WQ0003090_SOC (issuance)_20210104

NORTH CAROLINA
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION
COUNTY OF RANDOLPH
IN THE MATTER OF )
NORTH CAROLINA )
PERMITS )
WQ0003090 & WQCS00280 )
HELD BY THE )
TOWN OF LIBERTY )
SPECIAL ORDER BY CONSENT
EMC SOC WQ S19-011
Pursuant to provisions of North Carolina General Statutes (G.S.) 143-215.2 and 143-215.67, this
Special Order by Consent is entered into by the Town of Liberty, hereinafter referred to as the
Town, and the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission, an agency of the State of
North Carolina created by G.S. 143B-282, and hereinafter referred to as the Commission:
1. The Town of Liberty and the Commission hereby stipulate the following:
(a) The Town holds North Carolina non -discharge permit number WQCS00280, for
management and operation of an existing wastewater collection system but is unable to
consistently comply with sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) prohibitions stipulated in
Condition I.2. of the permit, due primarily to the introduction of large volumes of
extraneous flow resulting from inflow and infiltration (I&I) throughout the collection
system. The Town reported 82 SSOs during the time period January 2018 through
September 2020, with some volume of untreated wastewater reaching unnamed
tributaries to the Rocky River, which are classified WS-III (water supply) waters of the
state within the Cape Fear River Basin, during the vast majority of those incidents.
(b) The Town holds North Carolina non -discharge permit number WQ0003090, for the
management and operation of an existing non -discharge wastewater treatment facility
(WWTF) which employs wastewater irrigation for final disposal of the treated
wastewater. Due to high flows that reach the WWTF resulting from I&I to the collection
system, the WWTF periodically receives flows in excess of the volumes it can manage
and contain, resulting in 14 bypasses of nontreated or undertreated wastewater from
treatment units within treatment system during the time period January 2018 through
September 2020. Portions of the volumes spilled have entered the North Prong Rocky
River, which is currently classified a WS-III (water supply) water of the state within the
Cape Fear River Basin.
(c) A list of recent SSOs from the Town of Liberty collection system and unpermitted
bypasses of wastewater from the Town of Liberty WWTF is included in Attachment A
to this Special Order.

EMC SOC WQ S 19-011
Town of Liberty
p. 2
(d) The unpermitted discharges of untreated and/or undertreated wastewater from the
Town's treatment system to surface waters constitutes causing and contributing to the
pollution of the waters of this State, named above, and the Town is within the
jurisdiction of the Commission as set forth in G.S. Chapter 143, Article 21.
(e) The Town has recently completed a study of its collection system that has identified and
categorized sources of I&I, and established a priority list of actions (repair, rehabilitation
and/or replacement of collection system infrastructure) the Town shall undertake to
reduce volumes of I&I.
(f) The Town has secured, through grants and funding, financing for planning, designing,
and improving the wastewater collection system which, once complete and properly
operated, will be sufficient to adequately convey all wastewater collected throughout the
Town to the WWTF, and reduce to the greatest practical extent the I&I flow it currently
receives. A listing of funding sources and projects for the Town's collection system
improvements is included in Attachment B to this Special Order.
(g) Since this Special Order is by Consent, neither party will file a petition for a contested
case or for judicial review concerning its terms.
2. The Town, desiring to comply with the permits identified in paragraph 1(a) and 1(b) above,
hereby agrees to do the following:
(a) Undertake the following activities in accordance with the indicated time schedule:
(1) Provide the Winston-Salem Regional Office with quarterly progress reports
regarding improvements being made to collection system infrastructure. Reports
are due within 30 days following the end of each calendar quarter. The first
report is due April 30, 2021 for the January through March (111) quarter and shall
continue to be submitted throughout the life of this Special Order.
(2) On or before January 1, 2021, the Town shall commence construction on the
project funded by the $493,778 GLF, which was awarded in December 2019. This
project targets repair of six of the worse defects identified through the Town's I&I
study and calls for rehabilitation of approximately 3,231 linear feet of sewer main
repair or replacement of all manholes and laterals within these system areas.
(3) On or before April 30, 2021, the Town shall begin execution of the $2,000,000
CDBG-funded project, which was awarded in March 2019. This project includes
replacement and/or rehabilitation of —15,900 linear feet of 8" vitrified clay sewer
lines, 72 brick -constructed manholes and related appurtenances, and 150 lateral
line replacements, in the southwest quadrant of the Town.
(4) On or before August 1, 2022, the Town shall begin execution of the Additional
Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (ASADRA) project
loan of $3,000,000, which was approved in August 2020. This project includes
the relocation of the Starmount lift station that is in a 100 year floodplain, the

