the date of the second WET Notice of
Violation. DWQ approval of options 1-3 (previous page) is not necessary as the Division expects
work to rule out copper and/or zinc as causative effluent toxicants to begin immediately upon the
second WET permit limit violation.
,TOneNorth Carolina
Naturally
You should consider submitting the above correspondence certified mail.
An Equal Opportunity \ Affirmative Action Employer
the data are inconclusive as to copper and/or zinc’s role as a toxicity source, then the NPDES Permit will be reopened and
the metal limits specified above will be applied to the permit. The report is due nine months after the date of the second
WET Notice of Violation.
Failure to notify DWQ of your acceptance of a copper and/or zinc limit, failure to notify DWQ of your option
selection or failure to make acceptable demonstration to DWQ that copper and/or zinc are not causative effluent toxicants
within the stated time frames will result in reopening of the NPDES Permit to include copper and/or zinc numeric
limitations, as appropriate.
If the effluent is toxic, then we expect work to commence immediately with toxic effluent samples. Failure to
initiate work with toxic effluent samples during the study period is unacceptable and will be considered a failure to make
acceptable demonstration as cited above. We recommend a minimum of three separate sampling events during the nine
month period to definitively rule out copper and/or zinc as causative effluent toxicants.
Please note that your actions to notify DWQ of prospective limit acceptance or to notify DWQ of plan option(s)
and subsequent submission of a plan are contingent upon two or more toxicity NPDES permit limit violations occurring
during a toxicity testing calendar quarter.
Three copies of the final report shall be submitted to:
North Carolina Division of Water Quality
Environmental Sciences Section
Aquatic Toxicology Unit
1621 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1621
Environmental Sciences Section
1621 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1621
Location- 4401 Reedy Creek Road. Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
Phone: [phone] \ FAX: [phone] \ Customer Service: 1-877-623-6748
Internet: http://h2o.enr.state.nc.us/esb/
You may consider entering into a Special Order by Consent (SOC) with DWQ. A SOC provides regulatory relief
for specific NPDES permit limit violations and, if signed, will contain a requirement to conduct a Toxicity Reduction
Evaluation. The SOC will contain a compliance schedule, stipulated penalties for failing to meet milestone activity dates
and may contain upfront penalties to settle past permit limit violations.
Also note that the WET limit will remain in your NPDES permit regardless of whether metals are the source of
effluent toxicity. The data resulting from your actions to disprove copper and/or zinc as sources of effluent toxicity will
determine whether NPDES Permit limits will be assigned for these parameters. You are responsible for initiating actions
to address these issues.
North CarolinaNaturally
Sincerely,
ATTACHMENTS
cc:
An Equal OpportunityAffirmative Action Employer
Additional information regarding the Division’s Copper and Zinc Action Level Policy can be found at the
following web site - http://www.esb.enr.state.nc.us. Click on the “Aquatic Toxicology” Unit and go to the prompt “AT
Downloadable Files” located at the bottom of the page. This web site also contains EPA’s “Toxicity Reduction
Evaluation Guidance for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants.” Section 4 of this document contains pertinent
information on Toxicity Identification Evaluations.
Environmental Sciences Section
1621 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1621
Location: 4401 Reedy Creek Road, Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
Phone. [phone] \ FAX: [phone] \ Customer Service: 1-877-623-6748
Internet: http://h2o.enr.state.nc.us/esb/
Cindy Mbore
Supervisor, Aquatic Toxicology Unit
If you have any questions concerning this correspondence, please contact me at [phone] or Mr. John
Giorgino at [phone].
Danny Smith- Raleigh Regional Office (no attachments)
Vicki Webb- Raleigh Regional Office (no attachments)
Karen Rust- Point Source Branch (no attachments)
Marshall Hyatt-USEPA Region IV, Atlanta Federal Center, 61 Forsyth St., SW, Atlanta, GA 30303
(no attachments)
Central Files (no attachments)
Aquatic Toxicology Unit Files (no attachments)
North Carolina
Naturally
October 22, 2009
SUBJECT:
Dear Mr. Donham:
An Equal Opportunily \ Affirmative Action Employer
You should initiate follow-up toxicity testing upon a single WET test failure which occurs during the toxicity
testing calendar quarter.
