7504T_INSP_20190103

NORTH CAROLINAD_E Q��
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FACILITY COMPLIANCE INSPECTION REPORT
Division of Waste Management
Solid Waste Section
UNIT TYPE:
Lined
LCID
YW
Transfer
X
Compost
SLAS
COUNTY: POLK
MSWLF
PERMIT NO.: 7504T-TRANSFER-2005
Closed
HHW
White
X
Incin
T&P
X
FIRM
MSWLF
goods
FILE TYPE: COMPLIANCE
CDLF
Tire T&P/
X
Tire
Industrial
DEMO
SDTF
Collection
Monofill
Landfill
Date of Site Inspection: 01/03/2019
FACILITY NAME AND ADDRESS:
Polk County Transfer Station
322 Landfill Rd
Mill Spring, NC 28756
Date of Last Inspection: 07/18/2018
GPS COORDINATES: N: 35.3188° W: 82.1820'
FACILITY CONTACT NAME AND PHONE NUMBER:
Name: Larry Walker, Solid Waste Director
Telephone: [phone]
Email address: [e-mail]
FACILITY CONTACT ADDRESS:
PO Box 308
Columbus, NC 28722
PARTICIPANTS:
Larry Walker, Polk County
Lee Hill, NCDEQ — Solid Waste Section
STATUS OF PERMIT:
Permit to Construct issued November 5, 2004
Permit to Operate issued December 9, 2015
Operations Plan approved December 9, 2015
Permit expires February 1, 2021
PURPOSE OF SITE VISIT:
Comprehensive Inspection
STATUS OF PAST NOTED VIOLATIONS:
N/A
OBSERVED VIOLATIONS:
1. 15A NCAC 13B .0203(d) states: "by receiving solid waste at a permitted facility, the permittee(s) shall be
considered to have accepted the conditions of the permit and shall comply with the conditions of the permit."
Permit to Operate No. 75-04T, Attachment 3, Condition of Permit to Operate, Part VI, #18(b) states that "Waste
must only be deposited on a "tipping floor" or directly into a transfer container. "
Polk County is in violation of 15A NCAC 13B .0203(d) by allowing waste to escape the transfer building.
A section of the metal sheeting on south wall of the loading bay was ripped open, and a hole was observed that had
allowed trash to escape the building. Facility staff stated that a wooden pole had been deposited on the tipping floor in
a load. When the equipment operator pushed material into the loading bay the pole hit the side of the transfer
Page 1 of 9

FACILITY COMPLIANCE INSPECTION REPORT
Division of Waste Management
NORTH CAROLINA
Solid Waste Section
building, piercing the side and damaging the metal sheeting.
Waste was also observed outside the loading tunnel exit and appeared to have been dragged out of the loading bay by
the road tractor and trailer.
To correct the violation Polk County must immediately clean all waste outside the transfer building. Bv
February 15, 2019, Polk County must repair and or replace the metal sheeting on the transfer station to
prevent waste from leaving the transfer building.
Damaged Transfer Station Wall and Waste Outside Building
Page 2 of 9

