NC0020443_PC-2019-0058_20191209

• ALITY
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QU
COUNTY OF TYRRELL
IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT ) WAIVER OF RIGHT TO AN
OF CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST ) ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING AND
) STIPULATION OF FACTS
Town of Columbia )
Columbia WWTP )
)
PERMIT NO.NC0020443 ) CASE NO. PC-2019-0058
Having been assessed civil penalties totaling$2,600.00 for violation(s)as set forth in the assessment document of the
Division of Water Resources dated November 06, 2019,the undersigned,desiring to seek remission of the civil penalty, does
hereby waive the right to an administrative hearing in the above-stated matter and does stipulate that the facts are as
alleged in the assessment document. The undersigned further understands that all evidence presented in support of
remission of this civil penalty must be submitted to the Director of the Division of Water Resources within thirty(30)days
of receipt of the notice of assessment. No new evidence in support of a remission request will be allowed after(30)days
from the receipt of the notice of assessment.
This the day of Y ern ,20 /q
•
SIGNATURE
RECEIVED ADDRESS
DEC 0 9 2019
NCDE(l1 DW
RINPDES
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/03 6. 551 '— d 6,7s (
TELEPHONE
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•
JUSTIFICATION FOR REMISSION REQUEST
Case Number: PC-2019-0058 County: Tyrrell
Assessed Party: Town of Columbia
Permit No.: NC0020443 Amount Assessed: $2,600.00
Please use this form when requesting remission of this civil penalty. You must also complete the "Request For Remission,
Waiver of Right to an Administrative Hearing, and Stipulation of Facts"form to request remission of this civil penalty.
You should attach any documents that you believe support your request and are necessary for the Director to consider in
evaluating your request for remission. Please be aware that a request for remission is limited to consideration of the five
factors listed below as they may relate to the reasonableness of the amount of the civil penalty assessed. Requesting
remission is not the proper procedure for contesting whether the violation(s)occurred or the accuracy of any of the factual
statements contained in the civil penalty assessment document. Pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 143B-282.1(c),remission of a civil
penalty may be granted only when one or more of the following five factors apply. Please check each factor that you
believe applies to your case and provide a detailed explanation, including copies of supporting documents, as to why the
factor applies(attach additional pages as needed).
(a) one or more of the civil penalty assessment factors in N.C.G.S. 143B-282.1(b)were wrongfully applied to the
detriment of the petitioner(the assessment factors are listed in the civil penalty assessment document);
(b) the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting from the violation(i.e., explain the
7
teps that you took to correct the violation and prevent future occurrences);
(c) the violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident(i.e., explain why the violation was unavoidable or
something you could not prevent or prepare for);
(d) the violator had not been assessed civil penalties for any previous violations;
(e) payment of the civil penalty will prevent payment for the remaining necessary remedial actions (i.e., explain
how payment of the civil penalty will prevent you from performing the activities necessary to achieve
compliance).
EXPLANATION: y,� G I' -

TOWN OF COLUMBIA
Written Request for Remission/Detailed Justification
(b) The violation was abated immediately by T.J. Davenport when he waded from the Town Water
Treatment Plant to the Waste Water Treatment Plant and found the emergency generator not working,
with the power system down. He immediately activated the auxiliary generator and attended to details
at the plant site before making the trip in thigh deep water back to the Town of Columbia Water
Treatment Plant. This was on the morning of Friday, September 6, 2019,when Hurricane Dorian was still
in full force and floodwaters surrounded the Columbia Waste Water Treatment Plant. Action to abate
this spillage of partially treated wastewater could not have been any quicker, nor could employees have
anticipated that the generator that had been thoroughly tested earlier in the week, in anticipation of the
hurricane, would not automatically come on.
(c) The violation was the result of equipment failure during Hurricane Dorian that could not have been
anticipated. Neither could the Town of Columbia staff have done anything additional to have prevented
the emergency generator at the Columbia Waste Water Treatment Plant from failing to automatically
engage. The auxiliary generator is maintained through contract with Stand-by Generators and is checked
quarterly by that company. Staff exercises the generator weekly to assure it is in proper working
position. During the week before the Hurricane all generators owned by the Town were checked out,
exercised and ample fuel was ordered to top off all tanks. Although not verifiable, it is believed that the
generator failed to cut itself on due to a low flow of electricity from the power company that occurred
for some time before the power supply was totally interrupted.
(e) Although remediation was completed and all contractor bills for cleaning up the spill have been
paid, the Town of Columbia "robbed Peter to pay Paul" in order to pay the clean-up bill.The Town's
already limited water/sewer budget is being further strained by the announced closing of the State of
North Carolina operated Tyrrell Prison Work Farm which currently provides 25%of the Town's sewer
revenues. Funds must still be identified and budget amendments made to cover the unexpected clean-
up cost of the spillage (see accompanying letter for more detail).

