WQ0035749_NOV and Intent to Assess_20200124

DocuSign Envelope ID: E2382FC8-7AOB-43CF-AFA7-5379DD54C5FF
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ROY COOPER NORTH CAROLINA
Governor Environmental Quality
MICHAEL S. REGAN
Secretary
LINDA CULPEPPER
Director
January 24, 2020
CERTIFIED MAIL # 70171450 00016450 0825
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Mr. Tim M. Little, PE - Chief Engineer
North Carolina Department of Transportation
1536 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27601-1536
Subject: Notice of Violation and Intent to Enforce (NOV-2020-PC-0046)
Complaint Investigation
NC DOT, Statewide Program for Land Application of
Diamond Grinding Slurry (DGS) & Hydrodemolition Operation Slurry (HOS)
Permit No. WQ0035749
Dear Mr. Little:
On December 20, 2019, the North Carolina Division of Water Resources' (Division) Winston-
Salem Regional Office (WSRO) received an anonymous complaint concerning waste runoff
resulting in discharges to surface waters along the northbound lanes of Interstate-85 in Davidson
County. Subsequently an unannounced investigation was conducted by the WSRO on
December 20, 2019. The violations listed below warrant your attention and action:
1. Permit Condition I.1. requires that the Permittee shall notify the appropriate Regional
Office at least 48 hours in advance of any land application of Class A residuals. The only
notification that was received by WSRO related to any land application event for this
project was the initial project start date notification received on December 5, 2019. Failure
to notify prior to all land application events is a violation of Permit Condition 1. 1.
2. Permit Condition II.6. requires that residuals shall not be applied in exceedance of
agronomic rates or the hydraulic capacity of the soils. There were at least six areas observed
along the investigation area which had been overapplied with residuals at rates exceeding
both the hydraulic capacity of the soils and agronomic rates. This is a violation of Permit
Condition II.6.
3. Permit Condition II.5. requires that land applied residuals shall not be land applied within
25 feet of surface water diversions such as ditches. In multiple locations along the
investigation area residuals were observed to have been land applied into ditches and
stormwater features and/or land applied less than 25 feet from these features. This is a
violation of Permit Condition II.5.
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources
Winston-Salem Regional Office 1 450 W. Hanes Mill Road, Suite 300 1 Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27105
336-776-9800

