DEQ-CFW_00019411

h3L#Aj=TMrVMI i 4JUMLitLy- Oct. 4, 2015 1000 hours
Divisions:
Air Quality (DAQ) Coastal Management (DCM) Environmental Assistance and Customer Service Center (DEACS)
Energy, Mineral and Land Resources (DLR) Legislative/Intergovernmental Affairs (LIA)
Marine Fisheries (DMF) Waste Management (DNVM) Water Resources (DWR)
EVENT: Hurricane Joaquin
Phase: X Day of Event Assessment Response Recovery
Departmental Priorities:
I. Current Situation:
Rain will continue across most of the state today. The heaviest rainfall totals will be in southeastern North
Carolina, where locations could receive between a half -inch and 5 inches of rain. Highs today will be in the 60s
and 70s. Lows tonight will fall into the 50s and 60s.
Minor power outages and localized flooding are being reported, largely in southeastern North Carolina and the
western Piedmont. The State Emergency Response Team continues to monitor areas around the state that may
be prone to flooding impacts.
About 6,000 customer electric power outages are being reported statewide, primarily in Duke Energy's service
area. Since the storm began, more than 93,000 customer outages have been restored across the Carolinas.
Restoration resources remain on standby. Wind -related power outages in the western Carolinas is of the most
concern this afternoon and tonight since there is potential for strong, gusty winds. Petroleum supply remains at
normal levels statewide. County State of Emergency declarations exist in the counties of Brunswick (has shelter
open), Columbus, Currituck, Hyde, New Hanover, Franklin, Guilford, Orange, Burke, Henderson, and
Rutherford.
11. Divisional Priorities:
Air Quality: Staff in the Division of Air Quality have nothing new to report regarding the storm.
Division of Coastal Management: As of 9 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, staff in the Division of Coastal Management
are monitoring the storm and are on standby in case they are needed. Severe flooding continues in Brunswick
County. Some residents in Carolina Shores and Calabash have been evacuated due to flooding, and Brunswick
County has issued a voluntary evacuation order for unincorporated areas. N.C. Hwy. 12 in Ocracoke, north of
the Pony Pens, closed due to dune breach and soundside flooding. Most coastal areas experiencing at least some
beach erosion, overwash and flooding.
Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources: Staff in the state Division of Energy, Mineral and Land
Resources' (DEMLR) have inspected and continue to monitor two incidents reported at dams operated by Duke
Energy at two of its coal-fired power plants in the Piedmont.
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At the Marshall facility on Lake Norman in Catawba County, Duke Energy at 2:24 p.m. Saturday
notified Catawba County command staff of a 10-foot sink hole at the toe of the dam for the ash basin
pond at Marshall Steam Plant. Duke Energy declared a Level 3 emergency and has senior staff and
engineers in route to assess the incident. Duke Energy requested no additional resources were needed
and told command staff they would notify LEMC of any changes or the opening of their plant command
center. Staff in the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources' Mooresville Regional offices
visited the site Saturday afternoon and verified that a sinkhole formed beyond the toe of the dam on the
side slope of a road side ditch on the site. It appears that rock shot to make the ditch line was left and
covered over with soil. The excessive rains appear to have washed the cover soil through the rock
creating the voids. Duke Energy has excavated the rock, placed a liner and backfilled the sink hole with
crushed stone. Duke Energy plans to monitor the area regularly through the weekend for any
changes. As there is no threat to the dam, staff in the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources
left the site but will remain in contact with Duke for updates. Staff in the Division of Water Resources
also visited the site, as requested, for technical assistance. As of 7 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, no other
changes had been reported.
2. Duke Energy notified Stokes County officials at 2:08 p.m. Saturday that the utility had initiated a level 3
activation of their emergency operations plan for the ash pond at Belews Creek Steam Station in Stokes
County. Duke Energy informed Stokes County staff that the company noted a 1-inch seepage in the dam
and were in the process of mitigating that Saturday, Oct. 3. Duke Energy requested no resources
Saturday and did not feel the public was in danger. Again, DEMLR's Winston-Salem regional office
staff visited this dam and inspected the seepage that had clear water seeping from the embankment. It
was determined that the excessive rainfall on the slope above was daylighting/seeping out of the slope
below. It was determined that there is no threat to the dam. After hours of monitoring, there were no
changes, so the Emergency Action Plan was deactivated at 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3 and DEMLR staff
left the site. Duke Energy engineers will continue to monitor the seep through the weekend for any
changes. As of 7 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, no other changes had been reported.
Staffin the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources' (DEMLR) Wilmington Regional office received
reports of a road with a culvert that had overtopped Saturday and caused some scour on the downstream slope.
