NC0063614_LV-2019-0120 Remission (Decision)_20190731

ROY COOPER
Governor
+ MICHAEL S. REGAN
I Secretary
F + LINDA CULPEPPER
Director
NORTH CAROLINA
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July 31, 2019
CERTIFIED MAIL 7015 0640 0007 9833 6728
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Shannon V. Becker
Aqua North Carolina Inc
202 MacKenan Ct
Cary, NC 27511
Subject: REMISSION REQUEST
CIVIL PENALTY ASSESSMENT
Wildwood Green WWTP
Wake County
PERMIT NO: NCO063614
CASE NO: LV-2019-0120
Dear Permittee:
I have considered the information submitted in support of your request for remission in accordance with G.S. 143-
215.6A(f) and have decided to modify the initial civil penalty assessment of $540.00 ($500.00 civil penalty plus
$40.00 enforcement) to the total amount of $290.00 ($250.00 civil penalty plus $40.00 enforcement).
Should you choose to pay the modified penalty, payment should be tendered to me at the letterhead address within
thirty (30) days of receipt of this letter. Please make checks payable to the Department of Environmental Quality.
You also have the option of presenting your request to the Committee on Civil Penalty Remissions, which is
comprised of members of the Environmental Management Commission. The Committee may consider such
requests and render final and binding decisions in these matters. You may argue your request before the
Committee, and the Division staff will argue against any reduction of the assessment.
Should you choose to present your request to the Committee, please notify me at the letterhead address within
thirty (30) days of the receipt of this letter. Your request will be placed on the agenda of an upcoming Committee
meeting, and you will be notified of the date and time. If the Division does not receive a response regarding this
notice, Division staff will automatically place your case on the agenda of a future Committee meeting.
If you have any questions, please call Sydney Carpenter at [phone] or via e-mail at
sydney.caMenterkncdenr.gov. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
QEQ�,�
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources
1617 Mail Service Centers Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1617
919-707-9000

Aqua North Carolina Inc
July 31, 2019
Page 2 of 2
Sincerely,
for Linda Culpepper
Director, Division of Water Resources
Attachment: DWR Civil Assessment Remission Factor Sheet (copy) &
Request for Oral Presentation Sheet
cc: Enforcement File #: LV-2019-0120
Central Files
Raleigh Office — DWR WQ Regional Operations

NCO063614 Remission Decision
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION
COUNTY OF WAKE DWR Case Number LV-2019-0120
IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT OF )
CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST: ) REQUEST FOR ORAL PRESENTATION
AQUA NORTH CAROLINA INC )
I hereby request to make an oral presentation before the Environmental Management Commission's Committee on Civil
Penalty Remissions in the matter of the case noted above. In making this request, I assert that I understand all of the
following statements:
• This request will be reviewed by the Chairman of the Environmental Management Commission and may be either
granted or denied.
• Making a presentation will require the presence of myself and/or my representative during a Committee meeting
held in Raleigh, North Carolina.
• My presentation will be limited to discussion of issues and information submitted in my original remission request,
and because no factual issues are in dispute, my presentation will be limited to five (5) minutes in length.
The North Carolina State Bar's Authorized Practice of Law Committee has ruled that the appearance in a representative
capacity at quasi-judicial hearings or proceedings is limited to lawyers who are active members of the bar. Proceedings
before the Committee on Remissions are quasi-judicial. You should consider how you intend to present your case to the
Committee in light of the State Bar's opinion and whether anyone will be speaking in a representative capacity for you or a
business or governmental entity. If you or your representative would like to speak before the Committee, you must complete
and return this form within thirty (30) days of receipt of this letter.
Depending on your status as an individual, corporation, partnership or municipality, the State Bar's Opinion affects how you may proceed
with your oral presentation. See www.ncbar.com/ethics, Authorized Practice Advisory Opinion 2006-1 and 2007 Formal Ethics Opinion 3.
If you are an individual or business owner and are granted an opportunity to make an oral presentation before the Committee,
then you do not need legal representation before the Committee; however, if you intend on having another individual speak on
your behalf regarding the factual situations, such as an expert, engineer or consultant, then you must also be present at the
meeting in order to avoid violating the State Bar's Opinion on the unauthorized practice of law.
If you are a corporation, partnership or municipality and are granted an opportunity to make an oral presentation before the
Committee, then your representative must consider the recent State Bar's Opinion and could be considered practicing law without
a license if he or she is not a licensed attorney. Presentation of facts by non -lawyers is permissible.
If you choose to request an oral presentation, please make sure that signatures on the previously submitted Remission Request form and
this Oral Presentation Request form are: 1) for individuals and business owners, your own signature and 2) for corporations, partnerships
and municipalities, signed by individuals who would not violate the State Bar's Opinion on the unauthorized practice of law.
Also, be advised that the Committee on Civil Penalty Remissions may choose not to proceed with hearing your case if the Committee is
informed that a violation of the State Bar occurs.
This the
SIGNATURE
ADDRESS
day of
20
TITLE (President, Owner, etc.)
TELEPHONE (

DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES
CIVIL PENALTY REMISSION FACTORS
Case Number: LV-2019-0120 Region: Raleigh County: Wake
Assessed Entity: Wildwood Green WWTP Permit: NC0063614
❑ (a) Whether one or more of the civil penalty assessment factors were wrongly applied to
the detriment of the petitioner:
Permittee States:
DWR Response:
® (b) Whether the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting
from the violation:
Permittee States: No specific response was provided for this factor. Permittee states that Aqua NC
has taken steps since April 2018 to design and install nutrient removal at the tiny wastewater plant,
which due to the size, had to have custom constructed mixing equipment. Permittee states that by
January 2019, the mixing equip. was installed, and the pilot was underway. By March 2019, the
Permittee states that the facility was denitrifying well. They reference data that was attached to the
submission, however an attachment with the remission request was never received.
DWR Response: Negotiated settlement with Aqua North Carolina Inc.
® (c) Whether the violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident:
Permittee States: No specific response was provided for this factor. Permittee states that the NPDES
permit issued on January 20, 2018 expressed the annual allocation of nutrient loading as a more
conservative monthly concentration limit without consideration of the discharge flowrate of the
facility or the annual loading frequency. Aqua NC applied for an appropriate mass loading permit and
"bubble permit" for Hawthorne and Wildwood Green WWTP in June 2018. Permittee states that NC
DEQ issued a permit modification providing the appropriate annual mass loading limit and the bubble
permit on March 22, 2019, and that the 9-month timeframe for the permit modification was not fully
explained and may have been because of the unfamiliarity with bubble permits. Permittee states
Wildwood Green WWTP was not in violation of the Neuse or Falls Lake rule for the month of
January 2019.
DWR Response: Negotiated settlement with Aqua North Carolina Inc.
❑ (d) Whether the violator had been assessed civil penalties for any previous violations:
Permittee States:
DWR Response:
❑ (e) Whether payment of the civil penalty will prevent payment for the remaining
necessary remedial actions:
Permittee States:
DWR Response:

DECISION (Check One)
Request Denied ❑
Full Remission ❑ Retain Enforcement Costs? Yes ❑ No ❑
Original Penalty (without Enforcement Costs) $_500.00
Partial Remission ® % 50 or $ 250.00
Subtotal
Retaining Enforcement Costs
Total Revised Assessment
_ (enter amount)
(amount remitted)
$ 250.00
$ 40.00
$ 290.00
4'4alCulpepper Date