EMC SOC WQ S 19-011
Town of Liberty
p. 3
rehabilitation of the Kinro Road lift station, the rehabilitation of 8,000 linear feet
of sewer line, and CCTV of 18,000 linear feet of sewer line.
(5) On or before June 1, 2021, the Town shall complete the GLF grant -funded
rehabilitation and repair project noted in 2 (b)(2) above.
(6) On or before July 29, 2022, the Town shall complete the CDBG-funded project
noted in 2 (b)(3) above.
(7) On or before September 30, 2023, the Town shall complete the ASADRA-
funded project noted in 2 (b)(4) above.
(b) No later than fifteen 15 calendar days after any date identified for accom ilishment of
any ctivity listed in 2(b) above, the Town shall submit to the Director of DWR written
notice of compliance or noncompliance therewith. In the case of noncommpliance the
notice shall include a statement of the reason(s) for noncompliance, remedial action(s)
taken, and a statement identifying, the extent to which subsequent dates or times for
accomplishment of listed activities may be affected.
3. The Town, desiring to comply with the Permits identified in paragraph 1(a) above, hereby
agrees to the following settlement of outstanding civil penalties, an upfront penalty, and
stipulated penalties:
(a) The Town has outstanding civil penalty assessments that total $49,250. As settlement of
all alleged violations of non -discharge permit number WQCS00280 and non -discharge
permit number WQ0003090 prior to entering into this Special Order by Consent, the
Town agrees to pay an upfront penalty amount of $1,477.50, with the remaining amount
of $47,772.5110 to be held in abeyance until the successful completion of this SOC.
(b) At the successful conclusion of this Special Order by Consent, the penalty amount held
in abeyance ($47,772.5 ❑ 0) will be remitted. Should the Special Order by Consent not
reach a successful conclusion, the full remaining penalty amount will be due
immediately by check payable to the North Carolina Department of Environmental
Quality and forwarded to the Director.
(c) The Town agrees that unless excused under paragraph four (4), the Town will pay the
Director of DWR, by check payable to the North Carolina Department of Environmental
Quality, stipulated penalties according to the following schedule for failure to meet
deadlines set out in paragraph 2(a) and for SSOs and bypasses that discharge to surface
waters as described here:

EMC SOC WQ S 19-011
Town of Liberty
p. 4
Violation Description
Stipulated Penalty
• $250 per SSO greater than 1,000 gallons
and less than 100,000 gallons (to be paid
Any reportable Sanitary Sewer Overflow
on a monthly basis)
(SSO) WQCS00280
• $500 per SSO greater than 100,001
gallons (to be paid on a monthly basis)
• $250 per bypass greater than 1,000
gallons and less than 100,000 gallons (to
And reportable bypass WQ0003090
be paid on a monthly basis)
• $500 per bypass greater than 100,001
gallons to be paid on a monthly basis)
Failure to meet a schedule date
$100.00/day for the first 7 days,
$500.00/day thereafter
Failure to submit progress reports by
$1,000.00/report
schedule date
Failure to complete any project as
$1,000.00/project
described in this Special Order
(d) Checks are to be made payable to the North Carolina Department of Environmental
Quality and forwarded to the Director of DWR at 1617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh,
North Carolina 27699-1617.
4. The Town and the Commission agree stipulated penalties are not due if the Town satisfies
the Division of Water Resources noncompliance was caused solely by:
(a) An act of God;
(b) An act of war;
(c) An intentional act or omission of a third party, but this defense shall not be available if
the act or omission is that of an employee or agent of the defendant or if the act or
omission occurs in connection with a contractual relationship with the Town;
(d) An extraordinary event beyond the Town's control. Contractor delays or failure to
obtain funding will not be considered as events beyond the Town's control; or
(e) Any combination of the above causes.
Failure within thirty (30) days of receipt of written demand to pay the penalties or challenge
them by a contested case petition pursuant to G.S. 150B-23, will be grounds for a collection
action, which the Attorney General is hereby authorized to initiate. The only issue in such