Mr. Mark Donham
City Manager
City of Oxford
P.O. Box 1307
Oxford, North Carolina 27565-1307
This is to inform you that a review of your toxicity self-monitoring report form for the month of August 2009
indicates a violation of the toxicity limitation specified in your NPDES Permit. You should undertake necessary actions to
eliminate or reduce effluent toxicity to acceptable levels.
In addition, this correspondence contains important information on the Division’s Copper and Zinc Action Level
Policy which is triggered by two or more toxicity limit violations that occur during the toxicity testing calendar quarter
specified by the toxicity testing special condition of your NPDES Permit. Attachments addressing policy implementation
and a copy of the Division’s Toxicity Reduction Guidance have been included with this Notice of Violation.
Beverly Eaves Perdue
Governor
Dee Freeman
Secretary
Environmental Sciences Section
1621 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1621
Location: 4401 Reedy Creek Road. Raleigh. North Carolina 27607
Phone: [phone] \ FAX: [phone] \ Customer Sen/ice: 1-877-623-6748
Internet: http://h2o.enr.state.nc.us/esb/
NOTICE OF VIOLATION
Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) Testing
Copper and Zinc Action Level Policy
NPDES Permit No. NC0025054
Oxford WWTP
Granville County
CERTIFIED MAIL: 7006 2760 0001 9282 0310
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Your facility is currently monitoring for copper and/or zinc and the data indicate that the levels of copper/zinc in
your effluent have the potential to cause an exceedance of the NC water quality action level for this (these) parameters) in
your receiving stream during low stream flow conditions. The policy states that whenever a facility experiences two or
more toxicity limit violations during a toxicity testing calendar quarter, the NPDES Permit will be modified to include
numeric limits for copper and/or zinc UNLESS the permittee provides one or more of the following:
NCDENR
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Division of Water Quality
Coleen H. Sullins
Director
EC-r^’
OCT ? 3 2009
I"
_ OneNorthCarolina
Naturally
OR
Written notification (a or b above) shall be sent to:
An Equal Opportunity \ Affirmative Action Employer
The permittee, upon experiencing two or more toxicity limit violations during a toxicity testing calendar
quarter must either provide DWQ with:
Please note that if you choose item b) above, you will be given nine months to submit documentation that
eliminates copper and/or zinc as causative effluent toxicants. Your final report should be comprehensive and include all
data used to support your conclusion(s). Should the data indicate copper and/or zinc as the source of effluent toxicity or if
1. Instream measurements of dissolved metal during low flow conditions that demonstrate compliance with
the Action Level standard
2. A revision of the prospective permit limit using improved inputs that in concert with existing or
additional monitoring data demonstrates compliance with the Action Level standard
3. Toxicity Identification Evaluation (TIE) results that definitively rule out copper and/or zinc as causes of
effluent toxicity
4. Demonstration by an alternative method approved by the Division and EPA that copper and/or zinc is not
the cause of toxicity
Environmental Sciences Section
1621 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1621
Location. 4401 Reedy Creek Road. Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
Phone. [phone] \ FAX: [phone] \ Customer Service: 1-877-623-6748
Internet: http://h2o.enr.state.nc.us/esb/
NC Division of Water Quality
Environmental Sciences Section
Aquatic Toxicology Unit
1621 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1621
a) Written notification indicating acceptance of the prospective copper and/or zinc permit
limit. Notification is due within 30 days after the date of the second WET Notice of
Violation.
b) Written notification indicating your choice of option(s) as noted on page one of this
correspondence. Notification is due within 30 days after the date of the second WET Notice of
Violation. DWQ approval of options 1-3 (previous page) is not necessary as the Division expects
work to rule out copper and/or zinc as causative effluent toxicants to begin immediately upon the
second WET permit limit violation.
