NC0020800_Remission Request (LV-2022-0307)_20230106

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DocuSign Envelope ID:C11B2B04-7B65-421D-AFA5-A67A99C61832
JUSTIFICATION FOR REMISSION REQUEST RECEIVED
jN 0 6 2023
Case Number: LV-2022-0307 County: Cherokee
Assessed Party: Town of Andrews tippEODWRI ?DDS
Permit No.: NC0020800 Amount Assessed: $2,937.
Please use this form when requesting remission of this civil penalty. You must also complete the "Request For Remission,
Waiver of Right to an Administrative Hearing, and Stipulation of Facts"form to request remission of this civil penalty.
You should attach any documents that you believe support your request and are necessary for the Director to consider in
evaluating your request for remission. Please be aware that a request for remission is limited to consideration of the five
factors listed below as they may relate to the reasonableness of the amount of the civil penalty assessed. Requesting
remission is not the proper procedure for contesting whether the violation(s)occurred or the accuracy of any of the factual
statements contained in the civil penalty assessment document. Pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 143B-282.1(c),remission of a civil
penalty may be granted only when one or more of the following five factors apply. Please check each factor that you
believe applies to your case and provide a detailed explanation,including copies of supporting documents,as to why the
factor applies(attach additional pages as needed).
(a) one or more of the civil penalty assessment factors in N.C.G.S. 143B-282.1(b)were wrongfully applied to the
detriment of the petitioner(the assessment factors are listed in the civil penalty assessment document);
_✓ (b) the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting from the violation(i.e., explain the
steps that you took to correct the violation and prevent future occurrences);
_✓ (c) the violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident(i.e., explain why the violation was unavoidable or
something you could not prevent or prepare for);
(d) the violator had not been assessed civil penalties for any previous violations;
(e) payment of the civil penalty will prevent payment for the remaining necessary remedial actions (i.e., explain
how payment of the civil penalty will prevent you from performing the activities necessary to achieve
compliance).
EXPLANATION:

DocuSign Envelope ID:C11B2B04-7B65-421D-AFA5-A67A99C61832
•
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
COUNTY OF CHEROKEE
IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT ) WAIVER OF RIGHT TO AN
OF CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST ) ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING AND
) STIPULATION OF FACTS
Town of Andrews )
Andrews WWTP )
)
PERMIT NO.NC0020800 ) CASE NO. LV-2022-0307
Having been assessed civil penalties totaling$2,937.32 for violation(s)as set forth in the assessment document of the
Division of Water Resources dated November 07,2022,the undersigned,desiring to seek remission of the civil penalty, does
hereby waive the right to an administrative hearing in the above-stated matter and does stipulate that the facts are as
alleged in the assessment document. The undersigned further understands that all evidence presented in support of
remission of this civil penalty must be submitted to the Director of the Division of Water Resources within thirty(30)days
of receipt of the notice of assessment. No new evidence in support of a remission request will be allowed after(30)days
from the receipt of the notice of assessment.
This the Zf day of Dr°c.LM e ,20ti-A-cw/
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Explanation and Justification for Remission for Town of Andrews Wastewater Treatment Facility
Case No. LV-2022-0307
TheTown of Andrews received NOV and Assessment of Civil Penalty for violation of NC General Statute
(G.S.) 143-215.1(a)(6)for the Month of June 2022. The following is a detailed explanation in our request
for remission of civil penalty for the month of June 2022. We believe that there is sufficient evidence
that the Town of Andrews met the criteria for two (3)of the five (5) factors listed in the Justification For
Remission Request form.
1. There are two primary factors that affect the Nitrogen/Ammonia limits for our facility:Trickling
filter operation, & return rate.
Nitrogen, Ammonia Total (as N)—Concentration has been a continuous struggle for the Andrews WWTP
to maintain over the last decade. Much of this is due, once again to an aging infrastructure, and the
inability to find qualified and knowledgeable contractors who are capable of doing the necessary repairs
to trickling filters. The Town of Andrews previously spent approximately$160,000 in its last partial
upgrade for the rehabilitation of it two trickling filters,only to have the trickling filters fail and shut
down again within the span of one and a half years due to bearing issues; only months after the
warranty expired.This is not operator error or oversight, but is due to the fact that there are few
contractors who are familiar with them. Operators have adhered to monthly cleaning and lubrication
guidelines to no avail.
The second factor, return rate has been negatively impacted by complication with our main influent
pump station which determines the "return" rate that the facility is capable of producing. The amount of
wastewater returned and recirculated works in conjunction with the trickling filters to increase the
treatment efficiency of the trickling filters;this has a significant effect on decreasing the
Nitrogen/Ammonia concentration of the wastewater.The Town of Andrews has spent approximately
$100,000 over the course of the last five years attempting to address this pump station issue by
purchasing new pumps, new soft-start controls, and paying contract labor, all without the help of any
grants or loans.While we have been able to keep the plant running,we have not been able to keep up
with the rapid decline of mechanical parts such as pump bases, pump guide rails, and electrical issues
within our control panel. ALL of this impacts return rate, and the town has worked diligently within its
financial means to address these issues, but has not been able to keep up. I will go into detail as to the
plans and solutions the Town of Andrews has in place currently to FULLY address and remediate these
issues once and for all a little further.
2. The Town of Andrews received two NOV's for the month of June 2022 for"Solids,Total
Suspended—Concentration"; one exceeding our weekly permitted limit, and one for exceeding
our monthly permitted limit. In both of these instances,the issue arose due to built-up of solids
in our chlorine contact basin. In the month of August,the TOA spent$10,000 for our periodic
cleaning of the chlorine contact basin which addressed and resolved the issue.