October 15, 2019
Mr. Robert Tankard, Assistant Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Division of Water Resources, DCDEQ
Washington Regional Office
943 Washington Square Mall RECEIVED
Washington, NC 27889
DEC 0 9 2019
RE: Notice of intent,# NOV-2019-PQ/DWRINPDES
Permit No. NC0020443
Columbia WWTP
Mr.Tankard:
This letter is in response to your letter dated October 7, 2019, received October 9, 2019, indicating your
intent to access a civil penalty to the Town of Columbia Waste Water Treatment System.This letter is
intended to provide additional information regarding the noted violation that we hope you will take in
consideration in any future actions.
First, we believe that the unreported spill noted in your letter should be considered within the context
of Hurricane Dorian which was bearing down on the North Carolina coastal areas during the week of
September 1-7, 2019. In fact Tyrrell County was placed under a State of Emergency early in the week in
anticipation of a full blown hurricane with flooding, high winds and power outages.
During this time the Town's Water/Sewer employees(T.J. Davenport and Kenneth Coleson) along with
Contractor Tim Oliver, prepared for the hurricane. This included testing generators, topping off fuel

tanks, positioning vehicles, assigning tasks and responsibilities, etc. As the hurricane approached with
rising flood waters, employees made observations every few hours at the Waste Water Treatment Plant,
the Effluent Plant and at pumping stations. They also kept an eye out for manholes that might be leaking
under the pressure of the storm and resulting infiltration and inflow.
As effects of Hurricane Dorian began to be felt on Thursday, September 5, the Town went into a safety
mode while watching increasingly high water. Friday morning daylight brought flooding of streets,yards,
homes and businesses. At about 7:AM on the 6th, the Town lost electrical power. Communication losses
followed—SCADA, phone service, cell phones and the internet was non-existent for hours stretching
into Saturday, September 7.The town's internet service was not function until near mid-day Sunday,
September 8.
T.J. Davenport made it to the Water Treatment Plant on Light Street at about 6:AM, Friday. After
checking on water production, he waded west to the Effluent Plant and activated that auxiliary
generator which had failed to come on as required (it ran well in earlier tests). He then waded to Lift
Station#and silenced that high water alarm.
After returning to the Light Street location he pulled on waders and made the treck to the Waste Water
Treatment Plant on north Road Street Extended.There he found another generator that had not
activated when electrical power was lost. He reset the generator, checked for obvious problems and
waded back to the Water Plant on Light Street. During this entire time winds were increasing and water
was rising. Although the high ground at the Waste Water Treatment Plant site did not flood,the lower
areas inside and near the perimeter fencing were flooded as was the corn field to the north and area of
tall grass on the west side of the fence.
T.J. Davenport went beyond the normal expectation of duty on behalf of his employer. The Town of
Columbia Board of Aldermen commended Mr. Davenport for his outstanding efforts during their
meeting on October 7.
Later Friday (about 4:PM)Tim Oliver visited the Waste Water Treatment Plant and noted what he
thought was a small spill near the north west corner of the site. Flood waters had not receded enough to
determine the extent of the spill of partially treated waste water.
Saturday's events are documented in memos from Robbie Bullock dated September 13, September 17
and the above referenced letter dated October 7, 2019.
Second, please note that the spill was not raw sewage. We are aware of several hurricane related spills
in eastern North Carolina that involved raw sewage in even much larger quantities.This spill was
partially treated waste water. Also note that the 198,000 gallon estimate was just that,an up-front
estimate that was based upon visual inspection of an area that still included standing flood waters.
Subsequent cleanup work leads us to believe that the actual spill was less than the initial estimate.

Third, not only was electrical power down, but cell service and internet was down or at best
intermittent. Mr. Bullocks Saturday attempt to send me the wording necessary to place a notice in the
local newspaper of record was unsuccessful as I did not have internet service until about mid-day on
Sunday. I did get cell service by early-evening, Saturday, and took a dictated wording of the notice from
Mr. Bullock. I was still unable to send the notice or the written spill report on Saturday.
Sunday, after church services, I returned to the office and with restored cell service was able to send the
report of spill and the notice of spill. At Mr. Bullock's direction we placed a paid ad in the Coastland
Times as well as a news release notice. We also sent releases to the Scuppernong Reminder and the
Chowan Herald, both having limited circulation in the Town of Columbia.
Third, cleanup efforts began immediately and have been costly. We secured the services of a septic tank
service and used town employees plus inmates who began cleaning on Monday, running through the
next weekend. Total contracted cost plus lime that was spread totaled $17,687.00. For a small Town
with limited resources, that is already a hefty penalty.
Since the events of early September we have worked closely with Mr. Oliver to make certain we are
operating within permit requirements. We are fortunate that we have the services of Mr. Oliver who
knows the Columbia Waste Water Treatment Plant better than anyone. He was knowledgeable of the
earlier version and was present during construction and upgrades of the expanded system.
We respectfully request that you forgo a civil fine in any action that you may take in this matter.
Please feel free to contact me if you have questions.
Yours sincerely,
Rhett B.White, Manager
CC/Robbie Bullock