Staff in DEMLR's Wilmington Regional Office visited the site and determined this was a road embankment and
not a dam. Local officials and Emergency Management officials at the site have drawn down the water level
above the road with pumps and are maintaining free board to keep it from overtopping. The road has been
blocked and an alternative route has been identified for local residents. As the site is not a dam and local
officials have everything under control, DEMLR left the site Saturday afternoon to be managed by local
officials. As of 7 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, no other changes had been reported.
Staff in DEMLR's Fayetteville Regional Office received an Emergency Operations Center call regarding a
coffer dam (temporary dam to keep water away from the spillway to allow repair work) at Glenville Treatment
Plant that was leaking earlier Saturday. The town brought in pumps and lowered the water level to add
freeboard. The incident commander, DEMLR staff and the town have been monitoring the water level and there
have been no further concerns. The incident commander released everyone at 7:55 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3 but the
local officials still plan to monitor the water level for the next 24 hours as a precaution. As of 7 a.m. Sunday,
Oct. 4, there had been no reported changes to the dam. Residents downstream of the dam had been contacted
and a shelter had been set up for those residents.
Staff in the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources have done an extraordinary job manning the EOC
in Raleigh all day and the teams from the Winston-Salem, Mooresville, Fayetteville and Wilmington regional
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officers have promptly investigated and provided timely technical assistance to local officials in response to
these incidents. As of Saturday night, there were no dam safety emergencies in effect.
As of 7 a.m. Sunday, DEIVILR had received no requests for assistance with dams. Rainfall had slowed down as
of Sunday morning and, therefore, risks to dams should start to decrease.
As of 7 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, DEMLR staff had received no requests for assistance with landslides. The state
Emergency Operations Center received reports on Oct. 3 of landslides in McDowell County that were being
addressed by the N.C. Department of Transportation.
As of 7 a.m. Sunday, data indicates that the soil moisture at the three monitoring sites (Bent Creek
Experimental Forest in Buncombe County, Mooney Gap, U.S. Forest Service Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory
in Macon County, and Poplar Cove, Nantahala National Forest in Macon County, remains below critical levels
for debris flow.
Division of Marine Fisheries: On Saturday, Oct. 3, staff the Division of Marine Fisheries closed areas around
Hatteras through Ocracoke to shellfish harvesting. The Seafood Festival closed the Chefs Tent, where the
division's display was located, due to street flooding and stability of the tent. Division staff concluded their
participation in the Seafood Festival for the weekend. As of 9 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, other weekend operations
are normal.
Division of Waste Management: Nothing new to report from the Division of Waste Management.
Division of Water Resources: As of 9 a.m. Oct. 4, Division of Water Resources staff are monitoring reports of
sanitary sewer overflows (Saturday) due to heavy rain and flooding in the following locations:
• Wadesboro (Anson County) had three overflows: one of 2,000 gallons, another with 15,000 gallons and
a third that was ongoing.
• Elizabethtown (Bladen County) had a sanitary sewer overflow but an amount had not been determined.
• Parkton (Robeson County) had a sanitary sewer overflow ongoing.
• Catawba County with a 138,000 gallon overflow on Saturday released from a manhole to the Catawba
River. The Catawba River is a drinking water source. No fish kill was noted and cleanup operations
were conducted. Division of Water Resources staff were notified for follow up action. The overflow
ended at 3 p.m. Oct. 3. Emergency Management also notified the state's public water supply section
staff due to Hickory's intake about 1.25 miles upstream of the spill. There is a slim chance of the water
supply being impacted but Public Water Supply staff are following up with Hickory and Statesville.
• Also in Newton, a 353-gallon overflow of sewage was released from a manhole to McLin Creek due to
heavy rains. The McLin Creek is not a drinking water source, no fish kill was noted and cleanup
operations were conducted. The overflow ended at 12:52 p.m. Oct. 3.
• In Newton, where a local utility reported 840 gallons of sewage released Oct. 3 from a manhole to
Hildebrand Creek due to heavy rains. The creek is not a drinking water source, no fish kill was noted
and cleanup operations were conducted. The overflow ended at 1:03 p.m. Oct. 3.
• In Landis (Rowan County), a local utility reported 2,500 gallons of sewage was released from a
manhole to Grants Creek due to heavy rain. The Grants Creek is not a drinking water source, no fish
kill was noted and cleanup operations were conducted.
• In Albemarle (Stanly County), the local utility reported Oct. 3 ongoing release of wastewater from
manholes to Long Creek due to heavy rain. The Long Creek is not a drinking water source, no fish kill
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was noted and cleanup operations were conducted. The N.C. Division of Water Resources was notified
for follow-up actions.
• In Albemarle, the local utility reported Oct. 3 a 27,000 gallons of sewage was released from a manhole
to Mountain Creek due to heavy rain. Mountain Creek is not a drinking water source, no fish kill was
noted and cleanup operations were conducted. The overflow ended at I I p.m. Oct. 3.