DocuSign Envelope ID: E2382FC8-7AOB-43CF-AFA7-5379DD54C5FF
4. Permit Condition III.5. requires that adequate operational measures shall be taken to
prevent residuals runoff from the land application areas. Nearly every land application area
reviewed by the WSRO within the investigation area was noted as having significant
residuals runoff. This is a violation of Permit Condition III.5.
As a reminder, Permit Condition III.6. prohibits surface land application of residuals on
slopes greater than 10%. At the time of the investigation slopes exceeding 10% were not
clearly marked for no land application. In addition to overloading the assimilation capacity
of the soil, land applying residuals on slopes greater than 10% can contribute to runoff.
5. Permit Condition II.1. requires that the subject residuals program shall be maintained and
operated at all times so there is no discharge of residuals to surface waters. Evidence of
runoff of residuals with discharge to surface waters was observed at multiple locations
within the investigation area. Two discharge locations to Hamby Creek were noted and one
discharge location to an unnamed tributary to Hamby Creek was noted during the
investigation. These discharges are violations of Permit Condition II.1. The subject
discharges into waters of the State is also a violation of North Carolina General Statute
143-215.1(6).
6. Permit Condition V.I. requires the Permittee to conduct adequate inspections and
maintenance to ensure proper land application activities occur in accordance with the
Operation & Maintenance Plan. Investigation findings indicate that inspections and land
application activities were not completed in accordance with the Operation & Maintenance
Plan.
7. Permit Condition II.8. requires that the land application areas shall be clearly marked on
each site prior to and during any land application event. Land application areas were found
to not be clearly marked during the investigation. No flagging or field marks were observed
between many areas that received land application and the required setback features.
NCDOT representatives indicated during a follow-up conversation, that a spray paint
marking on the edge of the emergency lane along with a traffic cone placed at the marking
is utilized for marking the application area boundaries. Based on the violations noted
during the investigation, this method was found to be inadequate and did not clearly mark
the application area boundaries to prevent noncompliance. This is a violation of Permit
Condition II.8. and likely contributed to other violations documented.
8. Permit Condition IV.2. requires that residuals shall be analyzed for Percent Total Solids
(%TS) and Calcium Carbonate Equivalence (CCE) prior to the initial land application
event and analyzed for pH each truckload or storage unit. On December 23, 2019 WSRO
requested a copy of these test results. Records for CCE analysis results and pH
measurement logs were provided on January 8, 2020. However, lab results for %TS has
not been received as of January 23, 2020. Please provide these records within the
timeframe provided at the end of this Notice. Failure to maintain and make records
available for review, and failure to conduct all required residuals analyses is a violation of
Permit Condition IV.2.
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9. Permit Condition IV.7. requires the Permittee to report noncompliance by telephone to the
appropriate Regional Office as soon as possible, but in no case more than 24 hours or
the next working day following occurrence or first knowledge of the occurrence. In
email correspondence and during follow-up conversations NCDOT representatives
indicated that the Permittee was first aware of noncompliance on the night of Tuesday
December 17, 2019, and that land application operations were suspended on the morning
of Wednesday December 18, 2019.
WSRO did not receive notification of the noncompliant event until approximately 3:30 pm
on December 20, 2019, following staff returning from the complaint investigation.
Notification was made via a voicemail received at approximately It:15 am on December
20, 2019 and in an email received at approximately 12:39 pm on December 20, 2019.
Failure to notify the WSRO of noncompliance in accordance with Permit Condition IV.7.
is a violation.
10.On December 23, 2019, WSRO requested a copy of all remaining required records
associated with the subject land application events. The records listed below were not
actively maintained by the Permittee and therefore were not made available to the Division
for review until January 8, 2020. This represents violations of the following permit
conditions:
a. Permit Condition 11.7. requires that residuals shall be land applied based upon soil
test results or the recommendation of an Agronomist or NC Licensed Soil Scientist.
Soil test results and/or Agronomist/LSS recommendations were not maintained and
available for review.
b. Permit Condition III.2. requires that an Operation & Maintenance Plan shall be
maintained. A plan was not maintained and available for review.
c. Permit Condition V.2. requires that the Permittee shall maintain an inspection log
and make those records available to the Division upon request. Inspection logs were
not maintained and available for review.
d. Permit Condition IV.5. requires the Permittee to maintain records tracking all land
application events. Land application tracking records were not maintained and
available for review.
Permit No. WQ0035749 requires that all records shall be maintained by the Permittee
and shall be made available to the Division for review upon request.
The Division is considering the pursuit of punitive sanctions for these violations. If you wish to
present an explanation for the violations cited, provide additional information related to those
items, or if you believe there are other factors which should be considered, please send such
information to me in writing within ten (10) days following receipt of this Notice. Please also
submit the records requested for the violation items above within the ten-day period. Requested
records not received within the 10-day period will be considered missing. Any additional
information received will be reviewed, and if an enforcement action is still deemed appropriate,
that information will be forwarded to the Director with the enforcement package for their
consideration.
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DocuSign Envelope ID: E2382FC8-7AOB-43CF-AFA7-5379DD54C5FF
Your written response should be sent to my attention at the address shown on the letterhead. As a
reminder, NC General Statutes provide for penalties of up to $25,000 per day per violation for
violations of state environmental laws and regulations.
The Division appreciates your prompt attention and actions to the above listed violations. Please
refer to the enclosed inspection report for additional observations and comments. If you have any
questions regarding this Notice, please contact Patrick Mitchell or me at the letterhead address or
phone number, or by email at [e-mail] or [e-mail].
Sincerely,
1L14,r1§21,1
D-ocu Siiggned by,
0, l c "Ar
4EA.Lon er, Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ — WSRO
enc.: Inspection Report
cc: Asheville RO, Fayetteville RO, Mooresville RO, Raleigh RO, Washington RO, Wilmington
RO, and Winston-Salem RO (Electronic Copies)
NCDWR Central Office Files (Laserfiche)
Davidson County Environmental Health (Electronic Copy)
Page 4 of 4

Compliance Inspection Report
Permit: WQ0035749 Effective: 09/10/19 Expiration: 05/31/24 owner: North Carolina Department of Transportation.
SOC_ Effective: Expiration: Facility: NCDOT DGS and HQS DCAR
County: Unknown
Region: Central
Contact Person: Casey Hurley Title: Project Manager
Directions to Facility:
System Classifications:
Primary ORC: Certification;
Secondary ORC(s):
On -Site Representative(s):
Related Permits:
Phone: [phone]
Phone:
Inspectton Date: 12/20/2019 Entry Time: 11:40AM Exit Time: 02:10PM
Primary Inspector: Patrick Mitchell Phone: [phone]
Secondary Inspector(s):
Rebecca D Chandler
Reason for Inspection: Complaint 'Inspection Type: Complaint,
Permit Inspection Type: Distribution of Residual Solids (503 Exempt)
Facility Status: Compliant Not Compliant
Question Areas:
Miscellaneous Questions Record Keeping Sampling
Land Application Site
(See attachment summary)

