WS-29731_48848_G_NORR_20230127

January 27, 2023
VB One LLC
3500 Park Center Drive, Suite 100
Dayton, Ohio 45414

Re: Notice of Regulatory Requirements – Emergency Response
15A NCAC 2L .0404 & SL 2015-241, Section 14.16
Risk-based Assessment and Corrective Action for
Noncommercial Petroleum Underground Storage Tanks

VB One LLC Property
2776 Woodvale Drive, Winston-Salem
Forsyth County
Incident Number: 48848

Dear VB One LLC:
On January 25, 2023, this regional office of the Underground Storage Tank Section, Division of Waste
Management was notified that a heating oil underground storage tank (or UST) was found to have leaked
at this property.
Based on the size of this tank, and the way the fuel was used, it appears that it would qualify as a
‘noncommercial’ UST. This is important because there are different requirements for noncommercial USTs
than for commercial USTs (typically larger tanks used for fuel sales or business purposes), following the
removal of the Noncommercial Leaking UST Fund in Session Law 2015-241 from October 2015.
Any tank owner or operator of a leaking noncommercial tank must to take steps to fix any emergency
condition within the first 24 hours after discovery. This could include any of the following:
1. Stopping whatever is causing the leak (by draining the tank and securing the fill port, etc.);
2. Dealing with any fire, explosive, or vapor hazard (talk to your local fire marshal about this);
3. Cleaning up any leaked fuel that is out in the open, such as in puddles on the ground, seeping
from a retaining wall or basement wall, or running into any stream, pond, or other water body;
4. Stopping anyone from using a supply well (on your property or a nearby property) if it is found
to be contaminated, and immediately providing safe drinking water (bottled water), if needed;
5. Checking to see if vapors could be getting into a neighbor’s house or any other buildings where
high levels of contamination are found within 30 feet of their property line; and/or
6. Addressing any other immediate threat to public health, safety, and welfare.
Once any and all emergencies have been addressed, the UST owner or operator is then only required to do
more work to investigate or clean up the fuel that leaked from the tank if the Department of Environmental
Quality classifies the leak as representing an unacceptable risk or potentially unacceptable risk to human
health or the environment (i.e., a ‘high risk’ leak).
Page 2 of 2

Once the emergency has been addressed, please provide as much information as possible about the leaking
tank (such as age, size, and how often it was refilled, etc.) and the surrounding area (do you or any neighbors
use supply wells that you know of; is the area residential, commercial, industrial or a combination of uses;
do you know of any sensitive populations nearby such as schools, daycares, medical or assisted living
facilities, etc.; are there any streams, ponds, or other surface water bodies nearby; etc.), to help the
Department make that determination,
The Department will notify you in writing of the risk determination and provide additional information
about steps that could help lower the risk. Although additional work is not required until a leak is classified
as ‘high risk’, you are free to take steps that could lower the potential site risk and provide documentation
of that work to the Department at any time. This could include cleaning up contamination; removing,
replacing, or otherwise addressing anything that is at risk (such as abandoning any supply wells that are or
may become contaminated); or obtaining more information for a better understanding of the site and/or
surrounding area to allow the risk classification to be lowered (such as sampling soil or water, etc.).
Once a leak has been confirmed, the North Carolina Administrative Code (NCAC), Title 15A, Subchapter
2L, .0103(e) and .0111(b), requires that a Licensed Geologist or a Professional Engineer, certified by the
State of North Carolina, write and certify any formal reports that document any cleanup work addressing
the emergency conditions described above (except for a fire marshal’s report on any fire, explosive, or
vapor hazard). Other documents or information that you may be able to provide, such as statements from
yourself and/or neighbors about the area, or proof that a supply well has been properly abandoned and/or
city or county water connected instead, etc., would not require a formal certified report.
Also, please note that before you sell or transfer your property, or if you request a “No Further
Action” determination for a ‘low risk’ site, where the property has not been cleaned up to what are
known as “unrestricted use” standards, you must file a Notice of Residual Petroleum with the
Register of Deeds in the county where the property is located (per North Carolina General Statute
143B-279.9 and 143B-279.11).
Failure to comply with the State's rules can result in the assessment of civil penalties and/or the use of other
legal enforcement mechanisms. However, our goal is to help you find a reasonable and cost-effective way
to protect human health and the environment from any leaking UST. If you have any questions about
anything in this letter or want to discuss different options you may be considering to address any emergency
conditions, please contact me at the address or telephone number listed below.
Sincerely,

Christina Schroeter
Hydrogeologist
Winston-Salem Regional Office
UST Section, Division of Waste Management, NCDEQ
cc: Forsyth County Health Department