EMC SOC WQ S 19-011
Town of Liberty
p. 5
an action will be whether the thirty (30) days has elapsed.
5. In accordance with the provisions of G.S. 143-215.67(b) the Commission allows the Town to
accept 0.0 MGD of additional wastewater (via permitted sewer extensions) to its waste
treatment system while improvements to the collection system are being made.
The nature of the additional flows is such that the waste characteristics do not exceed those
generally associated with domestic waste or are pretreated to domestic strengths. Waste of
greater than normal domestic strength may be accepted if it can be demonstrated to the
satisfaction of the Director the additional waste will not adversely affect the treatment
efficiency of the treatment system or result in the violation of any permit limitation. All new
and proposed industrial waste tributary to the system must be controlled using all needed
mechanisms including but not limited to adoption and implementation of industrial waste
control and pretreatment ordinances. No wastewater can be accepted that will add toxic
pollutants in quantities not generally associated with domestic wastewater characteristics
unless the acceptance of the additional wastewater can be supported through appropriate
analyses acceptable to the Director.
6. This Special Order by Consent and any terms or conditions contained herein, hereby
supersede any and all previous Special Orders, Enforcement Compliance Schedule Letters,
terms, conditions and limitations contained therein issued in connection with permits
WQ0003090 and WQCS00280.
7. Any violation of the terms of this Special Order by Consent may terminate paragraph five
(5) of this Order, and any authorized additional waste not previously connected to the
system shall not thereafter be connected until the necessary sewer collection system
improvements have been completed and placed in operation.
8. Noncompliance with the terms of this Special Order by Consent are subject to enforcement
action in addition to the above stipulated penalties, including injunctive relief pursuant to
G.S. 143-215.6.(C).
9. This Special Order may be modified at the Commission's discretion, provided the
Commission is satisfied that the Town has made good faith efforts to secure funding,
complete all construction, and achieve compliance within the dates specified.
10. Failure to pay the up -front penalty described in paragraph 3.(a) within thirty (30) days of the
execution of this Special Order may terminate this Special Order and require the Town to
comply with all terms and conditions contained in non -discharge permits WQ0003090 and
WQCS00280.
11. This Special Order shall become effective in accordance with state law; however, the Town,
upon signature of this Special Order by Consent, will be expected to comply with all
schedule dates, terms, and conditions within this document.
12. This Special Order by Consent shall expire December 31, 2023.

EMC SOC WQ S19-011
Town of Liberty
p. 6
FOR THE TOWN OF LIBERTY
4''kv- Date
William Doerfer
Town Manager
FOR THE NORTH CAROLINA ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION:
S Date
1 /4/2021
S. Daniel Smith
Director, Division of Water Resources

EMC SOC WQ S19-011
ATTACHMENT A
Unauthorized Releases of Wastewater from
Town of Liberty WWTF (Permit WQ0003090)
Start Date Location
Total Volume
Released (gal)
Volume Reaching
Surface Waters
al
1/28/2018
Kinro Rd Manhole
600
600
2/4/2018
Kinro Road
205
205
8/6/2018
Kinro Lift Station
4,260
1,800
9/4/2018
Newberry outfall
600
600
9/16/2018
W Kime Ave
10,500
10,500
9/16/2018
W Kime Ave Pump Station
10,500
10,500
9/16/2018
Johnson Lift Station - W. Moffitt Rd
28,560
28,560
9/16/2018
Starmount Ave Outfall
25,500
25,500
9/17/2018
E Brookwood Ave
2,400
2,400
9/17/2018
E Brookwood Ave
2,400
2,400
9/17/2018
E Butler Ave
1,800
9/16/2018
Kinro Rd
13,680
13,680
9/16/2018
E Lowe Ave
21,600
21,600
10/11/201
8
Kinro Rd., Liberty
900
900
11/5/2018
W Kime Ave Lift Station
1,200
1,200
11/5/2018
W Kime Ave Manhole
1,200
1,200
11/5/2018
Kinro Rd
1,200
1,200
11/5/2018
Johnson Lift Station - 616 W Moffitt Ave
1,200
1,200
11/5/2018
Starmount Ave
2,400
2,400
11/5/2018
E Lowe Ave
900
900
11/12/201
8
Starmount Ave Outfall Line
4,800
4,800
11/12/201
8
Johnson Street Lift Station
1,350
1,350
11/12/201
8
West Kime Ave
3,780
3,780
11/12/201
8
West Kime Ave Lift Station
4,830
4,830
11/12/201
8
East Lowe Ave
8,400
8,400
11/12/201
8
Kinro Road
4,800
4,800
11/15/201
8
Starmount Ave Outfall
3,600
3,600
11/15/201
8
E Lowe Ave
720
720
11/15/201
8
Kinro Rd
1,560
1,560
12/14/201
8
Kinro Rd
4,200
4,200
12/20/201
8
Kinro Road
12,000
12,000
12/20/201
8
West Kime
2,160
2,160
12/20/201
West Kime Lift Station
4,050
4,050

