NC0039578_LV-2019-0346_20191217

TUCKASEIGEE WATER & SEWER AUTHORITY
SERVING JACKSON COUNTY
1246 West Main Street
Sylva, NC 28779
Phone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]
Dec 17th, 2019
Wastewater Branch
Div. of Water Resources
1617 Mail Service Center Raleigh NC 27699-1617 RECEIVED
Subject: Request for remission or mitigation
DEC 2 0 1019
Case# LV-2019-0346 NCDEI IDARINPDES
Permit#NC0039578
TWSA Plant#1
Attn: Division of Water Resources
The Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority hereby requests remission of the penalties
assessed due to the NPDES permit violations that occurred during the month of August 2019.
The violation was identified as a violation of the weekly permitted Fecal Coliform limits the
week of Aug 10-24th
This timeline and explanation is hereby submitted to help clarify the conditions that resulted in
the violation.
Aug- 2019
The mixer on SBR#1 was out of service for repair to a bearing . At the time we had a
really good settling sludge and some of the best water we had produced on the effluent. I had
steadily decreased the waste rate from SBR#1 due to lowering levels of mixed liquor, finally
cutting it off completely on July 10'h, 2019. I believe that the sludge was settling out below
the level of the diffusers in the SBR#1 and not being brought back into suspension due to the
mixer being out for repair.
Starting on the 16th of August the septic sludge lying on the bottom started gassing and
returning back into suspension in clumps. Due to the poor settleability of this septic sludge, the
eff began to show signs of deterioration. Waste rates and chlorine feed rates were increased but
chlorine levels could not be maintained and fecal coliform levels climbed drastically above
what is normal operation. The fine solids and the poorly chlorinated effluent resulted in the
violation of the permitted level of fecal coliform for the week of Aug 10-24'h.
Eventually two separate chlorine leaks were discovered in the underground line supplying
the chlorine contact chamber. Once these were repaired and solids levels were wasted down to
This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

acceptable levels normal/compliant operation was restored.
TWSA staff worked longer hours and performed additional testing to try and maintain
compliance but the efforts were not successful.
I hope this is a sufficient explanation for the root causes of the violation. The facility has a
long history of compliance and is currently in compliance and operating well within permitted
levels.
Please contact me with any questions or comments.
Sincerely,
Stan Bryson
Wastewater Plant Operations Superintendent
Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority
xc: Mr Dan Schaeffer, Interim Executive Director, TWSA

Docu ign Envelope ID 9E2OCOBF-5895-409F-8F45-D591 E002B190
JUSTIFICATION FOR REMISSION REQUEST
Case Number: LV-2019-0346 County: Jackson
Assessed Party: Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority
Permit No.: NC0039578 Amount Assessed: $525.47
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
request for remission. Please be aware that a request for remission is limited to consideration of the five
evaluatingyour q q
reasonableness of the amount of the civil penaltyassesse
d. Requesting
relate to the q g
factors listed below as they may
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
steps that you took to correct the violation and prevent future occurrences);
(c) the violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident(Le., 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:
RECEIVED
DEC 2 0 1019
NCDEQ/DWR/NPDES

DocuSign Envelope ID:9E2OCOBF-5895-409F-8F45-D591 E002B190 ,{
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
COUNTY OF JACKSON
IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT ) WAIVER OF RIGHT TO AN
OF CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST ) ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING AND
) STIPULATION OF FACTS
Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority )
Jackson County WWTP )
)
PERMIT NO.NC0039578 ) CASE NO. LV-2019-0346
Having been assessed civil penalties totaling$525.47 for violation(s)as set forth in the assessment document of the Division
of Water Resources dated December 05,2019,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 't day of '(__e,t'11.10 , 20 9
IGNATURE
RECEIVED ADDRESS
DEC 2 0 2019 6fq n Of5tr Y 01A o WW`t-#
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