WS-10216_45340_G_NORR_20230519_IAA

North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality | Division of Waste Management
Winston-Salem Regional Office | 450 West Hanes Mill Road | Suite 300 | Winston-Salem,
NC 27105 | [phone]

May 19, 2023

Rentz-Eden Oil Company, Inc.
C/O Hutchens Rentz-Eden
Reidsville, North Carolina 27329

Re: Notice of Regulatory Requirements
15A NCAC 02L .0404 and 02L .0405
Risk-based Assessment and Corrective Action for
Commercial Petroleum Underground Storage Tanks

Gill’s Mart
315 S. Van Buren Road
Rockingham County
Incident Number: 45340
Risk Classification: Pending
Ranking: Pending

Dear Sir or Madam:
Information received by this regional office of the Underground Storage Tank Section, Division of Waste
Management, on December 12, 2019, confirms a release or discharge from a petroleum underground
storage tank (UST) system at the above-referenced location. Records indicate that you are the owner or
operator of this UST system. Therefore, as a responsible party, you must comply with the initial response
and abatement action requirements of the Title 15A of the North Carolina Administrative Code (NCAC),
Subchapter 02L .0404 and, if applicable, the assessment and reporting requirements of Title 15A NCAC
02L .0405, within the timeframes specified in the attached rules. (Be aware that if Title 15A NCAC 02L
.0405 is applicable, you must comply with its requirements even if you do not receive formal notification
from the UST Section.).
Initial abatement action requirements include the preparation and submittal of an Initial Abatement Action
(IAA) Report, in accordance with Title 15A NCAC 02L .0404 and the most recent version of the Guidelines
for Site Checks, Tank Closure, and Initial Response and Abatement, within 90 days of discovery of the
release.
Because a release or discharge has been confirmed, a Licensed Geologist or a Professional Engineer,
certified by the State of North Carolina, is required to prepare and certify all reports submitted to the
Department of Environmental Quality in accordance with Title 15A NCAC 02L .0103(e) and 02L .0111(e).
Please note that before you sell, transfer, or request a “No Further Action” determination for a property that
has not been remediated to below “unrestricted use” standards, you must file a Notice of Residual Petroleum
("Notice") with the Register of Deeds in the county where the property is located (North Carolina General
Statutes 143B-279.9 and 143B-279.11).
Page 2 of 2
45340
May 19, 2023

North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality | Division of Waste Management
Winston-Salem Regional Office | 450 West Hanes Mill Road | Suite 300 | Winston-Salem,
NC 27105 | [phone]

Failure to comply with the State's rules in the manner and time specified may result in the assessment of
civil penalties and/or the use of other enforcement mechanisms.
If you have any questions regarding trust fund eligibility or reimbursement from the Commercial Leaking
Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Funds, please contact the UST Section Trust Fund Branch
at [phone]. If you have any questions regarding the actions that must be taken or the rules mentioned
in this letter, please contact me at the address or telephone number listed below or via email at
[e-mail].
Sincerely,

Aaron R. Williamson
Hydrogeologist
Winston-Salem Regional Office
UST Section, Division of Waste Management, NCDEQ
Enclosures: Title 15A NCAC 02L .0404 and 02L .0405
A Brief History of North Carolina Session Laws, Rules, and General Statutes…
cc: Fred “Trey” Wright, Rockingham County Health Department

The Department shall reclassify the site as high risk, as defined in Rule .0406(1) of this Section, upon receipt of new
information related to site conditions indicating that the discharge or release from a noncommercial underground
storage tank poses an unacceptable risk or a potentially unacceptable risk to human health or the environment, as
described in Rule .0407 of this Section.
History Note: Authority G.S. 143-215.2; 143-215.3(a)(1); 143-215.94A; 143-215.94E; 143-215.94T; 143-
215.94V; 143B-282; 1995 (Reg. Sess. 1996) c. 648,s. 1;
Recodified from 15A NCAC 02L .0115(c)(1)-(3);
Amended Eff. December 1, 2005;
Temporary Amendment Eff. September 29, 2017;
Readopted Eff. June 1, 2019.
15A NCAC 02L .0404 REQUIRED INITIAL ABATEMENT ACTIONS BY RESPONSIBLE PARTY (a)Upon a discharge or release of petroleum from a commercial underground storage tank the responsible party
shall:(1)take action to prevent all further discharge or release of petroleum from the underground storage
tank; identify and mitigate all fire, explosion, and vapor hazards; remove any free product; and
comply with the requirements of 15A NCAC 02N .0601 through .0604, .0701 through .0703,
and .0705 within 24 hours of discovery;(2)incorporate the requirements of 15A NCAC 02N .0704 into the submittal required under
Subparagraph (3) of this Paragraph or the limited site assessment report required under Rule .0405
of this Section, whichever is applicable. The submittals shall constitute compliance with the
reporting requirements of 15A NCAC 02N .0704(b); and(3)submit within 90 days of the discovery of the discharge or release a soil contamination report
containing information sufficient to show that remaining unsaturated soil in the side walls and at
the base of the excavation does not contain contaminant levels that exceed either the "soil-to-
groundwater" or the residential maximum soil contaminant concentrations established by the
Department pursuant to Rule .0411 of this Section, whichever is lower. If the showing is made, the
discharge or release shall be classified as low risk by the Department as defined in Rules .0406
and .0407 of this Section.(b)Upon a discharge or release of petroleum from a noncommercial underground storage tank the responsible party
shall:(1)take necessary actions to protect public health, safety, and welfare and the environment, including
actions to prevent all further discharge or release of petroleum from the noncommercial
underground storage tank; identify and mitigate all fire, explosion, and vapor hazards; and report
the release within 24 hours of discovery, in compliance with G.S. 143-215.83(a), G.S.
143-215.84(a), G.S. 143-215.85(b), and G.S. 143-215.94E; and(2)provide or otherwise make available any information required by the Department to determine the
site risk as described in Rules .0405, .0406, and .0407 of this Section.(c)The Department shall notify the responsible party for a discharge or release of petroleum from a noncommercial
underground storage tank that no cleanup, no further cleanup, or no further action shall be required without
additional soil remediation pursuant to Rule .0408 of this Section if the site is determined by the Department to be
low risk. This classification is based on information provided to the Department that:(1)describes the source and type of the petroleum release, site-specific risk factors, and risk factors
present in the surrounding area as defined in Rules .0406 and .0407 of this Section;(2)demonstrates that no remaining risk factors are present that are likely to be affected per G.S.
143-215.94V(b); or(3)documents that soils remaining onsite do not contain contaminant levels that exceed either the
"soil-to-groundwater" or the residential maximum soil contaminant concentrations established by
the Department pursuant to Rule .0411 of this Section, whichever is lower.
15A NCAC 02L .0405 REQUIREMENTS FOR LIMITED SITE ASSESSMENT
(a)If the required showing for a commercial underground storage tank cannot be made or if the Department
determines that a release from a noncommercial underground storage tank represents an unacceptable risk under
Rule .0404 of this Section, the responsible party shall submit within 120 days of the discovery of the discharge or release,
a report containing information needed by the Department to classify the level of risk to human health and the environment
posed by a discharge or release under Rule .0406 of this Section.
(b)The responsible party may submit a written request for an extension to the 120 day deadline set forth in
Paragraph (a) of this Rule to the Department for the Department's consideration prior to the deadline. The request for deadline extension by the responsible party shall demonstrate that the extension, if granted by the Department,
(c)would not increase the risk posed by the release. When considering a request from a responsible party for additional time
to submit the report, the Department shall consider the following:
(1) the extent to which the request for additional time is due to factors outside of the control of the responsible
party;
(2) the previous history of the person submitting the report in complying with deadlines established under the Commission's rules;
(3) the technical complications associated with assessing the extent of contamination at the site or identifying
potential receptors; and
(4) the necessity for action to eliminate an imminent threat to public health or the environment.
(ci)The report shall include:(1)a location map, based on a USGS topographic map, showing the radius of 1500 feet from the source
area of a confirmed release or discharge and depicting all water supply wells, surface waters, and
designated wellhead protection areas as defined in 42 U.S.C. 300h-7(e) within the 1500-foot radius.
42 U.S.C. 300h-7(e), is incorporated by reference including subsequent amendments and editions.
Copies may be obtained at no cost from the U.S. Government Bookstore's website at http://
www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2010-title42/html/USCODE-2010-title42-chap6A-subchapXII-partC-
sec300h-7.htm. The material is available for inspection at the Department of Environmental Quality,
UST Section, 217 West Jones Street, Raleigh, NC 27603. For purposes of this Section, "source area"
means the point of release or discharge from the underground storage tank system;(2)a determination of whether the source area of the discharge or release is within a designated
wellhead protection area as defined in 42 U.S.C. 300h-7(e);(3)if the discharge or release is in the Coastal Plain physiographic region as designated on a map entitled
"Geology of North Carolina" published by the Department in 1985, incorporated by reference
including subsequent amendments or editions and may be obtained electronically free of charge from the
Department's website at https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/energy-mineral-land-resources/north-carolina-
geological-survey/ncgs-maps/1985-geologic-map-of-nc, a determination of whether the source area of
the discharge or release is located in an area in which there is recharge to an unconfined or semi-
confined deeper aquifer that is being used or may be used as a source of drinking water;(4)a determination of whether vapors from the discharge or release pose a threat of explosion due to the
accumulation of vapors in a confined space or pose any other serious threat to public health, public
safety, or the environment;(5)scaled site maps showing the location of the following that are on or adjacent to the property where
the source is located:(A)site boundaries;(B)roads;(C)buildings;(D)basements;
(E)floor and storm drains;(F)subsurface utilities;(G)septic tanks and leach fields;(H)underground and aboveground storage tank systems;(I)monitoring wells;(J)water supply wells;(K)surface water bodies and other drainage features;(L)borings; and
(M)the sampling points;(6)the results from a limited site assessment that shall include:(A)the analytical results from soil samples collected during the construction of a monitoring well
installed in the source area of each confirmed discharge or release from a
noncommercial or commercial underground storage tank and either the analytical results of a
groundwater sample collected from the well or, if free product is present in the well, the amount
of free product in the well. The soil samples shall be collected every five feet in the unsaturated
zone unless a water table is encountered at or greater than a depth of 25 feet from land surface in
which case soil samples shall be collected every 10 feet in the unsaturated zone.
The soil samples shall be collected from suspected worst-case locations exhibiting
visible contamination or elevated levels of volatile organic compounds in the borehole;
(7)the availability of public water supplies and the identification of properties served by the public water supplies within 1500 feet of the source area of a confirmed discharge or release;(8)the land use, including zoning if applicable, within 1500 feet of the source area of a confirmed discharge or release;(9)a discussion of site-specific conditions or possible actions that could result in lowering the risk classification assigned to the release. The discussion shall be based on information known or required to be obtained under this Paragraph; and(10)names and current addresses of all owners and operators of the underground storage tank systems for which a discharge or release is confirmed, the owners of the land upon which such systems are located, and all potentially affected real property owners.
History Note: Authority G.S. 143-215.2; 143-215.3(a)(1); 143-215.94A; 143-215.94E; 143-215.94T; 143-215.94V; 143B-282; 1995 (Reg. Sess. 1996) c. 648,s. 1;Recodified from 15A NCAC 02L .0115(c)(4);Amended Eff. December 1, 2005;Temporary Amendment Eff. September 29, 2017;Readopted Eff. June 1, 2019.
(B)if any constituent in the groundwater sample from the source area monitoring well
installed in accordance with Part (A) of this Subparagraph, for a site meeting the high risk
classification in Rule .0406(1) of this Section, exceeds the standards or interim standards
established in Rule .0202 of this Subchapter by a factor of 10 and is a discharge or release
from a commercial underground storage tank, the analytical results from a groundwater
sample collected from each of three additional monitoring wells or, if free product is
present in any of the wells, the amount of free product in such well. The three additional
monitoring wells shall be installed as follows: one upgradient of the source of
contamination and two downgradient of the source of contamination. The monitoring
wells installed upgradient and downgradient of the source of contamination shall be
located such that groundwater flow direction can be determined; and(C)potentiometric data from all required wells;
A Brief History of North Carolina Session Laws, Rules, and General Statutes from 1979-2012 Relating to the Rights and Obligations of Underground Storage Tank Owners, Operators, and Landowners Version 012813
06/10/79 The initial 2L rules, “Classifications and Water Quality Standards Applicable to Groundwaters”, adopted in Title 15A North Carolina Administrative Code (NCAC) 2L .0100 and .0200, pursuant to North Carolina General Statute (GS) 143-
214.1, became effective. Groundwater quality policy, classifications, and standards were first established in these rules.. 07/01/85 Session Law (SL) 1985-551 (S831), titled “Underground Storage Tank Regulation-2” became law. This law
required the State to develop and adopt standards and regulations to implement programs to prevent pollution from oil and hazardous substance underground storage tanks (USTs) pursuant to federal requirements resulting from the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as amended inclusive of the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984. 06/30/88 SL 1987-1035 (H1304), titled “Establish Leaking Tank Fund”, became law. This law amended GS 143, Article
21A, by adding Part 2A, titled “Leaking Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Cleanup”, which then consisted of GS 143-215.94A-M, thereby providing for the cleanups of environmental damage caused by leaking petroleum USTs.
07/15/89 SL 1989-652 (H957), titled “Tank Cleanup Amendments”, became law. This law amended GS 143, Article 21A, by adding a new Part 2B, titled “Underground Storage Tank Regulation”, which then consisted of GS 143-215.94T. This law
required the adoption and implementation of a regulatory program such that the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) adopt and the Department implement and enforce rules to regulate USTs.
01/01/91 The initial 2N rules, “Criteria and Standards Applicable to Underground Storage Tanks”, adopted in Title 15A North Carolina Administrative Code (NCAC) 2N .0100- .0800 pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes and SL1989-652,
became effective. The purpose of the 2N rules was ‘to establish the technical standards and corrective action requirements for owners and operators of underground storage tank systems”. The 2N rules incorporate by reference the Code of Federal
Regulations. 02/01/93 The initial 2P rules, “Rules for the Administration of the Leaking Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Cleanup
Funds”, adopted in Title 15A North Carolina Administrative Code (NCAC) 2P .0100- .0400, pursuant to the requirements of North Carolina General Statutes, became effective. The purpose of the 2P rules was to establish criteria and procedures for
the reimbursement of costs incurred by owners, operators, and landowners from the Leaking Petroleum UST Cleanup Funds. 07/05/95 SL 1995-377 (S1012), titled “Underground Storage Tank Amends” became law. The purpose of this law was to
improve the regulation of petroleum underground storage tanks and the cleanup of leaking petroleum underground storage tanks”. This law added new sections to Part 2B, “UST Regulation” (GS 143-215.94V, U, W, X, and Y) and rewrote sections
of Part 2A, “Leaking Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Cleanup”. Section GS143-215-94V directed the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) to adopt rules which would implement a risk-based approach to assessment and cleanup of
petroleum UST releases. It authorized the State to determine for each site of release cleanup standards based on acceptable levels of risk to human health and the environment. It specified that if no (or no further) cleanup is required at a specific site
due to its level of risk, then further work performed at that site would not be reimbursed from the State Trust Funds. It directed the EMC to implement this risk-based approach to the maximum extent possible under the existing rules.
06/21/96 SL 1995-648 (S1317), titled “Underground Storage Tank Amends ‘96”, became law. This law provided for the continued solvency of the Leaking Petroleum UST Cleanup Fund and made other changes to the cleanup program. This law
required DENR to rank petroleum UST incident sites according to priority related to impact or risk of impact to groundwater supply wells as A or B (highest priority) or as C, D, or E (lowest priority) and to temporarily suspend cleanup activities at
petroleum UST incident sites ranked C, D, and E. The suspension became effective 07/21/96 and was to continue in effect until the adoption required in GS143-215.94V(b) of the risk-based rule (2L .0115). This law also required DENR to notify
responsible parties of the ranking of sites and of the suspension of remediation and monitoring activities at C, D, and E sites. The law authorized cleanup only at UST sites classed A and B. However, at all incident sites the responsible party
was required to take immediate action to prevent further release, to identify and mitigate fire, explosion, and vapor hazards, and to remove free product, and at all incident sites the responsible party was required to submit information necessary to
classify the risk of the incident. 07/21/96 Temporary suspension of cleanup activities began at petroleum UST incident sites classed C, D, and E, pending
adoption of the risk-based rule, as directed by SL 1995-648 (S1317). Responsible parties for UST release incident sites with C, D, and E classifications were given notice that their cleanups were temporarily suspended.
01/02/98 Temporary adoption of the risk-based Rule 2L .0115, titled “Risk Based Assessment and Corrective Action for Petroleum Underground Storage Tanks” was effective, thereby fulfilling the requirements of GS 143-215.94V and SL 1995-
648 (S1317). The new rule 2L .0115 specified a risk-based approach to assessment and cleanup of discharges and releases from petroleum USTs. And also specified the conditions under which reimbursement would be made from the Petroleum
UST Cleanup Funds. The adoption of 2L .0115 was intended to assure that reimbursements were continued for sites posing the greatest risk and to reduce the demand on the Cleanup Funds for those sites posing no threat to human health or the
environment. The suspension of activities at UST incident sites classified C, D, and E ended upon the adoption of the risk-based 2L .0115, pursuant to SL1995-648. From 01/02/98, petroleum UST incident sites were classified as high, intermediate,
or low risk, according the criteria listed in 2L .0115. 09/28/98 SL 1998-161 (H1483), titled “Expedite Low-Risk Closures”, became law. This law was intended primarily to
expedite the closure of low-risk leaking petroleum UST sites. However, Section 5 of this law also added a new Subsection (e2) to GS 143-215.94E which stated that the EMC may require that a UST owner, operator, or landowner obtain approval (preapproval) from DENR before proceeding with any task for which cost would be reimbursable from the Cleanup Funds,
as specified under GS143-215.94B(b) and (b1) and GS143-215.94D(b1), effective 01/01/99. Subsection (e2) also directed
the EMC to specify by rule those tasks for which preapproval was required and to adopt rules governing reimbursement of reasonable and necessary costs. Subsection 11(c) of this law made the risk-based Rule 2L .0115 permanent, effective
retroactively to 01/02/98. 07/27/03 SL 2003-352 (H897), titled “Underground Storage Tank Program Amendments” became law. This law was
intended to improve the solvency of the Leaking Petroleum UST Cleanup Funds by making modifications to GS 143-215.94 and by authorizing the adoption of rules to reduce the cost of testing during assessment and cleanup.
Section 10 of SL 2003-352 modified GS 143-215.94E (Rights and Obligations of Owners, Operators, and Landowners) to require temporarily that DENR determine degree of risk posed by a commercial UST discharge or release
and then determine a “schedule” for Commercial Cleanup Fund-eligible sites (based on degree of risk, availability of funds, and order in which releases were reported) for further assessment and cleanup. Initial response and abatement actions and the
initial assessment necessary to determine the degree of risk still were required for all petroleum UST incidents. Section 11 of SL 2003-352 authorized the EMC to adopt rules to reduce “certain testing requirements applicable to
the leaking UST cleanup program” in order to reduce costs associated with assessment and cleanup. 09/15/03 DENR implemented Section 10 of SL 2003-352 by directing in a public memorandum dated 08/21/03 that:
1) For high-risk UST release incidents, responsible parties must continue assessment and cleanup after the LSA; 2) For low-and intermediate-risk release incidents, responsible parties must continue after the LSA to remove or
remediate the source of contamination(soil or free product) to the appropriate risk-based levels; and 3) For intermediate-risk incidents, responsible parties must suspend temporarily further assessment, monitoring, or
cleanup of contaminated groundwater or of free product where present at levels less than ¼ inch in thickness (unless they agree that costs for such “non-directed” tasks will not be reimbursed until after all “directed” costs).
07/20/04 SL 2004-124 (H1414), titled “2004 Appropriations Act”, became law. Section 30.10 of the law, headed “Leaking Underground Storage Tanks Cleanup Funds Solvency”, allocated additional funding, further amended the preapproval
requirement in GS 143-215.94E(e2), and rewrote Section 10 of SL 2003-352 to extend its applicability to noncommercial UST releases.
Subsection 30.10(d) of this law, effective 10/01/04, rewrote GS 143-215.94E(e2) as Subdivision (e2)(1) and amended it to give authority to DENR instead of the EMC for preapproval and also added Subdivisions (2), (3), and (4) to GS
143-215.94E(e2). Subdivision (e2)(2) states that DENR shall not preapprove any tasks unless sufficient funds are available from the Commercial and Noncommercial Leaking UST Cleanup Funds to pay the claim for that task within 90 days of its
receipt. However, Subdivision (e2)(3) allows DENR to preapprove tasks for work which is not directed (due to low priority and insufficiency of funds) if the responsible party agrees to defer payment until DENR has paid all claims for costs for
directed work. Subdivision (e2)(4) allows DENR to preapprove tasks for work that is not directed if the discharge or release has created an emergency situation.
Subsection 30.10(e) of this law, effective 10/01/04, rewrote Section 10 of SL 2003-352, so that the requirement that DENR establish the degree of risk posed by a release and determine a schedule for post-LSA assessment and cleanup was
extended to apply to noncommercial releases. 10/01/04 DENR implemented Subsections 30.10(d) and (e) of SL 2004-124 (which prohibited DENR from preapproving
any task unless sufficient funds were available and required DENR to develop a schedule based on degree of risk, funding, and date of reporting for post-LSA work) by directing in a public memorandum dated 09/14/04 that:
1) Prior to and continuing after 10/01/04, initial abatement actions and assessment to determine degree of risk (the LSA) should be performed for all UST releases without preapproval;
2) After 10/1/04, all work to be conducted after submittal of a LSA report must be preapproved; and 3) After 10/01/04, DENR will send Notices of Regulatory Requirements to responsible parties to direct, according to a
schedule, the post-LSA assessment and cleanup activities. 09/08/05 SL 2005-352 (H1385), titled “Underground Storage Tank Amendments” became law. It made clarifying and
conforming amendments to GS 143-215.94E, which governs the rights and obligations of UST owners and operators and removed the sunset applicable to, amended, and codified Section 10 of SL 2003-352 as amended by Subsection 30.10 of SL
2004-124. Section 1 of this law presented the modification and reorganization of Section GS 143-215.94E(e) into new
Subsections (e1)-(e5). For the first time incorporating into the General Statutes the requirements of Section 10 of SL 2003-352 (as modified by Subsection 30.10(e) of SL 2004-124), Subdivision (e4)(1) directs the owner or operator to abate the
discharge or release and to complete the assessment necessary to determine the degree of risk; and Subdivisions GS 143-215.94E(e4)(2), (3), and (4) direct DENR to establish the degree of risk posed by a discharge or a release of petroleum from a
commercial or a non-commercial UST and to determine a “schedule” for (post-LSA) assessment and cleanup based on that degree of risk and (if the release is eligible for funding) on the availability of funds and the order in which the release was
reported. Section 2 of this law directed that Section 10 of SL 2003-352, as amended by Subsection 30.10(e) of SL 2004-124
and as codified and amended by Section 1, continue in effect. 12/01/05 Title 15A NCAC 2L .0115, the risk-based rule, was modified and recodified as Section .0400 of Subchapter 2L.
The modifications were made to comply with requirements in SL 2003-352 that the EMC adopt rules to reduce testing requirements applicable to the leaking Underground storage tank cleanup program to reduce costs.