HomeMy WebLinkAboutNC0043176_Special Order by Consent_20220630NORTH CAROLINA
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION
COUNTY OF HARNETT
IN THE MATTER OF
NORTH CAROLINA
NPDES PERMIT NO. NC0043176
PERMIT NO. WQCS00073
)
) SPECIAL ORDER BY CONSENT
) EMC SOC WQ S17-002
)
)
HELD BY )
THE CITY OF DUNN )
Pursuant to provisions of North Carolina General Statute (G.S.) 143-215.2 and G.S. 143-215.67,
this Special Order by Consent is entered into by the City of Dunn, hereinafter referred to as the
City, 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 City and the Commission hereby stipulate the following:
(a) The City holds North Carolina NPDES Permit NC0043176 for operation of an existing
wastewater treatment works and for making an outlet therefrom for the discharge of 3.75
MGD treated wastewater to the Cape Fear River, Class WS-V waters of this State in the
Cape Fear River Basin.
Additionally, the City holds Permit Number WQCS00073 for Dunn Collection System,
which includes the operation and maintenance of approximately 88 miles of sewer line.
The City has had persistent issues with inflow and infiltration within this system, which
contributes to flow limit violations at the WWTP as well as Sanitary Sewer Overflows.
At the beginning of 2021, the Division conducted a review of the City's self -monitoring
data and Sanitary Sewer Overflow 5-day reports and determined that the facility was
unable to adequately treat the volume of wastewater it was receiving. The City of Dunn
WWTP was subsequently placed under a moratorium prohibiting the introduction of
additional wastewater in accordance with NCGS 143-215.67.
The City continues to be in noncompliance with permit conditions and limits for flow of
their NPDES Permit NC0043176. The City seeks additional flow allocations totaling
1.522 MGD while repairs and enhancements to the collection system are completed. The
City estimates that inflow and infiltration will be reduced by an equivalent or greater
amount as it completes construction on various infrastructure rehabilitation projects.
This SOC grants an initial allocation of 0.15 MGD upon execution of this agreement and
allows additional requested flow allocations to be granted in phases as sewer and WWTP
rehabilitation projects are completed (see 2(c)). If all projects are completed and
compliance with permit conditions and limits are achieved, the moratorium authorized
under NCGS 143-215.67 shall be lifted upon expiration of this SOC.
(b) Noncompliance with final effluent limitations constitutes, causing, and contributing to
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EMC SOC WQ S17-002
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pollution of the waters of this State named above, and the City is within the jurisdiction
of the Commission as set forth in G.S. Chapter 143, Article 21.
(c) The City has secured a grant or has otherwise secured financing for planning, design, and
construction/repairs of the following:
i. Sewer Rehabilitation Project — Golden Leaf — This project will replace or rehab
approximately 2,700 linear feet (10 of sewer line and 13 manholes.
ii. Sewer Rehabilitation Project — CDBG — This project will replace or rehabilitate
approximately:
(a) 2,0091f of sewer line and 8 manholes in West Barrington, N.
Fayetteville, N. King, N. Layton, N. Railroad, and N. Wilson.
(b) 7,1681f of sewer line and 29 manholes in the areas of Burke St, Carr
St, E. Cleveland, N. Clinton, Dubois Circle, E. Granville, and E.
Johnson.
(c) 4,448 if of sewer line and 17 manholes in E. Broad, E. Edgerton, E.
Harnett, N. Lee, McNeil Circle, N. Sampson, N. Washington, and
N.Wilmington
iii. Sewer Rehabilitation Project — USDA Phase 1 — This project will replace or rehabilitate
approximately 9,000 If of sewer line, 42 manholes, and 134 service connections.
iv. Sewer Rehabilitation Project — CWSRF — This project is a system -wide rehabilitation
that targets sewer system sub -basins with highest inflow and infiltration. The project will
see to the replacement and rehabilitation of approximately 26,775 if of sewer line and 50
manholes.
v. Sewer Relocations — NCDOT — NCDOT's 1-95 widening project will include
improvements to the collection system. This includes the replacement of approximately
8,3001f of gravity sewer, 14 service renewals, and 58 manholes with new infrastructure.
