NCS000408_Graham CITYS AUDIT RESPONSE LETTER_20211112

CITY OF GRAHAM
I P.O. DRAWER 357
201 SOUTH MAIN ST.
R H GRAHAM, NC 27253
PHONE [phone]
FAX [phone]
November 12, 2021
Mr. Aaron Holland
Interim City Manager
City of Graham
201 South Main Street
Graham, NC 27253
Subject: MS4 Stormwater Program Audit Report
Response to Audit
Dear Mr. Holland,
As you are aware, NC DEQ's Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources (DEMLR)
conducted an audit of the City's Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) on October 6th
and 7th, 2021. The audit was conducted by DEMLR staff from the Winston Salem Regional
Office and included a zoom audit review of program implementation and one day of field visits
in order to determine the City's compliance with its NPDES Phase 2 MS4 stormwater permit and
comprehensive stormwater management plan (CSWMP). The audit was the second time that the
City has been audited with the most recent audit being completed in March 2014. The previous
audit did not involve identification of any deficiencies. The City was also praised by EPA and
DEQ for it's stormwater program during creation and implementation of the Little Alamance
Creek Category 4b program creation. The Little Alamance Creek program is built upon the basis
of the City's MS4 stormwater program.
The City received its audit report from DEMLR on October 15th, 2021. The audit report included
a Notice of Deficiency (NOD) based upon minor deficiencies identified in the audit report. After
a review of the audit report and NOD, we concur that there are improvements that can be made
to the City of Graham's stormwater program. However, there are several identified deficiencies
in the report that we believe are incorrectly noted, outside the purview of the audit/permit, or
directly related to the City's previously approved annual reports. The following is a review of
these concerns as well as changes that the City needs to address in the near future:
Items of Concern from the Audit:
The City submits an annual report summarizing the status of the stormwater program.
This narrative style report is intended for use by NC DEMLR for evaluation of the City's
program, but it also serves to inform elected officials, staff, and citizens of Graham. We
use the same report format for several communities as it has been successful in outlining
the programs while providing requested information to those stakeholders. The City's
report is submitted every year in accordance with DEMLR requirements and receipt of
this report is confirmed each year through email by DEMLR. The annual report will be
revised as requested but it is difficult to understand how this is a noted deficiency when it
City of Orabam
City of Cnaham City Engineer: Josh Johnson, P.E. Email: isiohnson[7a,awck.com
City Phone Number: [phone] Alley, Williams, Carmen, and King, Inc. Phone Number: [phone]

City of Graham
MS4 Stormwater Audit Response
Page 2
November 12, 2021
was not noted in the previous audit nor in the approval of the annual report in 2019. It is
also unclear as to how the auditors questioned if the audit report was submitted to DEQ.
2. The auditors commented on the City's sanitary sewer overflows in the audit report and
during the audit. While we included collection system improvements within the Little
Alamance Creek program, the City's collection system is not subject to the City's MS4
program and is regulated through a separate collection system permit. This appears to be
outside of the MS4 Auditors purview.
3. The audit report's section on Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination (IDDE) includes
several areas that appear incorrect based upon the audit and the documents provided for
the audit. In particular:
a. The audit notes that the outfall map does not who major outfalls or not but it was
reviewed during audit electronically and noted that each outfall is classified in
GIS based upon size and land usage. As you are aware, the City has worked fairly
hard to improve its GIS updating process and it's unclear how the auditors got this
impression.
b. The audit report notes that "dedicated procedures for investigating illicit
discharges, specific to the permittee, were not located." The auditors may have
missed this, but the IDDE program includes very specific IDDE procedures and
these were provided to the auditors. This item was directly addressed verbally in
the process for how IDDE reports are handled during the audit.
4. The audit reports section on Post Construction Site Runoff Controls notes that the City
implements a Neuse River Basin NSW. However, the City of Graham is not in the Neuse
River Basin but rather the Cape Fear River Basin. The City's NSW program is directly
affected by the legislative actions regarding the Jordan Lake Rules. The City's Jordan
Lake Stage 1 and Riparian Buffer programs were briefly touched on during the audit as
well as in the annual report and the new development stormwater overviews.
5. The audit report suggests improvements to the City's documentation of logging of
reviews and inspections for new development projects, but no suggestions are made on
how to do this. The City's process of including stormwater within the TRC process was
well documented during the review process as well as the plans that triggered the
stormwater ordinance. It is unclear how the auditors think this could be improved.
6. At the Graham Wastewater Treatment Plant, the auditors appear to have misunderstood
that the site has never had a NC DEQ stormwater compliance inspection. The site has
been visited regularly for City of Graham stormwater compliance visits.
Response Actions:
1. Respond to DEMLR noting these concerns and that the City plans to comply with the
audit findings (outside of some of those items noted above).
2. Conduct a self -audit of the City's Public Education and Outreach and Public Involvement
programs.
3. Develop a draft Stormwater Management Plan (updated CSWMP).
4. Submit a new permit application after approval of the draft SWMP (above).
5. Improvements to the Annual Report addressing issues noted.
City of grabam
City of Graham City Engineer: Josh Johnson, P.E. Email: isiohnson(aawck.com
City Phone Number: [phone] Alley, Williams, Carmen, and King, Inc. Phone Number: [phone]

City of Graham
MS4 Stormwater Audit Response
Page 3
November 12, 2021
6. Implementing a written agreement with Stormwater Smart for public education
assistance.
7. Update the City's facility O&M plans. This includes revising the Stormwater Prevention
Plans for Public Works and for the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
8. Create specific tracking mechanism for O&M site inspections.
In reviewing the audit report and the audit process, the auditors had several worthy suggestions
to make the City's stormwater program better. A better program will benefit the citizens of the
City by improving water quality but I believe after reviewing the audit report that the report is
overly hard in its assessment of the program and that there were several items that were
overstated or misstated.
As always, it is our pleasure to work with the City of Graham and if you would like to discuss
any of the above items, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Josh Johnson, P.E.
City Engineer (contracted)
(City of Orabam
City of Graham City Engineer: Josh Johnson, P.E. Email: isiohnson(aawck.com
City Phone Number: [phone] Alley, Williams, Carmen, and King, Inc. Phone Number: [phone]