For Section 1, above, of this request,the Town of Andrews seeks remission of assessment of civil
penalties in accordance with factor(c) and factor(e) in the Justification For Remission Request form.
Firstly, it is clear that these issues are inadvertent as we are continually seeking ways to deal with the
inadequacies and mechanical failures of an extremely old infrastructure and obsolete technology. It is
clear that the Town of Andrews has went to great expense in attempting to address these issues.
Therefore it is apparent that the "the violation was inadvertent...". Secondly,the assessment of these
penalties simply does nothing to help the Town of Andrews,the wastewater plant, or its operators to
address or rectify these issues. It actually hurts the cause of the Clean Water Act.These penalties will
take away much needed funding to help us continue to try to abate these issues as we wait for the
building of our new wastewater plant.That money could be put to better use.The penalties serve no
purpose except to say that we should have dealt with this, and the Town and its operators have been
doing that to the absolute best of their financial ability. Therefore, we also request remission because
"payment of the civil penalty will prevent payment for remaining necessary remedial actions".
For Section 2 of this request, above,the Town of Andrews seeks remission in accordance with part(b) of
the Justification For Remission Request forni, "the violator promptly abated continuing environmental
damage resulting from the violation".The TOA and wastewater plant operators expediently and
effectively addressed and corrected the issue with suspended solids within or chlorine contact basin.
What is the Town currently doing to address ALL of these critical issues?
The Town of Andrews has acquired approximately 12 million dollars in grant and matching funding to
build a whole new wastewater facility alongside the current plant. Within the scope of this work the
Town of Andrews will:
• Begin construction of an oxidation ditch,with all that entails,which will serve as the primary
treatment for our wastewater treatment.This will ultimately replace altogether the aging,
outdated, and obsolete trickling filter structures.
• Begin and complete construction of additional sludge handling facilities
• Begin and complete construction of retention basin to control flows
• Begin and complete construction of a completely new influent pump station and return system.
• Install a compactor to current mechanical screen
• Keep secondary clarifiers and contact basin and refurbish them as part of the new plant
• Other various needs
The Town of Andrews, along with McGill and Associates engineering firm are already far into the
planning and approval stage,with the expected start date for the pump station to begin sometime in the
spring of 2023, and start of the new plant construction near the end of year 2023. We are grateful for
the opportunity to finally be able to see this vision that we have had for over a decade come to fruition,
and we look forward to when it is completed where we no longer have to struggle with these issues and
can rest knowing that our receiving waters are safe. We look forward to your response to this request
for remission.

Respectfully,
Timothy Wood
ORC-Town of Andrews Wastewater
(828)-557-8630
[e-mail]