460003_NOD-2021-PC-0004_20210114

ROY COOPER
Governor
MICHAEL S. REGAN
Secretary
S. DANI£L SMITH
Director
Mr. Donald S. Merritt Jr.
DBA Merritt Farms
2726 NC 45S
Colerain, North Carolina 27942
NORTH CAROLINA
Environmental Quality
January 14, 2021
Subject: Notice of Deficiency - Freeboard Level
DBA Merritt Farms 946-03
AWS460003
Hertford County
NOD-2021-PC-0004
Dear Mr. Merritt:
Thank you for your recent call regarding the freeboard levels at your facilities. On January 4,
2021 during a telephone conversation with staff of the NC Division of Water Resources (DWR),
you reported a high freeboard level (16 inches) in the primary lagoon.
As a result of this incident, you are hereby notified that, having been permitted to have a non -
discharge permit for the subject animal waste disposal system pursuant to 15A NCAC 2T
Section .1300, you have been found to have insufficient freeboard in accordance with
the facility's Certified Animal Waste Management Plan and the NC Swine Waste Management
System General Permit No. AWG100000 that you are covered to operate under.
Deficiency 1:
Failure to maintain waste level in your lagoon/storage pond in accordance with the facility's
Certified Animal Waste Management Plan in Accordance with Condition V.2. of Swine Waste
Management System General Permit No. AWG100000.
On January 4, 2021 a lagoon/storage pond level was documented at 16 inches of freeboard at the
primary lagoon. A level of 19 inches is the maximum level allowed by your permit and Certified
Animal Waste Management Plan.
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources
Washington Regional Office 1 943 Washington Square Mall I Washington, North Carolina 27889
N11H fH (:A�i(1!.INA �
0­O,toreWM—talQ"I 252.946.6481

Corrective Action for Deficiency 1:
A 30-day Plan of Action was submitted on January 5, 2021. Take all necessary additional steps
to insure lagoon levels remain in compliance with Section 2 of your permit.
You are required to take any necessary action to address the above violation. You are
required to provide a written response to this Notice, including any additional information
that you wish to provide related to this incident that you wish for the Division to consider,
within 30 days of receipt of this letter. Please include in your response all corrective actions
already taken and a schedule for completion of any corrective actions not addressed.
Please continue work to ensure that your facility is managed in a way to maintain compliance
with permit and animal waste management plan requirements. Failure to comply with conditions
in a permit may result in a recommendation of enforcement action, to the Director of the
Division of Water Resource who may issue a civil penalty assessment of not more that twenty-
five thousand ($25,000) dollars against any "person" who violates or fails to act in accordance
with the terms, conditions, or requirements of a permit under authority of G.S. 143-215.6A. To
minimize the potential for any possible future compliance matters attributable to prolonged wet
weather conditions, you may wish to review your animal waste management system design, as
well as the waste plan itself, for any potentially beneficial modifications and/or improvements.
If you have any questions concerning this letter, please contact me at [phone].
Sincerely,
paw-j "
David May, L.G., Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Division of Water Resources
Washington Regional Office
cc: DWR-WQROS-CAFO Unit -Central Office
Hertford County Soil and Water Conservation District
NCDSWC - WaRO