WQCS00005_NOV-2020-DV-0305 Response_20200803

WATER MANAGEMENT
CITY OF DURHAM
August 3, 2020
Mr. Scott Vinson, Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Raleigh Regional Office
NCDEQ, Division of Water Resources
3800 Barrett Drive
Raleigh, N.C. 27609
Subject: NOV-2020-DV-0305, Permit No. WQC500005
City of Durham Collection System, Durham County
Dear Mr. Vinson,
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This letter is in response to your notice dated July 13, 2020 which was received by the City on July 22, 2020. The
July 1311 letter states that the City of Durham is provided an opportunity to present evidence and justification to
demonstrate that the proposed civil penalties for Notice of Violation/Notice of Intent to Enforce (NOV-NOI)
should not be assessed for the sanitary sewer overflows (S50s) which occurred in the City's sewer collection
system between June 1, 2020 and June 30, 2020.
As requested, the City of Durham, Department of Water Management (DWM) is providing information about
the two incidents which occurred during this timeframe which will support the City's position that despite
meeting all the conditions of the City's Collection System permit including site visits, inspections and easement
maintenance, these events were exceptional, unintentional, temporary and beyond the City's exercise of
reasonable control.
DWM staff consider it is especially important to note that the attached map shows that the 550s are dispersed
throughout Durham's service area.
Incident # 202001767 — 3811 Vair Street —June 2.2020
On June 2"aa manhole (#17576) at 3811 Vair Street overflowed, with an estimated 1,500 gallons of wastewater
discharging into an unnamed tributary of Lick Creek. This overflow occurred due to a blockage in the sewer
main caused by a section of sewer lining that had become separated from the main after repairs by a contractor
on 6/15/19. Water and Sewer Maintenance staff responded by using a high-pressure jet to remove the
blockage and cleaning the line with a flush truck. Crews then dammed the ditch line with sand bags, flushed it
from a nearby hydrant, then used a 4-inch pump downstream to remove the fluids from the ditch, returning the
collected liquids to the sanitary sewer system.
The City's Stormwater Services Division responded and conducted ammonia testing to help determine the
extent of the spill and to advise when the site returned to normal conditions. No immediately visible adverse
environmental impacts or hazards to persons or property occurred.
DWM's Utility Engineering staff contacted the pipe lining contractor, Insituform Technologies Inc. on 6/2/2020
to inform them of the issue; however, since the contract had expired, we are not certain that any action will be
taken.

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As required, a news release was issued within the 24-hour window. The cost to remediate this spill was
$5,238.60.
Incident # 202001830 — 822 East NC Highway 54 — June 10, 2020
On June 1011 a manhole (#06489) at 822 East NC Highway 54 overflowed, with an estimated 3,275 gallons of
wastewater discharging into an unnamed tributary of Crooked Creek. This overflow occurred due to a blockage
in the sewer main caused by a buildup of rags and grease. Crews used a high-pressure jet to remove the
blockage, cleaned the line with a flush truck forcing the blockage from the main and used a 4-inch pump
downstream to remove the fluids from the creek. Crews dammed the creek and flushed a nearby hydrant into
the creek to and then pumped the liquid contained in the creek back into the collections system.
The City's Stormwater Services Division responded and conducted ammonia testing to help determine the
extent of the spill and to advise when the site returned to normal conditions. No immediately visible adverse
environmental impacts or hazards to persons or property occurred.
By using the CCTV truck, WSM staff discovered that the pipeline had a defect which caused an accumulation of
grit and sand, as well as the buildup of rags and grease. The excavation crews were not able to safety dig around
the main due to eight fiber optic conduit lines and other cabling running over and parallel to the line. DWM's
Utility Engineering staff brought in a contractor who was able to successfully gain access to the main and replace
6 linear feet of main and the sewer lateral at the address. The contractor charged the City $24,521.00 for this
work.
As required, a news release was issued within the 24-hour window. The cost to remediate this spill by the City of
Durham was $3,867.19 (Total $28,388.19).
Ongoing City -Wide Measures to Reduce the Occurrence of SSOs
The City has several programs in place to reduce and/or prevent the occurrence of SSOs. The City has
implemented a CMOM plan that expands and enhances its existing programs.
System Flushing and Inspection: The City routinely contracts flushing, CCTV inspection, smoke testing and
manhole inspections of portions of the sewer collection system. The City is completing the inspection of the
collection system systematically through City defined basins.
Additionally, the City ensures the requirements of the collection system permit are met by deploying City
crews to flush at least 10%of the collection system annually with a goal of exceeding the requirement by at
least 2 to 5% each year. The City measures the flushing on a fiscal year basis. For the CY 2020 year to date,
the City has cleaned 14.97% of the system. As operations normalize post-Covid-19, staff will dedicate more
time to this program.
Sewer Rehabilitation Program: The City has an active Sewer Rehabilitation Program. The program includes
flow monitoring (25 permanent monitors), CCTV inspection, manhole inspection, easement mowing, field
inspections and investigations, point repairs, line replacement, root and grease abatement and cured -in -
place manhole and line rehabilitation. There are 4 employee positions dedicated to the City's system
rehabilitation programs in the Utility Engineering Division of DWM. This workgroup handles flow monitoring
and system data management and contract preparation, administration and inspections. There are 21
employee positions in our Collections Systems Maintenance workgroup in the Water & Sewer Maintenance
(WSM) Division of DWM. This group performs CCTV inspections, hydraulic cleaning activities, mowing and
manhole inspection and repair. They respond to blockages and overflows. WSM does contract inspections