OepaNnen� of Environmental Owl
FACILITY COMPLIANCE INSPECTION REPORT
Division of Waste Management
Solid Waste Section
Waste Outside Loading Bay Tunnel
The item(s) listed above were observed by Section staff and require action on behalf of the facility in order to come into or maintain compliance
with the Statutes, Rules, and/or other regulatory requirements applicable to this facility. Be advised that pursuant to N.C.G.S. 130A-22, an
administrative penalty of up to $15,000 per day may be assessed for each violation of the Solid Waste Laws, Regulations, Conditions of a Permit,
or Order under Article 9 of Chapter 130A of the N.C. General Statutes. Further, the facility and/or all responsible parties may also be subject to
enforcement actions including penalties, injunction from operation of a solid waste management facility or a solid waste collection service and any
such further relief as may be necessary to achieve compliance with the North Carolina Solid Waste Management Act and Rules.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
1. All photos were taken by Lee Hill on January 3, 2019.
2. Waste is transported from the facility to the Union County Regional Landfill in Enoree, SC by KR Drenth
Trucking, Inc.
3. The facilities hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm and Saturday, 8:00am to
4:00pm.
Records Review
4. The current operations plan and permit were available for review upon request.
5. Leachate pumping records were reviewed from fiscal year 2018-19. Leachate was pumped by AAA Sanitation
on August 8, 2018, September 17, 2018, November 16, 2018, November 26, 2018, November 27, 2018,
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FACILITY COMPLIANCE INSPECTION REPORT
Division of Waste Management
NORTH CAROLINA
Solid Waste Section
December 29, 2018.
6. Scrap tire forms from July 2, 2018 to November 30, 2018 were available for review and appeared to be filled
out correctly.
7. Waste screening forms from August 2018 to November 2018 were reviewed. The facility performed one to two
waste screenings per day during that period. The forms provided good documentation of the final disposition of
any unacceptable waste streams.
8. Certified Transfer Station Operations Specialists:
• Mitch Moss (expires April 19, 2020)
• Jerry McSwain (expires September 7, 2020)
• Timmye M. Cochran (expires March 3, 2019)
• Jennie Perkins (expires February 15, 2021)
• Larry Walker (expires March 5, 2021)
9. Tonnage records from June 15, 2018 to November 30, 2018 were available for review. The facility averages 80
tons of waste per day.
10. All records were available promptly and presented in a neat, organized manner. Thank you for your efforts.
Operations Inspection of the Transfer Station (7504T-TRANSFER-2005)
11. The transfer station consists of a pre-engineered metal building with a single loading bay.
12. A contractor was on site making repairs to the deflector panels above the loading bay at the time of inspection.
13. The tipping floor was inspected and generally appeared to be in good condition. However, a sizable hole was
observed near the center of the eastern half of the tipping floor where rebar had been exposed. The tipping floor
provides the basis of the leachate collection system; therefore, the integrity of the floor must be maintained.
Ensure that repairs are made immediately to prevent further damage and possible leachate release.
Additional inspections will be performed to verify that appropriate repairs have been completed.
14. Some waste was observed on top of the eastern push wall. Ensure the push walls are free of waste at the end of
each operating day.
15. The trench drain at the front of the tipping floor on the west side of the building was damaged. One piece of the
grate was damaged and one piece was missing. The trench drain is an integral part of the leachate collection
system and as such must be functioning as designed to allow the facility to operate as permitted. Failure to
restore the grates and the drain to the approved design, thus compromising the leachate collection
system, may result in additional enforcement action.
16. A section of the metal sheeting on south wall of the loading bay was ripped open, and a hole was observed that
had allowed trash to escape the building. Repairs to the metal sheeting must be completed by February 15,
2019. (See Observed Violations section of this report for additional information.)
17. Waste was observed outside the transfer building. Waste appeared to have been dragged out of the loading bay
by the road tractor and trailer, and was found along the tunnel exit. Additional waste was observed outside the
south wall of the loading bay as described in comment 14 above, and outside the entrance to the loading bay.
Waste must be confined to the transfer station building. Ensure that any waste that fails to make it into
the trailer is collected and returned to the tipping floor before the trailer is moved and at the end of each
operating day. (See Observed Violations section of this report for additional information.)
18. The facility has recently graded part of the bank on the north side of the transfer building to facilitate the
loading of scrap metal into an open top trailer. As a result of this grading activity, metal, plastic and other
material has been allowed to accumulate on the ground. Loading activities and truck movement have caused a
portion of this material to be crushed into small pieces that are not being recovered for recycling or reuse. This
crushed material therefore is waste, and is mixing with the soil. This waste must be collected and returned to
the tipping floor as it accumulates, specifically after each trailer is loaded and at the end of each
operating day. Failure to follow this procedure may result in additional enforcement action.
Operations Inspection of the White Goods Collection, Battery Collection, Oil Collection and Electronic Waste
Areas
19. White goods are collected to the southwest of the scale house. A contractor removes the refrigerants from the
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NORTH CAROLINAD_E Q��
OepeNnenf of Envlronmmbl 0w1�
FACILITY COMPLIANCE INSPECTION REPORT
Division of Waste Management
Solid Waste Section
units before the they are moved and loaded into an open top trailer as described in comment 18 above. The
contractor marks units where refrigerants have been extracted. Units that had not had the refrigerant extracted
were observed laying on their back and sides intermingled with other white goods. NCGS § 130A-309.81 states
in part, "Each county is responsible for providing at least one site for the collection of discarded white goods. It
must also provide for the disposal of discarded white goods and for the removal of chlorofluorocarbon
refrigerants from white goods." Handling and storing units properly is essential to managing refrigerants
and preventing their release into the environment. Units containing refrigerants should be stored
separately and upright.
20. Used oil and oil filters are collected to the east of the scale house and removed by Holston Environmental
Services for recycling.
21. Lead acid batteries are collected adjacent to the used oil and oil filter area.
22. The facility collects florescent tubes and bulbs; the tubes are stored in cardboard boxes to prevent breakage
before being sent to Cleanlites for recycling. The florescent tube area was well managed at the time of
inspection.
Operations Inspection of the Treatment and Processing Area for Land Clearing Debris
23. The facility is permitted to receive land clearing waste and untreated wooden pallets. The collected material is
ground and sold to local businesses.
24. No unapproved material was observed in the stockpile at the time of inspection.
25. The facility has recently bid out the grinding operations to a local contractor and expects grinding activities to
commence within the next two weeks.
Operations Inspection of the Beneficial Fill Areas
26. The original beneficial fill area is located to the north of the scale house. An additional beneficial fill area has
been opened to the northeast of the scale house. The new area was opened to help dispose of soil that was the
result of mudslides that occurred in the county in 2018.
27. No unapproved material was observed in the beneficial fill areas.
Many of the concerns addressed in this report have been observed during previous inspections. For this reason,
I would like to request a meeting with the county manager and transfer station staff to determine appropriate
changes in daily operating procedures to eliminate these issues.
Please contact me at your earliest convenience to schedule a meeting and to discuss any questions or concerns
you may have regarding this inspection report.
Digitally signed by Lee Hill
c cn=Lee Hill, o=Solid Waste
Section, ou=Field Operations Branch,
email=[e-mail], c=US
Date: 2019.01.07 08:59:41-05'00'
Lee Hill
Environmental Senior Specialist
Regional Representative
Phone: [phone]
Sent on: January 7, 2019 to
X
Email
Hand delivery
US Mail
Certified No.L-1
Larry Walker by:
Copies: Deb Aja, Western District Supervisor - Solid Waste Section
Marche Pittman, Polk County Manager
Page 5 of 9

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NORTH CAROLINAD_E Q��
OepeNnenf of Envlronmmbl 0w1�
FACILITY COMPLIANCE INSPECTION REPORT
Division of Waste Management
Solid Waste Section
Improperly Stored White Goods Containing Refrigerants
Page 8 of 9