This project is not under the jurisdiction of the City, so it will not be included in the SOC
timeline. However, the City may be granted additional flow allocation upon completion
of this project by NCDOT (see 2(c)).
vi. WWTP Rehabilitation Project — CWSRF — This project will include the upgrade of
WWTP clarifiers, chlorine contact basins, and internal process piping to accommodate
higher peak flows through the WWTP. The project will increase hydraulic capacity and
improve clarification and disinfection.
vii. Eastside South FM & Machine Welding Outfall — This project will improve the Eastside
Pumping hydraulic capacity, re-route the Eastside force main, and direct flow to a new
outfall proposed from the Highway 301 corridor to the WWTP. The additional pumping
capacity will help eliminate overflows at the Eastside pumping station. The new force
main and outfall will remove a significant amount of flow from the existing Juniper
Creek Outfall, which has a history of overflows at MH BR-8 near the WWTP.
viii. Black River WWTP Effluent Conveyance System — The new effluent conveyance
system to the existing outfall will allow increased flow to be treated through the plant and
discharged during peak wet weather flow conditions. The additional pumping capacity
will help eliminate overflows at MH BR-8 near the WWTP.
(d) Since this Special Order is by Consent, neither party will file a petition for a contested
case or for judicial review concerning its terms.
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EMC SOC WQ S 17-002
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2. The City, desiring to comply with the Permit(s) identified in paragraph 1(a) above, hereby
agrees to do the following:
(a) Undertake the following activities in accordance with the indicated time schedule:
Scheduled Activity
Complete Construction
Golden Leaf— Sewer Rehabilitation
180 days after notice to
proceed
CDBG - Sewer Rehabilitation
365 days after notice to
proceed
USDA Phase 1 — Sewer Rehabilitation
330 days after notice to
proceed
CWSRF — Sewer Rehabilitation
365 days after notice to
proceed
CWSRF — WWTP Rehabilitation
550 days after notice to
proceed
Eastside South FM & Machine Welding Outfall
December 31, 2026
Black River WWTP Effluent Conveyance System
December 31, 2026
Achieve Compliance with Permit
December 31, 2026
(b) The City will submit quarterly progress reports detailing the work and activities undertaken and
completed on the upgrades to the collection system. The reports are to be submitted as follows:
one copy must be mailed to the Fayetteville Regional Office Supervisor, Division of Water
Resources / Water Quality Regional Operations Section, 225 Green Street, Suite 714,
Fayetteville, NC 28301-5095, and one copy must be mailed to the Water Quality
Permitting Section / NPDES, 1617 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1617. The
quarterly reports are due in each respective office no later than the fifteenth (15th) day of
January, April, July, and October for the duration of this Order.
(c) The City will comply with all terms and conditions of the permits. Upon completion of
each construction phase, the city will notify Fayetteville Regional Office of project
completion and will subsequently be granted flow allocation in accordance with the table
below. if project scopes outlined in 1 c) are significantly reduced, the City must
communicate changes to Fayetteville Regional Office in order to receive approval for flow
allocations:
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EMC SOC WQ S17-002
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Scheduled Activity
Flow allocation granted
upon completion:
Execution of Special Order by Consent by DWR
0.15 MGD
Completion of construction for Golden Leaf — Sewer
Rehabilitation
0.052 MGD
Completion of construction for CDBG - Sewer Rehabilitation
0.23 MGD
Completion of construction for USDA Phase 1 — Sewer
Rehabilitation
0.13 MGD
Completion of construction for both CWSRF — Sewer
Rehabilitation AND Black River WWTP Effluent conveyance
system
0.585 MGD
Completion of construction for NCDOT — Sewer Relocation
0.275 MGD
Completion of construction for CWSRF — WWTP Rehabilitation
0.1 MGD
TOTAL
1.522 MGD
(d) No later than fifteen (15) calendar days after any date identified for accomplishment of
any activity listed in 2(a) above, the City shall submit to the Water Quality Regional
Operations Section Regional Supervisor for the Division of Water Resources' (DWR)
Fayetteville Regional Office written notice of compliance or noncompliance therewith. In
the case of noncompliance, 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.
(e) The City will continue to operate the wastewater treatment plant as best as possible to
prevent/minimize any adverse impacts to the surface waters.
