NC0086550_Pretreatment Review_20101209

.AVA.
NCDENR
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Division of Water Quality
Beverly Eaves Perdue Coleen H. Sullins Dee Freeman
Governor Director Secretary
December 9, 2010
Mr. H. Blake Proctor
Town Manager
Town of Fairmont
PO Box 248
Fairmont, NC 28340
Subject: Pretreatment Review of Industrial .User (IU), Robeson County Landfill, as
a Significant Industrial User (SIU)
Town of Fairmont
NPDES Permit # NC0086550
Robeson County
Dear Mr. Proctor,
Thank you for your October 26, 2010 response letter to my October 7, 2010
inquiry letter. Dana Folley (Pretreatment, Emergency Response, and Collection Systems
Unit [PERCS]) and I have reviewed your letter, and we agree with you that the Robeson
County Landfill did not meet the definition of Significant Industrial User based upon 5%
MARL and the discharge volume of less than 25,000 GPD. We also agree with your
intention to sample the Robeson County Landfill leachate Pump & Haul on a monthly
basis. On the other hand, we strongly encourage you to issue a local permit to this IU
rather than only have a written contract; a permit gives the Town access to its full
enforcement authority under the Sewer Use Ordinance (SUO). Otherwise, the authority
could be limited if there were only a written contract.
Our October 7, 2010 letter required the Town to provide documentation of their
evaluation of this new IU that was conducted prior to commencement of discharge to
determine if there was a potential to adversely impact the WWTP as required by Part IV,
Sections B, C, and D2 of Fairmont's NPDES permit (also see the PERCS' Pretreatment
Review of Industrial Waste Survey letter to Fairmont, dated September 3, 2010); The
required documentation included the written request from the Landfill (volume and
character of all pollutants reasonably expected to be present), the Town's technical
evaluation of the potential to harm, the evaluation of the SIU status versus non-SIU
status, and the Town's written permission for the Landfill to discharge. [The Division
notes that this required evaluation could have been done easily, as the Landfill had data
from their discharge to Lumberton.] Since your response did not provide any discussion
of these activities, the Division assumes that no such prior evaluation was conducted.
Furthermore, no sampling was done of the discharge to Fairmont until three months after
225 Green St., Suite 714, Fayetteville; NC 28301-5043
Phone: [phone] FAX: [phone] Customer Service: 1-877-623-6748
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An Equa Opportunity ''e Affirmative Action Ernployer

Mr. Proctor
December 9, 2010
Page 2
the discharge began. Failure to perform and document the appropriate prior evaluations
of any new or changed IU in the future may result in'enforcement action by this office.
We understand that you do not attribute the leachate as a contributor to the August
2010 Whole Effluent Toxicity failure based upon your review of the operational status of
the Wastewater Treatment Plant and upon the DMR data for the month of August. We
encourage you to remain vigilant for a potential toxicant, because the August 2010 Whole
Effluent Toxicity Meritech report indicated a significant reduction in the number of
young produced as compared to the controls, there were many still -born neonates and
sickly adults in the 2.2% test concentration, and, there was one adult Ceriodaphnia that
• died during the test.
cc:
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at [phone].
Sincerely,.
Dale Lopez
Environmental Specialist
Nadine Blackwell, United Water
Dana Folley, PERCS = Pretreatment
FRO files