Page 3 of 3
as well. In addition, crews from the Main Line workgroup of WSM perform point repairs, line replacements
and some cured -in -place lining. The department established the Lift Station Maintenance Division in 2018
to focus oversight and maintenance of the 65 lift stations throughout the service area and the 136 ARVs in
the system. This 14-member work group conducts the required daily/weekly inspections and associated
preventive maintenance activities. The City spends more than $5,000,000 on Sewer Rehabilitation projects
annually as a part of its Capital Improvements Programs.
Fat. Oils and Grease Program (FOG): The department's FOG education and outreach effort is conducted by
3.0 FTEs (staff shared 50/50 with the Industrial Waste Control Program). In addition to working closely with
the Durham County Health Department, staff routinely inspect over 800 food service establishments (FSEs)
annually to ensure appropriate cleaning and maintenance of grease interceptors. Staff participates in a
number of community events (Earth Day, CenterFest, and Landlord Workshops) as well as neighborhood
meetings to increase awareness of what is appropriate to put in the sewer system. FOG staff conducts post-
SSOs follow-up education and enforcement as necessary. The City also invests more than $35,000 per year
in advertising (TV commercials, social media, etc.) regarding the proper disposal of FOG.
Summary:
Based upon the documented information provided above regarding these incidents, the City believes that
overflows were exceptional, unintentional, temporary and caused by factors beyond the City's/department's
reasonable control. The City actively manages, operates and maintains its system in such a manner as to meet
all the requirements of the Collection System permit. As detailed above, the City systematically inspects, flushes
and rehabilitates its wastewater collection system. The department works actively to educate the community
regarding what should and should not be discharged into the City's sewer collection system.
Department staff welcomes the opportunity to meet with you and your staff to review our program and discuss
constructive ways to improve what we are already doing in the City of Durham. If you have any questions or
need any additional information please do not hesitate to contact me at [phone] or via email at
[e-mail].
Sia
Donald F. Greeley, Director, PE, PLS
Attachments
c: Jason Robinson, DEQ— Water Quality Regional Operations Section, Raleigh Regional Office
Junior Mobley, Superintendent, Water & Sewer Maintenance
Vicki Westbrook, Assistant Director
Jerry Morrone, Utility Engineering Manager, Sr.

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CERTIFIED MAIL: 7016 2,144 0000 4368 5586
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
July 13, 2020
Donald F Greeley, Director
City of Durham
101 City Hall Plaza
Durham, NC 27701-3329
SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION & INTENT TO ISSUE CIVIL PEIgt
Tracking No.: NOV-2020-DV-0305 uaiity
Sanitary Sewer Overflows - June 2020 t OfEovironmenta1Q
Collection System Permit No. WQCS00005 NCDep
Durham Collection System
Durham County
Dear Mr. Greeley: glcigh Regional Office
A review has been conducted of the self -reported Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSO's) 5-Day Report/s submitted by
City of Durham. The Division's Raleigh Regional Office concludes that the City of Durham violated Permit Condition
I (2) of Permit No. WQCS00005 by failing to effectively manage, maintain, and operate their collection system so
that there is no SSO (Sanitary Sewer Overflow) to the land or surface waters and the SSO constituted making an
outlet to waters of the State for purposes of G.S. 143-215.1(a)(1), for which a permit is required by G.S.
143-215.1.
The Raleigh Regional Office is providing the City of Durham an opportunity to provide evidence and justification as
to why the City of Durham should not be assessed a civil penalty for the violation(s) that are summarized below:
Total Vol
Total Surface
Incident Start Duration Vol Water
Number Date (Mies) Location Cause (Gals) (Gals) DWR Action
202001767 6/2/2020 60 3811 Vair Street Debris in line 1,500 1,500 Notice of Violation
202001830 6/10/2020 131 822 E. NC 54 Other 3,275 3,275 Notice of Violation -
Notice of Intent
D 31

This Notice of Violation / Notice of Intent to Enforce (NOV/NOI) is being issued for the noted violation. 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.
This office requests that you respond to this Notice, in writing, within 10 business days of its
receipt. In your response, you should address the causes of non-compliance, remedial actions, and all other
actions taken to prevent the recurrence of similar situations. The response to this correspondence will be
considered in this process. Enforcement decisions will also be based on volume spilled, volume reaching surface
waters, duration. and gravity, impacts to public health, fish kills or recreational area closures. Other factors
considered in determining the amount of the civil penalty are the violator's history of non-compliance, the cost of
rectifying the damage, whether the spill was intentional and whether money was saved by non-compliance.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mitchell Hayes with the Water Quality Section in
the Raleigh �egional'Ofi'ice at 919-791-4200 or via email at [e-mail].
Sincerely,
Scott Vinson,'Regional Supervisor
0 Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Raleigh Regional Office
Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ
Cc; Raleigh Regional Office - WQS File
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