WQCS00149_NOV-2019-DV-0060 Response_20190211

RECEIVEDINCOENROWR
FEB 11 2019
WQROS
MOORESVILLE REGIONAL OFFICE
FOR n.,,. l2c COUNTY OF LINCOLN, NORTH CAROLINA
TH CAR°V 115 WEST MAIN STREET, 2NO FLOOR CITIZENS CENTER, LINCOLNTON, NORTH CAROLINA 28092
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
PHONE [phone]
FAX [phone]
NCDEQ Water Resources Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Attn: W. Corey Basinger
Regional Supervisor
610 East Center Avenue, Suite 301
Mooresville, NC 28115
Ref: Notice of Violation & Intent to Issue Civil Penalty
Tracking No.: NOV-2019-DV-0060
Dear Mr. Basinger,
I am writing in response to the Notice of Violation & Intent to Issue a Civil Penalty (NOV-2019-
DV-0060).
The SSO at Pump Station #12, 2460 NC Hwy 16 North Business, that occurred on September 10,
2018 was a result of a pump malfunction, electrical shorting of several wires and tripping the control
breaker, which resulted in a loss of power on the 110 volt circuit for control power. The Auto Dialer
was connected to the 110 volt circuit and failed to identify the problem and contact Lincoln County
Public Works (LCPW). The Pump Station #12 was last checked (weekly check) on September 5,
2018 and was operating normally at that time. Once LCPW was notified that there was an SSO,
Lincoln County Staff arrived on -scene, identified the problem, replaced the shorted wires, and reset
the breaker; this allowed Pump 41 to operate and the SSO was stopped immediately. LCPW then
installed a spare pump from inventory and cleaned up any sewage that was pooled on the ground.
The Auto Dialer was also replaced and tested with no issues.
Lincoln County Public Works will continue to work diligently to fully comply with our NCDEQ
Permit #WQCS00149. We also ask that you would consider the following:
1. The spill did not reach any surface water.
2. Public Works Staff worked quickly to stop the SSO.
3. There was no impact to Public Health.
4. There were no fish kills.
5. No recreational areas were closed as a result of the SSO.

J2`o�LT�-
a COUNTY OF LINCOLN, NORTH CAROLINA
ry 'CAAa��
1 1 S WEST MAIN STREET, 2ND FLOOR CITIZENS CENTER, LINCOLNTON, NORTH CAROLINA 28092
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
PHONE [phone]
FAX [phone]
6. The spill was a result of a mechanical failure.
7. Quick Response by Public Works Staff and reporting to Mooresville NCDEQ staff.
The attached SSO Report and the above details are offered for your consideration in this important
matter.
Cordially,
Donald V. Chamblee
Director of Public Works
115 W. Main St.
Lincolnton NC 28092
[e-mail]

CERTIFIED MAIL: 7016 1370 0000 2596 0672
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
January 25, 2019
Donald Chamblee, Director Public Works of
Lincoln County
115 W Main St
Lincolnton, NC 28092
SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION & INTENT TO ISSUE CIVIL PENALTY
Tracking No.: NOV-2019-DV-0060
Sanitary Sewer Overflows - September 2018
Collection System Permit No. WQCS00149
E Lincoln County Collection System
Lincoln County
Dear Mr. Chamblee:
A review has been conducted of the self -reported Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSO's) 5-Day Report/s submitted by
Lincoln County. The Division's Mooresville Regional Office concludes that the Lincoln County violated Permit
Condition I (2) of Permit No. WQCS00149 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 Mooresville Regional Office is providing the Lincoln County an opportunity to provide evidence and justification
as to why the Lincoln County 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
201801450 9/10/2018 42 2460 Hwy 16 N Pump station 3,000 0 Notice of Violation
equipment failure w/ Intent to Enforce
'�iartNCGroinftHPtRmentufEgihmmantYQuMar'I g17tYpnofW�tM1':4iqutep;
MaonaviNFtKion}(Olra I �10 E�fR'C`MntarAirne�,$uke>1o11�M9ofn+.ilMi,NatlbGroinw,�81�¢
io��3-1894

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 30 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 W. Corey Basinger with the Water Quality Section
in the Mooresville Regional Office at 704-663-1699 or via email at [e-mail].
Sincerely,
DocuSigned by:
A14CC681AF27425...
W. Corey Basinger, Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Mooresville Regional Office
Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ
Cc: Mooresville Regional Office - WQS File
Central Files, Water Quality Section
6ftlidituinsDp4rlw}enta(Eo�imroeoulquHiy O"rkofWKr0"00p;
-' .... ..Aloon;vil.Asjlan}i.Gl�a<I��oEI���'ants�lwnuli�it.�ltil�tAdorssYqftr�loilaGSoYn.281d8

