WQCS00370_Follow up letter for Notice of Violation_20221116

Mayor
Robert Williams
Mayor Pro-Tem
David Pride
Town Administrator
Pauline Armstrong
TRI-COUNTY HOSPITALITY EST. 1883
Commissioners
Linda Virgil
Don Patel
Beverly Davis
Michael Hughes
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
Water Quality Regional Operations Section, Raleigh Regional Office
RE: Vanessa E. Manuel, Assistant Regional Supervisor
3800 Barrett Drive
Raleigh, NC 27609
November 16, 2022
RE: Follow up letter for Notice of Violation- Notice of Intent to Enforce from Town of Sharpsburg, NC -
Permit # WQCS00370
Mrs. Goss,
As a follow-up to the notice of violation letter dated October 18, 2022, sent to Mayor Robert Williams,
electronically, I want to formally acknowledge receipt of the letter. It is our goal to comply with all of the
requirements for the operation of our wastewater collection system. As the correspondence was sent to the
Mayor, please ensure that correspondences regarding wastewater and or public water are always sent to the
Town Administrator and our Public Works department to ensure there is no delay in responding, this includes
notices for compliance inspections in the future. Town Administrator's email is
[e-mail] and PW Director's email is [e-mail]. We intend to
fully comply with all the permit requirements and all the required components in order to effectively operate
a wastewater system. As part of this response, we have provided electronic copies of the required
attachments. Should you require any additional information and need further clarification on an item,
please contact Pauline Armstrong, Town Administrator at [e-mail] by email and
or by phone at 252-446-9441 ext 4.
Sincerely,
Pauline Armstrong, MPA
Town Administrator
Town of Sharpsburg
CC:
Brian Sullivan, Public Works Director, Town of Sharpsburg
Stephanie Goss, NC-DENR
File
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RE: remitted electronically
Town of Sharpsburg CIP
FOG Brochure
SSO Reports
Potential Scope for Wastewater System Improvements
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Mayor
Robert Williams
Mayor Pro-Tem
David Pride
Town Administrator
Pauline Armstrong
TRI-COUNTY HOSPITALITY EST. 1883
Commissioners
Linda Virgil
Don Patel
Beverly Davis
Michael Hughes
Here are the outstanding items listed that requires to be addressed per the letter dated October 18, 2022.
The numerical order aligns with the number listed in the original letter provided. To expedite responses, we
have electronically provided supporting documents. Should you require this in hard copy format, please let us
know and we will provide. Further should any of the responses require additional clarification , please advise.
#3. FOG program was not in implementation. The Town of Sharpsburg had been implementing the FOG
program. We have ensured re -implementation that the FOG program will be taking place bi-annually to both
residential and non-residential users are required by the subject permit requirements. Through some staff
changes, we believe that this was missed prior, however, we have now corrected this. Attached
electronically is the brochure that will be mailed out as an insert to our utility bill going out to both residential
and non-residential users on December 1, 2022 and July 1, 2023. The mailings will take place bi-annually
moving forward in July and December. Furthermore, we are updating our website to include information
regarding our FOG program under our water and sewer section of our Town website, which can be viewed at
Water and Sewer 1 Town of Sharpsburg, NC (sharpsburgnc.com).
#4. Capital Improvement Plan was not available for inspection. We have attached the CIP that was
developed. The plan was available however, it was being housed at the time of inspection at our main
administration building. The CIP is housed both at Public Works and our Administration department. In
addition to the CIP, we have also recently worked with our engineering firm to further identify water and
sewer needs that are being updated through a water and sewer grant we have received and are currently in
the process of an update to include further repairs and future infrastructure needs. Please advise if further
clarification is required for this item.
#5 550 reports were not available for inspection at the time of inspection. We have our SSO reports which
we keep both in hard copy and electronically per the required retention period of 3 years. Attached to this
correspondence is the SSO reports. To continue to comply with the requirement, we will continue to
maintain records both electronically and in hard copy and we are revising our internal policy on maintenance
of this required record to ensure compliance. Please advise if further clarification is required on this item.
#7. Several items were listed in regards to repairs required which included alarms not operational and or will
not shut off as required, pumps not operated as they should, buildup of grease and debris and portable
generators non -operational. In the notes, it was noted that the wells are sprayed down twice a year,
however, that is not correct as our wet wells are sprayed down bi-weekly.
We acknowledge that the systems are not operational as they should be. We have sought out and received a
grant through NC-DEQ, Division of Water Infrastructure, which we received funding. Batchelor Road,
Brickyard Pump Station, RBI Pump station, Taylor Woods Pump Station are all scheduled for required repairs
and upgrades. I have attached the cost associated with the repairs submitted as part of the bid for the
upgrade to the facilities. In August 2022, we signed our grant agreement to start construction on the projects
as our loan was moved from a loan to a grant for the updates of these facilities to ensure that the
appropriate repairs and upgrades are in place. All of the stations listed at listed as part of the Wastewater
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Systems Improvement Grant repairs. To address the building up of grease and debris that currently existed
(existing), in August 2022, we started to apply Lift-Zyme WWT to reduce the grease and buildup. As we saw
some improvement, it has not been enough improvement. At this time, we are going to proceed with a
pumping out of those stations in addition we are sending out letters by end of calendar year, reminding
residential and non-residential facilities about the importance of not flushing grease and or debris.
Furthermore, staff will continue to monitor the build up and conduct more frequent pumping out as needed.
Please advise if further clarification is required on this item.
#9. Overall map of the collection system was not available at the time of inspection. Attached are the maps
located within the CIP document. Please advise if further clarification is required on this item.
#10. A Response Action Plan was not available during inspection. Our response action plan was available,
however, it was available at our administration building and electronically. Public works now has an active
copy of the plan and now understands the location of the plan. In addition, our water and sewer department
staff will be reminded as part of a work plan quarterly about the contents of the plan to ensure that everyone
of aware of required implementation when needed. A copy of the plan has been attached, please advise if
anything further is required and or any additional clarification needed.
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