WQCS00160_NOV-2022-DV-0121 NOI_20220510

ROY COOPER
Governor
ELIZABETH S. BISER
Secretary
RICHARD E. ROGERS, JR.
Director
Certified Mail # 7019 1120 0001 5504 7131
Return Receipt Requested
Ryan Wilmoth
Town of Sparta
304 S Main St
Whitehead, NC 28675
NORTH CAROLINA
Environmental Quality
May 10, 2022
SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION & INTENT TO ISSUE CIVIL PENALTY
Tracking No.: NOV-2022-DV-0121
Sanitary Sewer Overflows - March 2022
Collection System Permit No. WQCS00160
Sparta Collection System
Alleghany County
Dear Permittee:
A review has been conducted of the self -reported Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSO's) 5-Day Report/s submitted by
Town of Sparta. The Division's Winston-Salem Regional Office concludes that the Town of Sparta violated Permit
Condition I (2) of Permit No. WQCS00160 by failing to effectively manage, maintain, and operate their collection
system so that there is no SSO (Sanitary Sewer Overflow) to the land or surface waters and the SSO constituted
making an outlet to waters of the State for purposes of G.S. 143-215.1(a)(1), for which a permit is required by
G.S. 143-215.1.
The Winston-Salem Regional Office is providing the Town of Sparta an opportunity to provide evidence and
justification as to why the Town of Sparta should not be assessed a civil penalty for the violation(s) that are
summarized below:
Incident Start Duration
Number Date (Mins) Location
Cause
Total Vol
Total Surface
Vol Water
(Gals) (Gals) DWR Action
202200442 3/11/2022 10,140 NC Highway 18 behind Other, Pipe Failure 500,000 Notice of Intent
Larry McCann's Car Lot (Break)
D_EQ )
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality i Division of Water Resources
Winston-Salem Regional Office 1450 West Hanes Mill Road. Suite 300 I Winston-Salem. North Carolina 27105
336.776.9500

This Notice of Violation / Notice of Intent to Enforce (NOV/NOI) is being issued for the noted violation. Pursuant
to G.S. 143-215.6A, a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) may be assessed
against any person who violates or fails to act in accordance with the terms, conditions, or requirements of any
permit issued pursuant to G.S. 143-215.1.
This office requests that you respond to this Notice, in writing, within 10 business days of its
receipt. In your response, you should address the causes of non-compliance, remedial actions, and all other
actions taken to prevent the recurrence of similar situations. The response to this correspondence will be
considered in this process. Enforcement decisions will also be based on volume spilled, volume reaching surface
waters, duration and gravity, impacts to public health, fish kills or recreational area closures. Other factors
considered in determining the amount of the civil penalty are the violator's history of non-compliance, the cost of
rectifying the damage, whether the spill was intentional and whether money was saved by non-compliance.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Ron Boone with the Water Quality Section in the
Winston-Salem Regional Office at 336-776-9800 or via email at [e-mail].
Cc: Laserfiche
ODE
Sincerely,
DocuSigned by:
I
on. 'T. JMkr
145B49E225C94EA...
Lon T. Snider, Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Winston-Salem Regional Office
Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources
Winston-Salem Regional Office 1450 West Hanes Mill Road. Suite 300 I Winston-Salem. North Carolina 27105
33b.776.9800