3. The City, desiring to comply with the Permits identified in paragraph 1(a) above, hereby
agrees to the following settlement of alleged violations, an upfront penalty, and stipulated
penalties:
(a) As settlement of all alleged violations and unsettled enforcement cases (LV-2021-0148,
LV-2021-0185, DV-2020-0136, DV-2021-0048, DV-2021-0084) prior to entering into
this Special Order of Consent, the City agrees to pay an upfront penalty of $15,063.69.
This settlement payment satisfies the Notice of Violation/Enforcements and any other
alleged violations that may have occurred prior to the established SOC effective date. A
certified check must be made payable to the Department of Environmental Quality and
forwarded to the Director of the Division of Water Resources at 1617 Mail Service
Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1617 by no later than fifteen days following the date of which
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EMC SOC WQ S17-002
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this Order is approved and executed by the Commission and received by the City of
Dunn.
(b) The City agrees that unless excused under paragraph four (4), the City 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 the
deadlines set out in paragraphs 2(a), 2(b), and 2(d); and interim effluent limits and
monitoring requirements set out in paragraph 2(c):
Violation Description
. Stipulated Penalty
For Collection System Permit:
Any Reportable Sanitary Sewer Overflow
< 1,000 gallons
• $500 /event
Any Reportable Sanitary Sewer Overflow
> 1,000 gallons and <1,000,000 gallons
• SSO occurrence # 1-3 per calendar year:
$1,000/event
• SSO occurrence # 4-6 per calendar year:
$2,000/event
• Every event thereafter: $3,000/event
Any reportable Sanitary Sewer Overflow
> 1,000,000
• $5,000/ event
For NPDES Permit NC0043176:
Failure to meet a scheduled date
• $100/day for the first 7 days
• $500/day thereafter
Failure to Submit Progress Reports by the
scheduled date
$500 for the first violation; penalty
doubles with each subsequent
assessment for late reports
Failure to achieve compliance with final
effluent limits
$10,000 (single penalty)
(c) Certified checks are to be made payable to the North Carolina Department of
Environmental Quality and forwarded to Director of DWR at 1617 Mail Service
Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1617.
4. The City and the Commission agree that the stipulated penalties are not due if the City
satisfies DWR that 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 permittee;
d. An extraordinary event beyond the permittee's control. Contractor delays or failure to
obtain funding will not be considered as events beyond the permittee's control; or
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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 an
action will be whether the thirty (30) days has elapsed.
5. Noncompliance with the terms of this Special Order by Consent is subject to enforcement
action in addition to the above stipulations, including injunctive relief pursuant to G.S. 143-
215.6.C.
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 limits contained therein issued in connection with NPDES Permit No.
NC0043176, and Collection System Permit No. WQCS00073. In the event of an NPDES
permit modification or renewal, any effluent limit or monitoring requirements contained
therein shall supersede those contained in this Special Order by Consent, except as modified
and contained in paragraph 2(c) above.
7. This Special Order by Consent may be amended provided the City has made good faith
efforts to secure funding, complete all construction and achieve compliance within the dates
specified.
S. During the term of this Special Order by Consent, the City will not be permitted to accept
additional wastewater from any domestic, industrial, or commercial sources without prior
approval from the Fayetteville Regional Supervisor and the Water Quality Permitting
Section. The flow allocations described in 2 (c) are pre -approved, pending satisfactory
completion of projects. The City must notify FRO of project completion prior to receiving
flow. The City must summarize all flow that has been accepted in their SOC quarterly reports
(required by 2 (b)) and maintain records available upon request for all flow accepted.
9. Failure to meet the scheduled date identified in paragraph 2(a) may terminate this Special
Order by Consent and require the City to comply with the terms and conditions contained in
the permits identified in paragraph 1(a).
10. The City, upon signature of this Special Order by Consent, will be expected to comply with
all schedule dates, terms, and conditions of this document.
This Special Order by Consent shall expire March 31, 2027.
For the City of Dunn:
City of Dunn — Dunn WWTP
EMC SOC WQ S17-002
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214rR 26zz
tteven Neuschafer, City Manager Date
City of Dunn
For the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission:
Richard E. Rogers, Jr., Di or
Division of Water Resources
Date