• In Albemarle, the local utility reported a 31,600-gallon overflow released from a manhole to Little Long
Creek, which is not a drinking water source. No fish kill was noted and cleanup operations were
conducted. The incident ended at 8:30 p.m. Oct. 3.
• In Albemarle, the local utility reported that 16,500 gallons of sewage was released from a manhole to
Little Long Creek due to heavy rain. The creek is not a drinking water source and no fish kill was noted
and cleanup operations were conducted.
• In Albemarle, the local utility reported a 9,000-gallon overflow from a life station to Long Creek due to
heavy rain. Long Creek is not a drinking water source, no fish was noted and cleanup operations were
conducted. The incident ended at 8 p.m. Oct. 3.
• In Albemarle, a local utility reported that 18,000 gallons of wastewater was released from a manhole to
Mountain Creek (not a drinking water sources) due to heavy rain. No fish kill was noted and cleanup
operations were conducted.
• In Albemarle, a 72,000 gallon overflow of sewage was released from a manhole to Little Long Creek
due to heavy rain. The Little Long Creek is not a drinking water source, no fish kill was noted and
cleanup operations were conducted. Staff in the Division of Water Resources were notified for follow
up actions. The incident ended at 3 p.m. Oct. 3.
• In Albemarle, the local utility reported an ongoing release from a manhole to Melchor Branch due to
heavy rain. The Melchor Branch is not a drinking water source, no fish kill was noted and cleanup
operations were conducted. DWR was notified for follow up actions.
• In Marshville (Union Co.), the local utility reported a 500 gallon sewage release from a manhole to
Meadow Branch Creek due to heavy rain. The creek is not a drinking water source, no fish kill was n
noted and cleanup operations were conducted.
• In Monroe (Union Co.), the local utility reported an ongoing sewage release from a screening facility to
Richardson Creek due to heavy rain. Richardson Creek is not a drinking water source, no fish kill was
noted and DWR was notified for follow up actions.
• In Aqua, the local utility reported an on -going sewage release from a gold duct lift station to the street
due to heavy rain. DWR was notified for follow up actions.
• Only minor wastewater spills were reported in Plymouth, Parmelle and Maysville (Washington
Regional Office).
• In Lake Waccamaw, a 55,000 gallon overflow was reported at Canal Cove Road due to heavy rain. The
incident ended at 5 p.m. Oct. 3.
• In Carolina Shores (Brunswick Co.), an ongoing overflow occurred Oct. 3 due to heavy rain. The
volume is unknown.
• In Wallace a 29,000 gallon sewage overflow occurred from a manhole to Rockfish Creek due to heavy
rain.
• In Elkin (Surry Co.), DWR regional staff received a report of an 18,000-gallon sewage overflow from
the Yadkin Sewer Authority to the Yadkin River.
• In Bladen County, staff received a report of an oil sheen in a ditch at Chemours Industrial site. Site was
reported to be clean.
• In the Raleigh region, staff contacted select wastewater facilities, permitted collection systems, non -
discharge wastewater treatment facilities and animal operations.
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• For the Raleigh Region, most of the permitted facilities said they did not experience problems as result
of the storm (e.g. only limited power outage issues were noted and no SSOs were reported).
• Only a few facilities explained that they bypassed tertiary filters due to high influent wastewater plant
flow. The problems came at these three wastewater treatment plants: Wildwood Green, Neuse Colony
and Pittsboro.
Division of Water Resources' staff assisted DEMLR staff in their response to issues at Duke Energy's coal fired
power plants at the Marshall Steam Station and Belews Creek Steam Station. Staff continue to monitor the
situation and will provide updates as it is received. SEE information above from DEMLR those reports.
DWR received reports of incidents with concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs. Antinori LLC
(Granville County) has high freeboard (1.2 feet of freeboard). They will call if they exceed freeboard. DWR's
Raleigh Regional Office staff will continue to follow up with them. In the Winston-Salem region, there is
nothing new to report as of Oct. 4 with respect to CAFO overflows in Wilkes (Myers Dairy) and Alleghany
(Gambill Dairy). New information will be provided in situation reports or as it becomes available. Both Myers
Dairy and Gambill Dairy had planned to pump and haul to other structures as soon as they could get equipment
safely near the saturated ground near the structures. Winston-Salem regional office staff were notified Oct. 3
that another CAFO has entered its freeboard. Walker Dairy is not within freeboard but is not overflowing. DWR
staff do not expect there to be an overflow at Walker Dairy.
Necessary staff are monitoring and others on standby.
No additional resources are needed at this time. Damage assessments will begin after the storm passes.
IV. G.I.S. Needs:
None.
IV. Additional Questions and/or Concerns:
None.
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