HomeMy WebLinkAboutNC0069370_NOV2020PC0314_20200710
July 10, 2020
Greg Penfold, Executive Director
Emeritus Corp DBA Pine Park
2601 U S Hwy 64 E
Hendersonville, NC 28792
SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION
Tracking Number: NOV-2020-PC-0314
Permit No. NC0069370
Pine Park Retirement Inn
Henderson County
Dear Permittee:
The North Carolina Division of Water Resources conducted an inspection of the Pine Park Retirement Inn on July
8, 2020. This inspection was conducted to verify that the facility is operating in compliance with the conditions
and limitations specified in NPDES WW Permit No. NC0069370. A summary of the findings and comments noted
during the inspection are provided in the enclosed copy of the inspection report.
The Compliance Evaluation inspection was conducted by Division of Water Resources staff from the Asheville
Regional Office. The following violation(s) were noted during the inspection:
Inspection Area Description of Violation _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Pump Station - Effluent The alarms were not working.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Pump Station - Influent The audio and visual alarm at the influent pump station were not working, but the
autodialer was working. One of the high water floats seemed to be missing. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Aerobic Digester The digester is full and the ORC is not able to waste solids from the aeration basins until
the digester solids are pumped out. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DocuSign Envelope ID: FE06291E-763D-409B-B331-BBF69F79A7F5
Inspection Area Description of Violation _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Secondary Clarifier There was only about 0.5 feet of clear supernatant in the clarifier. The sludge blanket
was sitting only about 1 foot below the water surface. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Additional explanation about these violations:
Please thoroughly review the process and current state of the WWTP described below, as it illustrates the need for
immediate corrective action. An activated sludge WWTP grows bacteria sludge in the aerations basins. These
bacteria are fed by and treat the organics in the sewage coming into the WWTP. To keep the amount of bacteria
in the aeration basins at a stable level, a certain portion of the sludge must be “wasted” into a sludge digester.
When the sludge digester becomes full, it needs to be pumped out to allow continued wasting from the aeration
basins. If wasting stops the sludge begins to thicken in the aeration basins and fill the clarifiers (settling basin).
If the solids spill out of the clarifier and into the WWTP effluent (which discharges to the creek), then the WWTP is
violating its permit and polluting surface waters.
When I conducted my inspection of the WWTP, the settleable solids in the aeration basin measured 98%, which is
extremely high, and indicates to me that the WWTP is at risk of discharging its solids through the effluent. To
remediate this situation, sludge solids need to be pumped from the WWTP as soon as possible.
The Division of Water Resources may pursue enforcement action for this and any additional violations of
State law.
To prevent further action, please respond in writing to this office within 30 days upon your receipt of this Notice
of Violation regarding your plans or measures to be taken to address the indicated violations and other identified
issues, if applicable.
If you should have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Daniel Boss with the Water Quality
Regional Operations Section in the Asheville Regional Office at 828-296-4500.
Sincerely,
G. Landon Davidson, P.G., Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Asheville Regional Office
Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ
ATTACHMENTS
Ec: WQS ARO Server, Laserfiche
DocuSign Envelope ID: FE06291E-763D-409B-B331-BBF69F79A7F5