NC0049662_NOV2017SS0004_20170317

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Water Resources
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
March 15, 2017
Certified Mail #7014 3490 0001 8820 9969
Return Receipt Requested:
Shannon V. Becker, President
Aqua North Carolina, .Inc.
202 Mackenan Court
Cary, NC 27511
Dear Mr. Becker:
ROY COOPER
Govemor
MICHAEL S. REGAN
Secretaty
S. JAY ZIMMERMAN
Director
Notice of Violation -Notice of Intent to Enforce
Case No: NOV-2017-SS-0004
Illegal Discharge of Sludge/Removal of Use
Hawthorne Subdivision WWTP
NPDES Permit No. NCO049662
Wake County
MAR 16 2017
WaterQuality
Permitting Section
On March 8-9, 2017, Stephanie Goss, Danny Smith and Ted Cashion with the Raleigh Regional
Office (RRO) of the Division of Water Resources (DWR) observed an incident of sludge below
the Hawthorne WWTP discharge outlet. The unauthorized discharge of sludge occurred in Upper
Barton Creek, Class WS -IV Nutrient Sensitive Waters (NSW) in the Neuse River Basin. The
following observations were noted during the site inspection:
• Sludge was observed along approximately 450 linear feet of the Upper Barton Creek.
Note: Approximately 100 feet downstream of the discharge outlet a large accumulation of
sludge was observed (See Photographs 1-3).
• On March 9, 2017, samples of the stream were taken upstream and downstream of the
point of the sludge discharge. Field parameters showed the following:
Parameters: Upstream Downstream
Dissolved Oxygen 10.02 mg/I 2.26 mg/1
Specific Conductivity 154.7 uS/cm 615 uS/cm
• Water samples were obtained on March 9, 2017 and lab results for Nutrients are not yet
I vailable.
The site inspection and sample results revealed the following violations of North Carolina
General Statutes, North Carolina Administrative Codes, and NPDES permit conditions
(NC0049662) which state the following:
Division of Water Resources, Raleigh Regional Office, Water Quality Operations Section
http://portal.nedenr,org/web/wqlaps
1628 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1628
Location: 3800 Barrett Drive, Raleigh, NC 27609
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

NCGS 143-215.1(a) (6)
"Activities for Which Permits Required. —No person shall do any of the following things or carry
out any of the following activities unless that person has received a permit from the Commission
and has complied with all conditions set forth in that permit.
(6) cause or permit any waste, directly or indirectly, to be discharged to or in any manner
intermixed with the waters of the State in violation of the water quality standards applicable to the
assigned classifications or in violation of any effluent standards or limitations established for any
point source, unless allowed as a condition of any permit, special order or other appropriate
instrument issued or entered into by the Commission under the provisions of this Article."
15A NCAC 02B.0211 (2)
Title 15A North Carolina Administrative Code 02B .0211 (2) - Conditions Related to Best
Usage: the waters shall be suitable for aquatic life propagation and maintenance of biological
integrity, wildlife, secondary recreation, and agriculture. Sources of water pollution that preclude
any of these uses on either a short term or long term basis shall be considered to be violating a
water quality standard;
15A NCAC 02B.0211 (6)
Title 15A North Carolina Administrative Code 02B .0211 (6) — Dissolved Oxygen: for non -trout
waters, not less than a daily average of 5.0 mg/1 with a minimum instantaneous value of not less
than 4.0 mg/l.
15A NCAC 02B.0211 (8)
Title 15A North Carolina Administrative Code 02B .0211 (8) — Floating solids, settleable solids,
or sludge deposits: only such amounts attributable to sewage, industrial wastes, or other wastes as
shall not make the water unsafe or unsuitable for aquatic life and wildlife or impair the waters for
any designated uses.
NPDES Permit NCO049662 Part II Section B.2. Duty to Mitigate
The permittee shall take all reasonable steps to minimize or prevent any discharge or sludge use
or disposal in violation of this permit with a reasonable likelihood of adversely affecting human
health or the envirop-mert [40 CFR 122.41(d)].
NPDES Permit NCO049662 Part II. Section C.2. Proper Operation and Maintenance
The permittee shall at all times properly operate and maintain all facilities and systems of
treatment and control (and related appurtenances) which are installed or used by the permittee to
achieve compliance with the conditions of this permit.
NPDES Permit No. NCO049662 Part H. Section C.6 Removed Substances
Solids, sludges, filter backwash, or other pollutants removed in the course of treatment or control
of wastewaters shall be utilized/disposed of in accordance with NCGS 143-215.1 and in a manner
such as to prevent any pollutant from such materials from entering waters of the State or
navigable waters of the United States except as permitted by the Commission. The permittee
shall comply with all applicable state and federal regulations governing the disposal of sewage
sludge, including 40 CFR 503, Standards for the use and Disposal of Sewage Sludge ..... The
permittee shall notify the Permit Issuing Authority (DWR) of any significant change in its sludge
use or disposal practices.

Requested Response
This office requests that you respond to this letter in writing within 30 days of receipt of this
Notice. Your response should be sent to this office at the letterhead address. Your response
should address the following items:
1. Please explain clearly the cause(s) and source (sludge digester, holding tank, clarifier,
etc.) of the sludge discharged from the Hawthorne WWTP.
2. Please provide a copy of the ORC logbook for the period February 1, 2017 to present.
This includes tests, measurements, etc. (e.g., results of sludge judges, settleometer
readings, operations and maintenance performed, etc.), taken at the WWTP.
3. Please provide a copy of all records of sludge hauled from this facility that occurred
in 2017. These records must indicate the volume of sludge removed, date of
removal, name of the sludge hauler, and the location where the sludge was disposed.
4. Please explain on what day and time did this discharge of sludge commence and
when it ceased.
5. Please detail what efforts have been taken or new process controls to prevent the
release of solids from reoccurring.
6. For each day (March 9 to present), please explain what measures you used to recover
the sludge from the creek, pump times and how much sludge and wastewater was
recovered. Specifically, detail in your written response the work to remove solids
from the stream on each respective day and hours per day.
Environmental damage and violations of North Carolina Administrative Codes have been
documented for the subject site as stated above. Your efforts to undertake activities to bring the
subject site back into compliance is not an admission, rather it is an action that must be taken in
order to begin to resolve ongoing environmental issues.
These violations and any future violations are subject to a civil penalty assessment of up to a
maximum of $25,000.00 per day for each violation. Your response to this correspondence
will be considered in any civil penalty assessment process that may occur.
Should you have any questions regarding these matters, please contact Stephanie Goss at (919)
791-4256 or [e-mail].
Sincerely,
Danny Smitlf, Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations
Surface Water Protection Section
cc: RRO DWR Files
Central Files
Deborah Gore — PERCS Unit

Photograph 1: Upper Barton Creek upstream of Hawthorne WWTP; taken on 3/9/17
Photograph 2: Upper Barton Creek downstream of Hawthorne WWTP; taken on 3/8/17