WQ0035784_Bypass Incident No. 202002577_20200911

Mitchell, Patrick
From:
Sent:
To:
Cc:
Subject:
Attachments:
Importance:
To whom this may concern,
Mitchell, Patrick
Friday, September 11, 2020 3:34 PM
'Brittany Winter'; 'Rose Hernandez'; 'david.smith@thecottagesofboo ne.com';
'[e-mail]'; 'Robert Barr'
Snider, Lon; Graznak, Jenny
Cottages of Boone Wastewater Irrigation System, Bypass Event (WQ0035784)
WQ0035784 Incident Report 202002577.pdf
High
On Thursday September 10, 2020, the Winston-Salem Regional Office became aware of a bypass spill event that
reportedly occurred at the subject facility. The details of this incident are unknown (e.g. start -stop time, cause, volume
of spill, surface water impacts, actions taken, etc.). There was no notification received from the Permittee or from the
designated representatives. This represents at least two violations of Permit No. WQ0035784, and potentially a third
violation if waste was discharged into surface waters.
As a reminder, Permit Condition III. 11. prohibits bypasses of untreated or partially treated wastes from the treatment
system. Also, Permit Condition IV. 13. requires that the Permittee shall report non -compliant occurrences by telephone
to the Winston-Salem 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.
Please provide a written response within five (5) days of receipt of this email. At minimum, please provide the
information required at the end of Page #3 of the attached Incident Report. If you have questions, please feel free to
contact Lon Snider or me.
Sincerely,
Patrick L. Mitchell, REHS, LSS
Soil Scientist
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Division of Water Resources
NC Department of Environmental Quality
Phone: [phone]
Mobile: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Winston-Salem Regional Office
450 W. Hanes Mill Road, Suite 300
Winston-Salem, NC 27105
`Nothing Compares

E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be
disclosed to third parties unless the content is exempt by statute or other regulation.

DWRIncident
Report
Division of Water Resources Report Number:
202002577
Incident Type :
Bypass
On -Site Contact
Category
Incident
First/Mid/Last Name: Danny D Holman
Incident Started :
09/09/2020
Company Name
Country :
Watauga
Phone
City:
Boone
Pager/Mobile Phone: /
Farm # :
Responsible Party
Owner:
Wallace Loft LLC
Reported By
Permit:
WQ0035784
First/Mid/Last Name: *Not reported as required
Facility :
The Cottages of Boone WWTP
Company Name
First Name :
Sean
Address
Middle Name:
Last Name:
Devine
City/State/Zip
Address:
2711 Centerville Rd
Phone
Ste 400
Page/Mobile Phone: /
City/State/Zip :
Wilmington DE 19808
Phone:
Material Category: Estimated City: UOM:
Chemical Name Reportable Qty.lbs. Reportable Qty.kgs.
*Unknown, not reported.
DD:MM:SS Decimal
Position Method
Latitude :
Position Accuracy
Longtitude :
Position Datum :
Location of Incident: EQ Tank, Cottages of Boone WWTP
Address
City/State/Zip : Boone
Report Created 9/11/20 10:49 am Page 1

Cause/Observation : Directions
Reportedly due to clogged pipe on EQ tank. Unknown volume
of bypass and unknown volume to surface waters.
No notification of the event was made to the Winston-Salem
Regional Office (WSRO) as required by Permit No.WQ0035784.
Action Taken :
WSRO staff notified facility that the Division is aware of the bypass
event, since no notification was received as required by Permit.
Request that a written report with details on the event be provided.
Incident Questions :
Did the Material reach the surface Water? Unknown
Surface Water Name ?
Did the Spill result in a Fish Kill? Unknown
If the Spill was from a storage tank indicate type
Containment? Unknown
Cleanup Complete? Unknown
Water Supply Wells within 1500ft : Unknown
Other (Please explain
in Part II)
Event Type
Report Entered
SSO 24-hr Reported start
Comments:
Facility did not notify WSRO of bypass spill event. It is unknown at
time of report entry what the volume of bypass or if it reached surface
waters. Will request this info be provided in 5 day response.
Conveyance:
Estimated Number of fish?
(Above Ground or Under Ground)
Groundwater Impacted :Unknown
Event Date Due Date Comment
2020/09/11 10:41:52
2020/09/09 * Unknown start time
Report Created 9/11/20 10:49 am Page 2

