WQCS00312_DV-2019-0078 Remission Request_20190603

R A
CITY OF ARCHDALE
r�' s t C°
V '$ 307 BALFOUR DRIVE
` P.O. BOX 14068
ARCHDALE, NORTH CAROLINA 27263
43ILV,„ t a`a PHONE: [phone] FAX: [phone]
June 3, 2019 .�..:
r
0 FIV!
Mr. Lon T. Snider, Assistant Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
TZEWinston-Salem Regional Office ce yEtyNcIDEQAD
wp
Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ
450 West Hanes Mill Road, Suite 300 JUN Z 0 2009
- Winston-Salem, NC 27105 darer
rermtltng Section
Subject: Request for remission/mitigation of civil penalty
Case Number: DV-2019-0078
Sanitary Sewer Overflows —January 2019
Collection System Permit No. WQCS00312
Archdale Collection System
Randolph County
I acknowledge receipt of your Notice of Violation and Assessment of Civil Penalty
regarding an SSO event on January 24th, 2019. The NOV, dated 4/26/19, was received
5/6/19. The City is grateful for what is perceived to be a small civil penalty as it is
acknowledged that a violation occurred. However, based on several factors outlined
below, I ask that you consider remission/mitigation of the penalty at this time.
Incident Number 201900217: Thursday, January 24, 2019
The City of Archdale believes that it takes a very proactive approach to the management
and maintenance of its sewer pump stations. Based on the Justification for Remission
Request, we ask that the following factors be taken into consideration:
(b) the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting from the
violation
(c) the violation was inadvertent or the result of an accident
(d) the violator had not been assessed civil penalties for any previous violations

,
(b) the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting from
the violation.
The City attempted to minimize the overflow when it was acknowledged, and steps
were taken afterwards to limit the chance of future SSO's at the Weant Road pump
station. When the SSO event occurred, a pump was down and in need of
maintenance as referenced in the City's response, dated 4/22/19. The other two
pumps have traditionally been able to handle large events on their own. With larger
than normal I/I, however, they were overcome during a heavy rainfall. During this
event, staff responded and worked to get the third pump running if only temporarily.
Efforts proved ineffective, however, and the SSO occurred/continued. Afterward,
the immediate area was cleaned and hydrated lime was spread.
In the months since the January 24th SSO, staff have proactively sought to avoid
future overflows. This has included major repairs to all 3 pumps and bringing in
high priced rental pumps as backups. I assure you, the City has not saved any
money by allowing this or any other SSO event to occur. Quite the opposite is true,
as PM, service and repair, and rental of equipment costs have all exceeded line
item budgets in FY19. All of this is an effort to prevent future SSO occurrences.
(c) the violation was inadvertent or the result of an accident
The primary reason this SSO event was inadvertent relates to the saturated soil
conditions at the time. Pump 3 had been offline several times in the past due to
repairs, and pumps 1 and 2 have handled the flow without fail. However, we have
since learned that our I/I issue includes more infiltration than was previously known.
With the ground saturated, more water is getting into our system. Smoke testing
has revealed some of this, but clearly more will need to be done going forward.
Staff now know that if pump 3 is down, we will need to have a backup option in
place, such as mobile pump being brought onsite. While the City "could" have
prepared for this instance, it was never imagined to be a need. In fact, a pump was
brought onsite after this issue to avoid future SSO's. And, of course, it failed after
being put into use resulting in another SSO.
(d) the violator had not been assessed civil penalties for any previous violations
In speaking with staff and reviewing records, we are unaware of prior civil penalties
from NCDEQ. If there have been civil penalties levied in the past, they date back
many, many years and are in no way related to the current situation at hand.
In short, the City of Archdale acknowledge that a violation took place with Incident Number
201900217; an SSO occurred. With the above mitigating factors in mind, however, the
City requests the $1,000 civil penalty to be considered for remission.

Should you have questions or need further information about this matter, please let me
know. I can be reached by telephone at [phone] or by email at
zholden a(�,archdale-nc.gov.
Sincerely,
,/g://.,..,_,<;,.________
Zeb Holden
City Manager
Cc: Lloyd Wilson, Interim Public Works Director
Chris Davis, Sewer System Supervisor, ORC
Phillip Yates, Water System Supervisor

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
COUNTY OF RANDOLPH
IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT ) WAIVER OF RIGHT TO AN
OF CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST ) ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING AND
) STIPULATION OF FACTS
City of Archdale )
Archdale Collection System )
PERMIT NO. WQCS00312 ) CASE NO. DV-2019-0078 ` ,
Having been assessed civil penalties totaling$1,148.58 for violation(s) as set forth in the assessment document of the
Division of Water Resources dated April 26,2019,the undersigned, desiring to seek remission of the civil penalty, does
hereby waive the right to an administrative hearing in the above-stated matter and does stipulate that the facts are as
alleged in the assessment document. The undersigned further understands that all evidence presented in support of
remission of this civil penalty must be submitted to the Director of the Division of Water Resources within thirty(30) days
of receipt of the notice of assessment. No new evidence in support of a remission request will be allowed after(30) days
from the receipt of the notice of assessment.
This the day of /I14 20 /9
ram. ter.
s'�f^s
SIGNATURE asp
ti
ADDRESS
•
ZZ 14471,4.► 6 Mgr
A- 4 41346 A/‘' -2'c 153
TELEPHONE
�3 5/35/- 73V4

v
• JUSTIFICATION FOR REMISSION REQUEST
Case Number: DV-2019-0078 County: Randolph
Assessed Party: City of Archdale
Permit No.: WQCS00312 Amount Assessed: $1,148.58
Please use this form when requesting remission of this civil penalty. You must also complete the "Request ,o• �'":mission,
Waiver of Right to an Administrative Hearing, and Stipulation of Facts"form to request remissio. .i • l`i1 p•y�alty.
You should attach any documents that you believe support your request and are necessaryctie'u - • o cony��er in
evaluating your request for remission. Please be aware that a request for remission is limit c'c J'er. ion of the five
factors listed below as they may relate to the reasonableness of the amount of the civil pena sessed. Requesting
remission is not the proper procedure for contesting whether the violation(s)occurred or the accuracy of any of the factual
statements contained in the civil penalty assessment document. Pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 143B-282.1(c), remission of a civil
penalty may be granted only when one or more of the following five factors apply. Please check each factor that you
believe applies to your case and provide a detailed explanation, including copies of supporting documents,as to why the
factor applies (attach additional pages as needed).
(a) one or more of the civil penalty assessment factors in N.C.G.S. 143B-282.1(b)were wrongfully applied to the
detriment of the petitioner(the assessment factors are listed in the civil penalty assessment document);
(b) the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting from the violation(i.e., explain the
steps that you took to correct the violation and prevent future occurrences);
I (c) the violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident(i.e., explain why the violation was unavoidable or
something you could not prevent or prepare for);
/ (d) the violator had not been assessed civil penalties for any previous violations;
(e) payment of the civil penalty will prevent payment for the remaining necessary remedial actions (i.e., explain
how payment of the civil penalty will prevent you from performing the activities necessary to achieve
compliance).
EXPLANATION: