3505_ResponseLetter_Watkins_20231219

North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality | Division of Waste Management
217 West Jones Street | 1646 Mail Service Center | Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1646
919.707.8200

December 19, 2023

Sent via email: [e-mail]

Dustin Hill, Chief Operations Officer
Wall Recycling, LLC
2310 Garner Road
Raleigh, NC 27610

RE: Wall Recycling, LLC
Permit #s 3505-LCID-2020, 3505-TP-2020, 3505-MWP-2020
2095 US Highway 1
Franklinton, NC 27525

Mr. Hill,

On December 5th, 2023, the Solid Waste Section (Section) issued a Notice of Violation (Notice)
to Wall Recycling, LLC (Wall) at the above facility based on an observed violation during a
November 30, 2023 inspection. On behalf of Wall, you responded in a December 11th letter
to Amanda Thompson, Environmental Sr. Specialist with the Section. You and I discussed
your concerns in the letter on two occasions since that date. This letter serves as follow-up to
those conversations to address the concerns in the letter, and a path forward.

The Notice was issued to Wall for managing waste in a manner inconsistent with the approved
permit documents in an area of the site not previously approved nor discussed with the
Section. Specifically, as was communicated to you, the covering or burying of land clearing
waste as a “best management practice” as you described in your letter as a fire control
method is not something approved by the Section. Nothing in the Section 3.3 of the facility’s
operations plan referenced in your letter points to covering or burying as a method to
managing the waste. It does provide an allowance to the mixing of processed organic material
with other soils to bolster their quality for sale, however it in no way mentions covering piles
with soil. Further as described by onsite staff, the intent was to not manage the material at
all but to allow it to sit through the winter, with an unknown end date. Compounding the issue,
staff onsite have continued to accept and add new material to the pile that was previously
covered with an intent to subsequently cover the new material as well. The activity undertaken
at the site, even practically speaking meets the definition of to “bury” something.

A reference was made to the previous inspection of the facility in June of 2023 “where LCID
materials had been stockpiled prior to processing, the inspector commented on the stockpile
having steam emitting from it and recommended during that June inspection that the land
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality | Division of Waste Management
217 West Jones Street | 1646 Mail Service Center | Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1646
919.707.8200
Wall - Franklinton
Response Letter
Page 2 of 2
December 19, 2023

clearing waste be stockpiled in windrows and monitored to ensure no fires occur” as
justification for the covering “the pre-processed LCID material with soil as a fire control until
the operating conditions are optimum for processing this material without risk of a fire
outbreak.” At no time during the nearly six (6) months between the two inspection dates did
Wall engage Section staff to proactively discuss managing the T&P area in this alternative
manner to meet your company’s business needs.

Based on the above, the Section holds that the Notice was warranted and will not be
rescinding it as requested. However, you did provide some clarification to what was conveyed
to the Section during the November 30th inspection as to Wall’s reasoning and intent,
including Wall’s proposed processing of the material to include a proposed start date of
February 2024 so that Wall can meet its spring demand for mulch material. As noted to you
during our call about this issue, such a conversation in advance of undertaking the activity
likely would have allowed the Section to work out a solution that would have prevented the
Notice from being issued.

The above aside, the Section is committed to working with Wall to amicably resolve these
issues as follows:

1. No additional material can be added to the existing pile of material and covered. Any
new LCID material entering the facility can either be directed to the landfill area or
processed and stored as mulch in the T&P area per the permit and operations plan.
2. The deadline in the Notice is extended to April 30, 2024 to allow the processing of the
material as described starting in February and subsequently removed from the site.

If you have any questions, you may contact Amanda Thompson directly at [phone].

Sincerely,

Jason M. Watkins, CPM
Field Operations Branch Head
Solid Waste Section

Copies (email): Amanda Thompson, Environmental Sr. Specialist - SWS
Drew Hammonds, Eastern Compliance Supervisor - SWS
Chris Hollinger, Compliance Officer – SWS
Dan Jarboe, Wall Recycling, LLC
Chris Gustin, Wall Recycling, LLC