permit: w00035749 Owner - Facility: North Carolina Department of Transportation
Inspection Date: 12r2012019 Inspection Type : Complaint Reason for Visit: Complaint.
Inspection Summary:
On Friday December 20, 2019, at. approximately 9:20 am the WSRO received an anonymous complaint concerning dumping.
of wastes along the northbound lanes of 1-85 in Davidson County just before the rest area. The complainant alleged that
waste had been dumped and spread along the sides. of the interstate resulting in runoff and discharges to surface waters.
On December 20,2019, following receipt of the complaint, .WSRO .staff conducted an unannounced investigation along the
northbound lanes of 1-85in Davidson County, beginning near the 1-85 crossing with Hamby Creek. The investigation area
stretched approximately 1.3 miles north to the area just before the rest area exit.
The location of the investigation area coincides with the site that was included in a December 5-, 2019 email notification for
initiating a residuals land application project (i.e. Contract #: C204053, TIP #: 1-5793) by NCDOT under Permit No. -
W00035749. There was no activity occurring at the time of the investigation. There were no contractors or NCDOT
representatives present at the site at the time of the. investigation.
WSRO staff confirmed that diamond grinding slurry residuals (DGS) had been land applied along the roadsides. The
violations listed below were noted from the investigation. -
1. No notification for land application events were received followingthe initial project start date notification received on
December 5, 2019 via email
2. There were multiple areas observed along the investigation area that were found to have been over applied with residuals
at rates exceeding both the hydraulic capacity of the soils and agronomic rates. See photos in file.
3. In multiple locationsalong the investigation area residuals were observed to have been land applied into ditches and
stormwater features, or land applied less than 25 feet from these features. See photos in file.
4. Land application areas were not clearly marked. During the investigation Division staff were unable to locate the
application area boundary markings. There were no flagging or field markings present aroundditches or other required
setback features. NCDOT representatives indicated during a follow-up conversation, that a spray paint marking on the edge
of the emergency lane along with a narrow traffic cone placed at the marking is utilized for marking the boundary of
"start -stop for land application". Marking start -stop on the edge of the paved roadway is not adequate and did not clearly
mark setback features in the application areas. See photos in file.
5. Nearly everyarea with residuals land application reviewed by WSRO within the investigation area had resulted in
significant runoff. Slopes exceeding 10% were not "clearly marked for no land application. See photos in file.
6. Runoff of residuals with discharge to surface waters was observed at multiple. locations within the investigation area. At
least two discharges to Hamby Creek and at least one discharge to an UT to Hamby Creek were observed during the
investigation. See photos in file. -
7. Soil test results and/or an Agronomist/NC Licensed Soil Scientist recommendation was requested for review on
December 23, 2019. Records were not made available for review until January 8, 2020.
8. A copy of the Operation & Maintenance Plan was requested for review on December 23, 2019 These records were not
made available for review until January 8, 2020. -
9. Observations do not reflect proper land application activities or adequate inspections by the Permittee..
10. Inspection log records were request on December 23, 2019. These records were not made available for review until
January 8, 2020.

Permit: WQ0035749 Owner - Facility: North Carolina Department of Transportation
Inspection Date: 12120/2019 Inspection Type: Complaint Reason for Visit: Complaint
11. Residuals analysis results for % Total Solids, Calcium Carbonate Equivalence, and pH were requested on December 23,
2019. CCE and pHresultswere not made availableuntilJanuary 8, 2020. %TS lab results have not been received as of
January 23, 2020. Request Permittee submit the missing %TS lab results.
12. Records tracking land application activities were requested on December 23, 2019. These records were not made
available for review until January 8, 2020.
13. The Permitteedid not report noncompliance to the WSRO as soon as possible, within 24 hours nor on the next working
day following the occurrence or first knowledge of the occurrence. During fallow -up NCDOT representatives indicated that the
Permitteewas aware of noncompliance on the night of Tuesday December 17, 2019.
WSRO did not receive notification of the noncompliant event until 3:30 pm when staff returned from the complaint
investigation:
• Avoicemail was left at approx. 11:15 am on December 20, 2019
• An email notification was submitted to the Division at approx. 12:39 pm on December 20, 2019.
It should be noted that the email notification also indicated the following:
- On the morning of Wednesday December 18, 2019 DGS operations were suspended. -
- Clean up of the residuals slurry had occurred on Thursday December 19, 2019 (i.e. the day before
WSRO received the complaint and conducted investigation). Evidence of inadequate cleanup was.
observed during the: investigation.
On December 20, 2019, following the investigation, WSRO notified NCDOT representatives of the complaint, the
investigationfindings, and strongly recommended that additional cleanup and containment actions be taken as soon as
possible. Following the notification by WSRO, NCDOT returned to the incident for additional cleanup and containment to
prevent additional discharges to surface waters.