NCG500244_NOV and Intent to Assess & CEI_20200116

Certified Mail #7017 2620 0000 9759 3226
Return Receipt Requested

January 16, 2020

Matt Haynes, VP Manufacturing
Giles Chemical Corporation
102 Commerce St
Waynesville, NC 28786

SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION & INTENT TO ASSESS CIVIL PENALTY
Tracking Number: NOV-2020-PC-0030
Permit No. NCG500244
Waynesville plant
Haywood County

Dear Permittee:

The North Carolina Division of Water Resources conducted an inspection of the Waynesville plant on January 13,
2020. This inspection was conducted to investigate evidence provided to the Division of Water Resources
regarding a potential unpermitted discharge to Richland Creek. A summary of the findings and comments noted
during the inspection are provided in the enclosed copy of the inspection report.

The Complaint inspection was conducted by Division of Water Resources staff from the Asheville
Regional Office. The following violation was verified during the inspection:

Inspection Area Description of Violation _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Permit An unpermitted discharge of process wastewater from a process recovery tank to Richland
Creek was documented and verified by inspectors. Per General NPDES Permit NCG50000,
Certificate of Coverage NCG500244, Giles Chemical is only permitted to discharge
non-contact cooling water to Richland Creek. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DocuSign Envelope ID: E1F7F575-2907-48E8-BFF6-BC56A2DF121F

A Notice of Violation/Intent to Issue Civil Penalty is being issued for the noted violation of North Carolina General
Statute (G.S.) 143-215.1 and the facility’s NPDES WW Permit. Pursuant to G.S. 143-215.6A, a civil penalty of
not more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) may be assessed against any person who violates or
fails to act in accordance with the terms, conditions, or requirements of any permit issued pursuant to G.S.
143-215.1.

If you wish to provide additional information regarding the noted violation, request technical assistance, or discuss
overall compliance please respond in writing within ten (10) business days after receipt of this Notice. A review of
your response will be considered along with any additional information provided. You will then be notified of any
civil penalties that may be assessed regarding the violations. If no response is received in this Office
within the 10-day period, a civil penalty assessment may be prepared.

Remedial actions should have already been taken to correct this problem and prevent further occurrences in the
future. The Division of Water Resources may pursue enforcement action for this and any additional violations of
State law. If the violations are of a continuing nature, not related to operation and/or maintenance problems, and
you anticipate remedial construction activities, then you may wish to consider applying for a Special Order by
Consent.

Reminder: Pursuant to Permit Condition 6 in Section E, the Permittee is required to verbally notify the Regional
Office as soon as possible, not to exceed 24 hours, from first knowledge of any non-compliance at
the facility including limit violations, bypasses of, or failure of a treatment unit. A written report may
be required within 5 days if directed by Division staff. Prior notice should be given for anticipated or
potential problems due to planned maintenance activities, taking units off-line, etc.

If you should have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mikal Willmer with the Water Quality
Regional Operations Section in the Asheville Regional Office at 828-296-4686 or via email at
[e-mail].

Sincerely,

G. Landon Davidson, P.G., Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Asheville Regional Office
Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ

ATTACHMENTS: Inspection Report

EC: LF, ARO Server
Mat Haynes, Giles
Patrick Owen, Giles

G:\WR\WQ\Haywood\Wastewater\General\NCG50 Non-Contact\NCG500244 Giles\Complaint Inspect January 13, 2020\NCG500244_NOVNOI2020PC0030_20200116
DocuSign Envelope ID: E1F7F575-2907-48E8-BFF6-BC56A2DF121F
EPA
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Water Compliance Inspection Report
Form Approved.
OMB No. 2040-0057
Approval expires 8-31-98
Section A: National Data System Coding (i.e., PCS)
Transaction Code NPDES yr/mo/day Inspection Type Inspector Fac Type
1 N 52 NCG500244 20/01/13 J S31112171819 20
21 66
Inspection Work Days Facility Self-Monitoring Evaluation Rating B1 QA ----------------------Reserved-------------------
N67707172 73 74 75 80
Section B: Facility Data
Name and Location of Facility Inspected (For Industrial Users discharging to POTW, also include
POTW name and NPDES permit Number)
Waynesville plant
102 Commerce St
Waynesville NC 28786
Entry Time/Date Permit Effective Date
Exit Time/Date Permit Expiration Date
03:15PM 20/01/13 15/11/19
Name(s) of Onsite Representative(s)/Titles(s)/Phone and Fax Number(s)
///
Other Facility Data
04:00PM 20/01/13 20/07/31
Name, Address of Responsible Official/Title/Phone and Fax Number
Deborah Durbin,102 Commerce St Waynesville NC 28786//828-452-4784/Contacted
Yes
Section C: Areas Evaluated During Inspection (Check only those areas evaluated)
Permit Other
Section D: Summary of Finding/Comments (Attach additional sheets of narrative and checklists as necessary)
(See attachment summary)
Name(s) and Signature(s) of Inspector(s)Agency/Office/Phone and Fax Numbers Date
Timothy H Heim DWR/ARO WQ/828-296-4665/
Mikal Willmer DWR/Division of Water Quality/828-296-4686/
Signature of Management Q A Reviewer Agency/Office/Phone and Fax Numbers Date
EPA Form 3560-3 (Rev 9-94) Previous editions are obsolete.
Page#1
DocuSign Envelope ID: E1F7F575-2907-48E8-BFF6-BC56A2DF121F
1/16/2020
1/16/2020
1/16/2020
NPDES yr/mo/day
20/01/13
Inspection Type
J3111218
1
Section D: Summary of Finding/Comments (Attach additional sheets of narrative and checklists as necessary)
Inspectors Mikal Willmer and Tim Heim, with the Asheville Regional Office, conducted a complaint
inspection of the Giles Chemical Plant on 1/13/2020. This inspection was conducted in response to an
anonymous complaint received by our office on 1/10/2020. A video was submitted to our office showing
a tank on Giles’ property overflowing into Richland Creek. Matt Haynes (VP Manufacturing) and Patrick
Owen (Head of Engineering) were present and assisted in the inspection.
During the inspection it was determined the tank was not the cooling water supply tank, but a process
wastewater recovery tank that is used in the recycle process. Mr. Owen indicated he was not aware of
the tank overflowing. The tank has a 2" overflow line near the top and a level sensor; however, the
sensor is not connected to an alarm or alert system in the event of potential overflow. Mr. Owen
believes the only time the tank would be near the top is during the weekly process shut down for
cleaning at which point water is being added to the tank but not used. A follow-up email from Mr. Owen
on 1/15/2020 stated Giles’ staff discovered a blockage in the overflow line.
Giles Chemical is currently only permitted to discharge non-contact cooling water to Richland Creek
under General NPDES Permit NCG50000, certificate of coverage NCG500244. A Notice of Violation is
being issued for the unpermitted discharge of process wastewater from a recovery tank to Richland
Creek.
Immediate corrective measures for monitoring of the tank during weekly shutdowns is required until
permanent engineering measures are put into place. These include connecting the tanks level sensor
to a notification and/or alarm system and visual monitoring. Additional preventative measures were also
discussed at the time of the complaint investigation. Some suggestions were to install secondary
containment around the tank and potentially upsize the overflow line exiting the recovery tank to prevent
future discharges. Additionally, as mentioned in previous inspections, it is advised Giles Chemical label
all tanks and pipes located on the backside of the building. All cooling water outfalls need to be labeled
and added to the certificate of coverage during the renewal. Currently only three are listed.
NCG500244 17 (Cont.)
Page#2
DocuSign Envelope ID: E1F7F575-2907-48E8-BFF6-BC56A2DF121F
Permit:NCG500244
Inspection Date:01/13/2020
Owner - Facility:
Inspection Type:
Waynesville plant
Complaint
Other Yes No NA NE
Comment:
(If the present permit expires in 6 months or less). Has the permittee submitted a new
application?
Is the facility as described in the permit?
# Are there any special conditions for the permit?
Is access to the plant site restricted to the general public?
Is the inspector granted access to all areas for inspection?
An unpermitted discharge of process wastewater from a recovery tank to Richland Creek
was documented and provided to inspectors.
Comment:
Page#3
DocuSign Envelope ID: E1F7F575-2907-48E8-BFF6-BC56A2DF121F
Certificate Of Completion
Envelope Id: E1F7F575290748E8BFF6BC56A2DF121F Status: Completed
Subject: Please DocuSign: NCG500244_NOVNOI2020PC0030_20200116.docx, NCG500244_NOVNOI2020PC0030_20200116....
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Time Zone: (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
217 W. Jones Street
Raleigh, NC 27699
[e-mail]
IP Address: 149.168.204.10
Record Tracking
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Jan 16, 2020 | 10:40
Holder: Mikal Willmer
[e-mail]
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Mikal Willmer
[e-mail]
Environmental Specialist
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
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Tim Heim
[e-mail]
DWR
DEQ
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Electronic Record and Signature Disclosure:
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G. Landon Davidson
[e-mail]
Asheville Regional Office, Regional Supervisor
DEQ, Division of Water Resources, Water Quality
Regional Operatoins
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