The Division has evaluated your copper and/or zinc monitoring data. The Division has also developed a
prospective NPDES permit limit based on your facility’s instream waste concentration, the copper and/or zinc action level
criterion and a translator procedure. Based on this data your prospective copper permit limit is 15.3 pg/L and your
prospective zinc permit limit is 126.8 pg/L.
_ TOneNorthCarohnaNaturally
You should consider submitting the above correspondence certified mail.
An Equal OpportunityAffirmative Action Employer
the data are inconclusive as to copper and/or zinc’s role as a toxicity source, then the NPDES Permit will be reopened and
the metal limits specified above will be applied to the permit. The report is due nine months after the date of the second
WET Notice of Violation.
Failure to notify DWQ of your acceptance of a copper and/or zinc limit, failure to notify DWQ of your option
selection or failure to make acceptable demonstration to DWQ that copper and/or zinc are not causative effluent toxicants
within the stated time frames will result in reopening of the NPDES Permit to include copper and/or zinc numeric
limitations, as appropriate.
Please note that your actions to notify DWQ of prospective limit acceptance or to notify DWQ of plan option(s)
and subsequent submission of a plan are contingent upon two or more toxicity NPDES permit limit violations occurring
during a toxicity testing calendar quarter.
Also note that the WET limit will remain in your NPDES permit regardless of whether metals are the source of
effluent toxicity. The data resulting from your actions to disprove copper and/or zinc as sources of effluent toxicity will
determine whether NPDES Permit limits will be assigned for these parameters. You are responsible for initiating actions
to address these issues.
Three copies of the final report shall be submitted to:
North Carolina Division of Water Quality
Environmental Sciences Section
Aquatic Toxicology Unit
1621 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1621
Environmental Sciences Section
1621 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1621
Location: 4401 Reedy Creek Road, Raleigh. North Carolina 27607
Phone: [phone] \ FAX: [phone] \ Customer Service: 1-877-623-6748
Internet: http://h2o.enr.state.nc.us/esb/
One . .NortnCarolina
'Naturally
If the effluent is toxic, then we expect work to commence immediately with toxic effluent samples. Failure to
initiate work with toxic effluent samples during the study period is unacceptable and will be considered a failure to make
acceptable demonstration as cited above. We recommend a minimum of three separate sampling events during the nine
month period to definitively rule out copper and/or zinc as causative effluent toxicants.
You may consider entering into a Special Order by Consent (SOC) with DWQ. A SOC provides regulatory relief
for specific NPDES permit limit violations and, if signed, will contain a requirement to conduct a Toxicity Reduction
Evaluation. The SOC will contain a compliance schedule, stipulated penalties for failing to meet milestone activity dates
and may contain upfront penalties to settle past permit limit violations.
Sincerely,
ATTACHMENTS
cc:
An Equal Opportunity \ Affirmative Action Employer
Additional information regarding the Division’s Copper and Zinc Action Level Policy can be found at the
following web site - http://www.esb.enr.state.nc.us . Click on the “Aquatic Toxicology” Unit and go to the prompt “AT
Downloadable Files” located at the bottom of the page. This web site also contains EPA’s “Toxicity Reduction
Evaluation Guidance for Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants.” Section 4 of this document contains pertinent
information on Toxicity Identification Evaluations.
Environmental Sciences Section
1621 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1621
Location: 4401 Reedy Creek Road, Raleigh. North Carolina 27607
Phone. [phone] \ FAX: [phone] \ Customer Service: 1-877-623-6748
Internet: http://h2o.enr.state.nc.us/esb/
Cindy Iwoore
Supervisor, Aquatic Toxicology Unit
If you have any questions concerning this correspondence, please contact me at [phone] or Mr. John
Giorgino at [phone].
Danny Smith- Raleigh Regional Office (no attachments)
Vicki Webb- Raleigh Regional Office (no attachments)
Karen Rust- Point Source Branch (no attachments)
Marshall Hyatt-USEPA Region IV, Atlanta Federal Center, 61 Forsyth St., SW, Atlanta, GA 30303
(no attachments)
Central Files (no attachments)
Aquatic Toxicology Unit Files (no attachments)
NorthCarolinaNaturally