WQCS00037_DV-2019-0154_20200309

ROY COOPER V.
~.
Governor of
of
MICHAEL S.REGAN _ ,,,.°'
Secretary
S.DANIEL SMITH NORTH CAROLINA
Director Environmental Quality
March 9,2020
CERTIFIED MAIL#7018 1830 0001 8037 1370
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Rick Howell,City Manager
City of Shelby
P.O.Box 207
Shelby,NC 28151-0207
SUBJECT: CIVIL PENALTY REMISSION REQUEST
City Shelby Collection System
Permit WQCS00037
Case DV-2019-0154
Cleveland County
Dear Permittee:
The Division has considered the information submitted in support of your request for remission in accordance with
G.S. 143-215.6A(f)and has decided to modify the initial civil penalty assessment of$624.83 ($500.00 civil penalty
plus$124.83 enforcement)to the total amount of$124.83.
Should you choose to pay the modified penalty,payment should be tendered to me at the letterhead address within
thirty(30)days of receipt of this letter. Please make checks payable to the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources.
You also have the option of presenting your request to the Committee on Civil Penalty Remissions,which is comprised
of members of the Environmental Management Commission.The Committee may consider such requests and render
fmal and binding decisions in these matters.You may argue your request before the Committee,and the Division staff
will argue against any reduction of the assessment.
Should you choose to present your request to the Committee,please notify me at the letterhead address within thirty
(30)days of the receipt of this letter.Your request will be placed on the agenda of an upcoming Committee meeting,
and you will be notified of the date and time.If the Division does not receive a response regarding this notice,Division
staff will automatically place your case on the agenda of a future Committee meeting.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. If you have any questions,please contact Christyn Fertenbaugh at
919-707-3625 or [e-mail].
Sincerely,
emirs,
S. Daniel Smith
Director,Division of Water Resources
Attachment: DWR Civil Assessment Remission Factor Sheet(copy)&Request for Oral Presentation Sheet
cc: Enforcement File#: DV-2019-0154
Mooresville Regional Office
A o Quality rc�/ 512 NorthNorthCarolina SalisburyDepartment Street 11611of Mail
Envir Servicenmental Center I Raleigh,Division NorthofWater CarolinaResou 276es99 1611
b+ � /� 919.707.9000

WQCS00037 Remission Decision
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION
COUNTY OF Cleveland DWQ Case Number DV-2019-0154
IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT OF )
CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST: ) REQUEST FOR ORAL PRESENTATION
City of Shelby Collection System )
I hereby request to make an oral presentation before the Environmental Management Commission's
Committee on Civil Penalty Remissions in the matter of the case noted above. In making this request, I
assert that I understand all of the following statements:
• This request will be reviewed by the Chairman of the Environmental Management Commission and
may be either granted or denied.
• Making a presentation will require the presence of myself and/or my representative during a
Committee meeting held in Raleigh, North Carolina.
• My presentation will be limited to discussion of issues and information submitted in my original
remission request, and because no factual issues are in dispute, my presentation will be limited to five
(5) minutes in length.
The North Carolina State Bar's Authorized Practice of Law Committee has ruled that the appearance in a
representative capacity at quasi-judicial hearings or proceedings is limited to lawyers who are active
members of the bar. Proceedings before the Committee on Remissions are quasi-judicial.You should
consider how you intend to present your case to the Committee in light of the State Bar's opinion and
whether anyone will be speaking in a representative capacity for you or a business or governmental entity. If
you or your representative would like to speak before the Committee, you must complete and return this
form within thirty (30) days of receipt of this letter.
Depending on your status as an individual,corporation,partnership or municipality,the State Bar's Opinion affects how
you may proceed with your oral presentation.See www.ncbar.com/ethics,Authorized Practice Advisory Opinion 2006-1
and 2007 Formal Ethics Opinion 3.
• If you are an individual or business owner and are granted an opportunity to make an oral presentation before
the Committee,then you do not need legal representation before the Committee;however,if you intend on
having another individual speak on your behalf regarding the factual situations,such as an expert,engineer or
consultant,then you must also be present at the meeting in order to avoid violating the State Bar's Opinion on
the unauthorized practice of law.
• If you are a corporation,partnership or municipality and are granted an opportunity to make an oral
presentation before the Committee,then your representative must consider the recent State Bar's Opinion and
could be considered practicing law without a license if he or she is not a licensed attorney.Presentation of facts
by non-lawyers is permissible.
If you choose to request an oral presentation,please make sure that signatures on the previously submitted Remission
Request form and this Oral Presentation Request form are: 1)for individuals and business owners,your own signature
and 2)for corporations,partnerships and municipalities,signed by individuals who would not violate the State Bar's
Opinion on the unauthorized practice of law.
Also,be advised that the Committee on Civil Penalty Remissions may choose not to proceed with hearing your case if the
Committee is informed that a violation of the State Bar occurs.
This the day of , 20
SIGNATURE TITLE(President,Owner,etc.)
ADDRESS
TELEPHONE( )

DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES
CIVIL PENALTY REMISSION FACTORS
Case Number: DV-2019-0154 Region: Mooresville County: Cleveland
Assessed Entity: City of Shelby Permit:WQCS00037
® (a) Whether one or more of the civil penalty assessment factors were wrongly applied to
the detriment of the petitioner:
Permittee States:The City of Shelby contends that they were not negligent in their responsibilities as
owner/operator and believes that the State's fine is not justified based upon the structural integrity of
the line itself,the City's response time, and the City's ability to divert flows to a parallel line to stop
discharge.This spill was the first in this area and was not a line failure,this spill was caused by a
flush valve connection blowing a part. This was not due to any type of negligence of the City,the
City has not encountered any previous line breaks on the 10/12"force main.The City states that the
civil penalty assessment is also not consistent with a similar issue in the Town of Kingstown in 2018
where a fine was not levied.
DWR Response: Written documentation and photos support the permittee's statements regarding the
cause of the spill. MRO file review also confirmed that a similar issue in the Town of Kingstown in
2018 resulted in no civil penalty assessment for similar SSO volume and cause.
(b) Whether the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting
from the violation:
Permittee States:The City of Shelby quickly diverted flow to a parallel force main to stop the
discharge, and followed up with an inspection of the operating conditions of the system with their
engineer.The City was responsive and completed the repairs of this line in a timely fashion to
mitigate the spill.The ARVs that had been replaced earlier last year and the surge valve and operating
pressures are all working in design conditions.The City completed upgrades to the lift station and
force main in 2019 to improve performance of the system. The improvements to the force main
included installation of a new section of force main and the ability to separate the parallel force mains
in the event of a break. The City also upgraded all air release valves on both lines.
DWR Response: Written documentation demonstrated that the permittee promptly abated continuing
environmental damage resulting from the violation.
❑ (c) Whether the violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident:
❑ (d) Whether the violator had been assessed civil penalties for any previous violations:
❑ (e) Whether payment of the civil penalty will prevent payment for the remaining
necessary remedial actions:
DECISION(Check One)
Request Denied ❑
Full Remission ® Retain Enforcement Costs? Yes IS No❑
Original Penalty(without Enforcement Costs) $ Sc O (enter amount)
Partial Remission 0 % 100 or $ 500 (amount remitted)
Subtotal $ 0
Retaining Enforcement Costs $ 1 Zy '8 3
Total Revised Assessment $ 17-4.b 3
3 /ZP2-0
)aniel Smith
-rar