Standard Agencies Notified :
Agency Name Phone First Name M.I. Last Name
Contact Date
Other Agencies Notified :
Agency Name Phone First Name M.I. Last Name
DWQ Information :
Report Taken By: Report Entered By:
Patrick Mitchell Patrick Mitchell
Phone:
Date/Time: 2020/09/11 09:00:OOAM
Referred Via:
Did DWQ request an additional written report?
If yes, What additional information is needed?
2020/09/11 10:41:52AM
Yes
Contact Date
Regional Contact:
Patrick Mitchell
Start and stop time of bypass spill event. The total volume of sewage
that overflowed EQ tank. The volume of sewage that reached surface
waters. Written explanation of cause, any containment actions taken
and clean up actions conducted.
Report Created 9/11/20 10:49 am
Page 3

=IRPB SXems
Construction Services • Contract Operations • Maintenance
September 14, 2020
Mr. Patrick Mitchell
Water Quality Section
NCDWQ- WSRO
450 W. Hanes Mill Road, Suite 300
Winston-Salem, NC 27105
Re: Bypass Spill Event/Cottages of Boone/WQ0035784
Dear Mr. Mitchell,
This letter is in response to your email Friday, 9-11-20 concerning the Cottages of Boone
attached.
Per your outline requesting details of the event.
Cause: Since school semester and students staying in their apartments for virtual
education, we have experienced 10,000 to 15,000 more gallons per day to the WWTP and
have been inundated with toiletries, wipes, etc. We have had several loads of rags,
wipes, plastics removed from influent lift station and equalization chamber at WWTP.
Our operator, Dale Holman, has been monitoring the system nearly around the clock to
make sure there are no events that shut down system since we have had little time to stop
the system or clean membranes to keep up with the increase in flow. About 10:00am,
Saturday, August 29th, 2020, Dale noticed online that the screen room chamber level was
not changing and the equalization chamber rising.
Action Taken:
Dale went to the plant to troubleshoot and found the line from the equalization chamber
clogged with rags and attempted to unclog with a drain king. The drain king did not
withstand the pressure and blew apart covering Dale completely. Dale called a pump
truck to haul from the influent Lift Station and his backup operator to go to Lowes to
pick-up another drain king and enough pipe fittings if more action was required. The
equalization had not overflowed at that time. Dale called myself and I readied personnel
from Asheville if needed. While waiting on parts, Dale was able to free the clogged pipe.
The equalization overflowed for about 10-15 minutes and estimated less than 500 gallons
spilled to the ground. The spill stayed at the tank site and no water made its way to
surface waters.
Clean Up Action: Appalachian Pumping pumped 3 loads that Saturday afternoon from
the influent lift station of wipes, rags, and plastics. The owners had Triple T pump from
the equalization chamber top of same material the following week. We have ordered
enough pipe fittings to re -pipe the influent to eliminate some pipe bends. The Cottages
P.O. Box 1325 Asheville, N.C. 28802
(828)-251-1900 (828)-251-1945

Cottages of Boone/WQ0035784 9/14/20
staff have asked their users to not flush wipes and other material that should not be
flushed and have asked all to be water conscious to lower water usage.
Dale and I spoke about reporting the spill but did not think the volume required it. I
understand that the collection system rules are different from the permit and will report
any and all spills at the WWTP as required.
I trust this will clarify the event and feel free to contact me anytime if I need to provide
any further information or assistance.
Robert Barr
Cc: Client/files
Page 12

