WQ0003090_NOV/NOI for Liberty WWTP_20200701

ROY COOPER
Governor
MICHAEL S. REGAN
Secretary
S. DANIEL SMITH
Director
NORTH CAROLINA
Environmental Quality
July 1, 2020
CERTIFIED MAIL # 70181130 0000 1612 7116
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Mr. William Doerfer, Town Manager
Town of Liberty
P.O. Box 1006
Liberty, North Carolina 27298
Subject: Notice of Violation and Intent to Enforce (NOV-2020-DV-0301)
Town of Liberty - Wastewater Surface Irrigation
Permit No. WQ0003090
Randolph County
Dear Mr. Doerfer:
Mr. Tremaine Fike, ORC, reported the following incidents to staff of the North Carolina Division
of Water Resources, Winston-Salem Regional office NCDEQ-DWR-WSRO during the month of
May and June 2020:
NOV Number Incident Type Start Time End Time Volume
NOV-2020-DV-0301
Bypass at Chlorine
05/26/2020
05/31/2020
348,000 Gallons
Contact Tank
07:OOAM
03:OOPM
NOV-2020-DV- 0302
Bypass at Chlorine
06/17/2020
06/23/2020
1,837,500 Gallons
Contact Tank
06:OOAM
01:00PM
Mr. Fike reported that the wastewater flowed from the chlorine contact tank and discharged to the
Rocky River.
Please be aware that bypass events are a violation of Permit Condition III. (12.) which states
that diversion or bypassing of untreated or partially treated wastewater from the treatment
facilities is prohibited. Inflow and infiltration have been identified as the cause of at least twenty-
one other bypass events occurring at the subject facility that have been previously reported to this
office since July 10, 2013.
D � North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources
Winston-Salem Regional Office [ 450 West Hanes Mill Road, Suite 300 I Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27105
NOh �HCARO UHA
^^ •^^ma^� u�•i` r 336.776.9800

Additionally, the Division of Water Resources issued the subject facility a Notice of Violation for
the exceedance of the minimum required freeboard level in the lagoon. This has been an ongoing
violation since it was first reported to our office on May 20, 2020. The freeboard continued to rise
above the "0" line on the freeboard marker until on May 26, 2020, the chlorine contact chamber
overflowed as described above. This exceedance is a violation of Permit Condition III. (13.)
which states that freeboard in the lagoon shall not be less than one and one half (1.5) feet at
any time.
The Division of Water Resources may pursue enforcement action for this and any additional
violations of State law. 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. Any additional information received will be reviewed, and if an
enforcement action is deemed appropriate, that information will be forwarded to the Director with
the enforcement package for their consideration. You written response should be sent to my
attention at the address shown on the letterhead. As a reminder, NC General Statutes provide for
penalties up to $25,000 per day per violation for violation of state environmental laws and
regulations.
If you or your staff have any questions concerning this Notice, please contact me at (336) 776-
9800 or Ion. snider(&ncdenr.gov.
Sincerely,
D'ocu SiTgnedl�by:
145B49E225C94EA...
Lon T. Snider, Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ-WSRO
cc: Tremaine Fike - Town of Liberty (Electronic Copy)
Randolph County Environmental Health (Electronic Copy)
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