EMC SOC WQ S19-011
ATTACHMENT A
Unauthorized Releases of Wastewater from
Town of Liberty Collection System (Permit WOCSOORO)
8
12/20/201
8
East Lowe Avenue
7,500
7,500
12/28/201
8
West Kime Ave
600
600
12/28/201
8
E Lowe Ave
975
975
12/28/201
8
Kinro Rd
2,880
2,880
12128/201
8
Kime Ave Lift Station
600
600
1/24/2019
Kinro Rd
1,500
1,500
2/18/2019
Kinro Rd
1,200
1,200
2/23/2019
Kinro Road
2,700
3/21/2019
Kinro Rd
1,800
1,800
Start Date
Location
Total Volume
Released (gal)
Volume
Reaching
Surface Waters
al
4/12/2019
West Kime Avenue
1,650
1,650
4/1212019
Kinro Road
2,160
2,160
4/1312019
West Kime Avenue
4,680
4,680
4/13/2019
Kinro Road
11,040
11,040
4/13/2019
Starmount Outfall Line
2,880
2,880
4/13/2019
Johnson Lift Station
675
0
5/29/2019
South Greensboro St
850
850
1/3/2020
W Kimes Ave MH
2,700
2,700
1/3/2020
W. Kime Ave LS
2,700
2,700
1/3/2020
Kinro Rd
1,200
1,200
1/24/2020
Kinro Rd
5,490
5,490
1/24/2020
West Kime Ave
6,600
6,600
1/24/2020
Johnson Lift Station
4,725
4,725
1/24/2020
Starmount Ave Outfall
4,005
4,005
1/24/2020
W. Kime Ave LS
3,000
3,000
2/6/2020
Johnson Lift Station
14,850
14,850
2/6/2020
Kime Street Lft Station 516 West Kime Street
6,480
6,480
2/6/2020
Kime Street Lift Station 516 West Kime Street
1,680
1,680
2/6/2020
West Kime Street
6,600
6,600
2/6/2020
West Kime Street
1,680
1,680
2/6/2020
Kinro Road
3,000
3,000
2/7/2020
Kinro Road
2,340
2,340
4/30/2020
West Kime Avenue
2,850
2,850
4/30/2020
West Kime Avenue Lift Station
2,850
2,850
4/30/2020
Kinro Road
780
780
p. 2

EMC SOC WQ S19-011
ATTACHMENT A
Unauthorized Releases of Wastewater from
Town of Liberry Collection System (Permit WOCS00280)
4/30/2020
Johnson Lift Station
1,800
1,800
5/21/2020
E Lowe Ave #506A
1,800
1,800
5/21/2020
W Kime Ave LS #400
4,200
4,200
5/21/2020
W Kime Ave. #401
4,200
4,200
5/21/2020
Johnson LS
6,600
6,600
5/21/2020
Kinro Rd
6,300
6,300
6/11/2020
Kinro Road
2,400
2,400
6/11/2020
West Kime Avenue Lift Station
1,200
1,200
6/11/2020
West Kime Avenue
1,200
1,200
6/11/2020
Johnson Lift Station
6,000
6,000
8/03/2020
W Kime Ave LS
1,800
1,800
8/03/2020
West Kime Ave
1,800
1,800
8/04/2020
Kinro Rd MH500-B
1,200
1,200
9/11/2020
West Kime Ave
900
900
9/19/2020
South Greensboro St
600
400
p. 3

EMC SOC WQ S19-011
ATTACHMENT A
Unauthorized Releases of Wastewater from
Town of Liberty Collection System (Permit WQCS00280)
Date
Estimated
Estimated
Wastewater
Volume of
Volume
Release
Location of Release
Release
Reaching
Began
(gal)
� Surface Waters
mealy
0
1/30/2018
Pump Station between the bar screen
400
and treatment lagoon
9/17/2018
Pump Station between the bar screen
342
0
and treatment lagoon
4/13/2019
Chlorine Contact Chamber
180,000
180,000
4/1412019
Pump Station between the bar screen
4,500
0
and treatment lagoon
1/03/2020
Chlorine Contact Chamber
3,600
3,600
2/05/2020
Pump Station between the bar screen
400
0
and treatment lagoon
2/06/2020
Pump Station between the bar screen
400
0
and treatment lagoon
2/06/2020
Chlorine Contact Chamber
10,000
10,000
2/06/2020
Pump Station between the bar screen
200
0
and treatment lagoon.
2/06/2020
Pump Station between the bar screen
200
0
and treatment lagoon.
2/07/2020
Pump Station between the bar screen
6,400
0
and treatment lagoon
2/21/2020
Chlorine Contact Chamber
996,000
996,000
5/26/2020
Chlorine Contact Chamber
348,000
348,000
6/17/2020
Chlorine Contact Chamber
1,837,500
1,837,500
8/17/2020
Pump Station between bar screen
1,200
0
and treatment lagoon
8/17/2020
Chlorine Contact Chamber
360,000
20,000
360,000
0
9/11/2020
Pump Station between bar screen
and treatment lagoon
9/17/2020
Pump Station between bar screen
12,000
0
and treatment lagoon
9/18/2020
Chlorine Contact Chamber
454,400
454,400
p. 4

EMC SOC WQ S19-011
ATTACHMENT B
Secured Funding Sources
Town of Liberty Collection System (Permit WQCS00280)
Secured Fundine Sources
Source
Golden Leaf Foundation (GLF)
Amount
$493,778
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for Infrastructure 1 $2,000,000
ASADRA - Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster $3,000,000
Relief Act of 2019