Mitchell, Patrick
From:
Sent:
To:
Cc:
Subject:
Y
Mitchell, Patrick
Thursday, September 17, 2020 8:34 AM
Robert Barr
Snider, Lon; Graznak, Jenny; Brittany Winter; Rose Hernandez; David Smith;
[e-mail]
RE: [External] RE: Cottages of Boone Wastewater Irrigation System, Bypass Event
(WQ0035784)
Thank you for the quick response. I would like to also thank Dale for his diligence in monitoring the system during these
periods of unusual flows and for quickly responding to this matter. After review of the written response provided, our
office has determined that no further actions are deemed necessary related to Incident Report No. 202002577 at this
time. Please be aware that future events with failure to notify our office of noncompliance may result in enforcement
actions.
Thanks,
Patrick
Patrick L. Mitchell, REHS, LSS
Soil Scientist
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Division of Water Resources
NC Department of Environmental Quality
Phone: [phone]
Mobile: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Winston-Salem Regional Office
450 W. Hanes Mill Road, Suite 300
Winston-Salem, NC 27105
-"Nothing Compares
E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be
disclosed to third parties unless the content is exempt by statute or other regulation.
From: Robert Barr <[e-mail]>
Sent: Monday, September 14, 2020 4:35 PM
To: Mitchell, Patrick <Patrick.Mitchel [e-mail]>
Cc: Snider, Lon <[e-mail]>; Graznak, Jenny <[e-mail]>; Brittany Winter
<[e-mail]>; Rose Hernandez <[e-mail]>; David Smith
<[e-mail]>; [e-mail]; Robert Barr <[e-mail]>
Subject: [External] RE: Cottages of Boone Wastewater Irrigation System, Bypass Event (WQ0035784)

emam"ernal email. Do not click links or open attachments unless you verify. Send all suspicious email as an attachment to
��m(@nc.gov
Patrick -see letter response to incident details per your request.
Let me know if you need any further information?
Bob Barr
Bab Barr
RPB Systems, Inc.
Construction & Contract Operati...
(a28) 251-1900 Off i €e
[phone] KIobile
rbarr arpbsystems.€om
P.O. Box 1325
Asheville, NC 29902
United States of America
www.rpbsystems.com
From: Mitchell, Patrick <Patrick.Mitchel [e-mail]>
Sent: Friday, September 11, 2020 3:34 PM
To: Brittany Winter <[e-mail]>; Rose Hernandez
<[e-mail]>; [e-mail]; [e-mail],
Robert Barr <[e-mail]>
Cc: Snider, Lon <[e-mail]>; Graznak, Jenny <[e-mail]>
Subject: Cottages of Boone Wastewater Irrigation System, Bypass Event (WQ0035784)
Importance: High
To whom this may concern,
On Thursday September 10, 2020, the Winston-Salem Regional Office became aware of a bypass spill event that
reportedly occurred at the subject facility. The details of this incident are unknown (e.g. start -stop time, cause, volume
of spill, surface water impacts, actions taken, etc.). There was no notification received from the Permittee or from the
designated representatives. This represents at least two violations of Permit No. WQ0035784, and potentially a third
violation if waste was discharged into surface waters.
As a reminder, Permit Condition III. 11. prohibits bypasses of untreated or partially treated wastes from the treatment
system. Also, Permit Condition IV. 13. requires that the Permittee shall report non -compliant occurrences by telephone
to the Winston-Salem 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.
Please provide a written response within five (5) days of receipt of this email. At minimum, please provide the
information required at the end of Page #3 of the attached Incident Report. If you have questions, please feel free to
contact Lon Snider or me.
Sincerely,
Patrick L. Mitchell, REHS, LSS
Soil Scientist

Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Division of Water Resources
NC Department of Environmental Quality
Phone: [phone]
Mobile: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Winston-Salem Regional Office
450 W. Hanes Mill Road, Suite 300
Winston-Salem, NC 27105
-- `2Vothiing Compares--,,
E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be
disclosed to third parties unless the content is exempt by statute or other regulation.