State of North Carolina
DWR Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Division of Water Resources
Divlslon of Water Resources Collection System Sanitary Sewer Overflow Reporting Form
Form CS-SSO
PART I:
This form shall be submitted to the appropriate DWR Regional Office within five business days of the first knowledge of the
sanitary sewer overflow (SSO).
Permit Number: WQCS00149 (WQCS# if active, otherwise use WQCSD#)
Facility: Lincoln County Sewer System Incident #: Owner: Lincoln County
Region: Mooresville City: Denver County: Lincoln
Source of SSO (check applicable): ® Sanitary Sewer ® Pump Station / Lift Station
SPECIFIC location of the SSO (be consistent in description from past reports or documentation - i.e. Pump
Station 6, Manhole at Westall & Bragg Street, etc.): Lift Station #12
Manhole #:
Latitude (degrees/minute/second): 35 30' 27.4" Longitude (degrees/minute/second): 81 00' 8.9"
Incident Started Dt: 09-10-2018 Time: 9:33am Incident End Dt: 9-10-2018 Time: 10:15am
(mm-dd-yyyy) (hh:mm) AM/PM (mm-dd-yyyy) (hh:mm) AM/PM
Estimated volume of the SSO: 3000 gallons Estimated Duration (round to nearest hour): 1 h0ur(s)
Describe how the volume was determined: Visual observation of the amount of flow mulitpied by the time
Weather conditions during the SSO event: clear
Did the SSO reach surface waters? ❑ Yes ® No ❑ Unknown
Volume reaching surface waters: gallons Surface water name:
Did the SSO result in a fish kill? ❑ Yes ® No ❑ Unknown
If Yes, what is the estimated number of fish killed?
SPECIFIC cause(s) of the SSO:
❑Severe Natural Conditions ❑ Grease []Roots ❑Inflow, & Infiltration
®Pump Station Equipment Failure ❑ Power Outage ❑Vandalism ❑ Debris in line ❑Pipe Failure (Break)
❑Other (Please explain in Part ll)
24-hour verbal notification (name of person contacted): Lon Snider
®DWR []Emergency Management Date (mm-dd-yyy): 9-10-2018 Time: (hh:mm AM/PM): 11:20anr
Per G.S. 143-215.1 C(b), the owner or operator of any wastewater collection system shall:
In the event of a discharge of 1,000 gallons or more of untreated wastewater to the surface waters of the State, issue
a press release to all print and electronic news media that provide general coverage in the county where the
discharge occurred setting out the details of the discharge. The press release shall be issued within 24 hours after
the owner or operator has determined that the discharge has reached surface waters of the State.
In the event of a discharge of 15,000 gallons or more of untreated wastewater to the surface waters of the State,
publish a notice of the discharge in a newspaper having general circulation in the county in which the discharge
occurs and in each county downstream from the point of discharge that is significantly affected by the discharge. The
Regional Office shall determine which counties are significantly affected by the discharge and shall approve the form
and content of the notice and the newspapers in which the notice is published.
WHETHER OF NOT PART 11 IS COMPLETED, A SIGNATURE IS REQUIRED SEE PAGE 13
Form CS-SSO Page 1

In order to submit a claim for justification of an SSO, you must use PartII of form CS-SSO with additional documentation as
necessary. DWR staff will review the justification claim and determine if enforcement action is appropriate.
VAK1 u:
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS FOR EACH RELATED CAUSE CHECKED IN PART I OF THIS FORM AND
INCLUDE THE APPROPRIATE DOCUMENTATION AS REQUIRED OR DESIRED
COMPLETE ONLY THOSE SECTONS PERTAINING TO THE CAUSE OF THE SSO AS CHECKED IN PART I
(In the check boxes below, NA = Not Applicable and NE = Not Evaluated)
A HARDCOPY OF THIS FORM SHOULD BE SUBMITTED TO THE APPROPRIATE DWR REGIONAL OFFICE UNLESS
IS HAS BEEN SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY THROUGH THE ONLINE REPORTING SYSTEM
Form CS-SSO page 2

Pump Station Equipment Failure (Documentation of testing records etc should be provided upon request)
What kind of notification/alarm systems are present?
Auto-dialer/telemetry (one-way communication) ® Yes
Audible ® Yes
Visual ® Yes
SCADA (two-way communication) ❑ Yes
Emergency Contact Signage ® Yes
Other ❑ Yes
If Yes, explain:
Describe the equipment that failed: Pump #2 malfuntioned, several wires throught the control panel burnt up, and
the control panel breaker tripped
What kind of situations trigger an alarm condition at this station (i.e. pump failure, power failure, high water, etc.)?
Were notification/alarm systems operable? ❑ Yes ® No ❑NA ❑ NE
In no, explain: When the breaker tripped it disabled the Dialer
If a pump failed, when was the last maintenance and/or inspection performed? 9-05-2018
What specifically was checked/maintained? Pump operation, alarm operation, generator operation, cleanliness, and
security.
If a valve failed, when was it last exercised?
Were all pumps set to alternate?
® Yes ❑ No
Did any pump show above normal run times prior to and during the SSO event? ❑ Yes ® No
Were adequate spare parts on hand to fix the equipment
® Yes ❑ No
❑NA ❑ NE
❑NA ❑ NE
❑NA ❑ NE
Was a spare or portable pump immediately available? ® Yes ❑ No ❑NA ❑ NE
If a float problem, when were the floats last tested? How?
If an auto -dialer or SCADA, when was the system last tested? How? 9.05-2018 an alarm is triggered and staff recieves an
alert
Comments:
Form CS-SSO Page 7

System Visitation
ORC ® Yes
Backup ❑ Yes
Name: Michael Paul Simmons
Certification Number: 997855
Date visited: 9-10-2018
Time visited: 10:50am
How was the SSO remediated (i./e. Stopped and cleaned up)?
Burnt wires were replaced and the breaker was reset, this allowed pump one to operate and the SSO
immediately stopped. A pumper truck was used to clean up sewage that was pooled up on the ground. Pump
#2 was replaced with a spare pump we keep on hand. The dialer was also replaced.
As a representative for the responsible party, I certify that the information contained in this report is true and accurate to the
best of my knowledge
Person submitting claim: Michael P. Simmons
Date: 9-13-2018
Signature: /� �'� .�� Title: Ojoeryl'.-ons S�krinkAAA(-"
J
Telephone Number: 704-736-8497
Any additional information desired to be submitted should be sent to the appropriate Division Regional Office within five
business days of first knowledge of the SSO with reference to the incident number (the incident number is only generated
when electronic entry of this form is completed, if used).
Form CS-SSO Page 13