WQCS00037_Remission Request (DV-2023-0001)_20230130

ShelbvA
NORTH CAROLINA t
Post Office Box 207 Shelby, NC 28151-0207
January 23, 2023
REcEI\fED
Mr. Andrew Pitner, Assistant Regional Supervisor BAN 3 2�23
Division of Water Resources, Mooresville Regional Office
610 East Center Avenue, Suite 301
Mooresville, NC 28115 NODE /UWR/NPDES
Re: Notice of Violation
Tracking#NOV-2020-DV-0352
Collection System Permit#WQCS00037
City of Shelby, Cleveland County
Dear Mr. Pitner:
The City of Shelby would like to formally request remission of the assessed Civil Penalty of$878.16.The
City of Shelby believes that given our overall reduction of overflows in the last twelve years and the
investments (past and future)that a civil penalty for this event is not warranted.
The City of Shelby takes SSO events seriously and we send crews out to known areas of concern
whenever high or heavy rain events are forecasted. When heavy forecasted rainfall is suspected days in
advance (large, slow-moving systems) crews are sent out to camera and clean known areas of concern.
The City allocates our limited personnel to be as proactive as possible with the goal of preventing sewer
overflows.
As a rise in non-sanitary sewer items continues with many systems,we continue to target areas that
have the highest potential for disposing of these items. With this spill we hand delivered letters to
Shelby manor(Assisted Living), Shelby Eye Center, Shelby Pediatric Dentistry, Orthocarolina, Piedmont
Plastic Surgery and Dermatology, and Cleveland House (Assisted Living) informing them that discharging
gloves and wipes to our sanitary sewer system is illegal.
Our track record shows a significant decline in the number of sanitary sewer overflows over the last
twelve years, and we continue to make substantial capital investments to prevent sewer overflows from
occurring. Please see the attached spill charts for your review and consideration.
The City of Shelby would like PERCS and DWI to take into account the amount of capital investment the
City has spent and has allocated to spend in an effort to reduce sanitary overflows in our system.
• 2021 West Side Wastewater Pumping Evaluation (Willis Engineers) $25,000
• 2023-2024 Hickory Creek Outfall Improvements(Withers-Ravenel) $3,800,000
• 2023 Collection System Flow Monitoring (Gavel & Dorn) $100,000
• 2023 Collection System Outfall Survey (HDR) $115,000
• 2023 Collection System Modeling(HDR) $75,000
• ARP appropriated funds for sewer rehabilitation and repair-$3,400,000
www.cityofshelby.com

The list of projects that are meant to help with sanitary sewer overflow with rehabilitation and repairs
are greater than $7,400,000. We recognize the requirements of our wastewater collection system
permit and the importance to the environment and public health in the prevention of sanitary sewer
overflows and will continue to allocate funds and projects targeting SSO's.
We would like to ask again, given the progress the City of Shelby has made in reducing SSO's and the
commitment of time and money to make repairs,that the Civil Penalty be rescinded.
Please contact me at anytime regarding any further information or questions you might have regarding
this issue. I can be reached at 704-669-6552 or [e-mail]
Sincerely,
Brian Wilson
Water Resources Operations Manager
cc: Rick Howell; City Manager
David Hux, Director of Water Resources
Adam Howell; Collection System Crew Supervisor/ORC
www.cityofshelby.com

CITY OF SHELBY - SEWER OVERFLOWS
2022 DATA AS OF DECEMBER 27
Rain/I&I mos Grease Roots Debris !®Failure -Total Spills
LO
O 0
N N
W
m
0 0
Q1
00
n
O
111 V1
'7 Cr
m m m m m
N I�I NNNNm NNNNNI r1 ti r1 r-IIiir .--'iei •-1tiO O 111 I IIIO OIO'I ol001l 11I IOO1I 0110 O1OI 111 1
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

JUSTIFICATION FOR REMISSION REQUEST
Case Number: DV-2023-0001 County: Cleveland
Assessed Party: City of Shelby
Permit No.: WQCS00037 Amount Assessed: $878.16
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
X ( )
detriment of the petitioner(the assessment factors are listed in the civil penalty assessment document);
X (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:
The City of Shelby takes SSO events seriously and we send crews out to known areas of concern whenever high or heavy rain events are forecasted.
When heavy forecasted rainfall is suspected days in advance(large,slow-moving systems)crews are sent out to camera and clean known areas of concern.
The City allocates our limited personnel to be as proactive as possible with the goal of preventing sewer overflows.
This was the first spill at this location.As mentioned in our spill response,even with the Thanksgiving Holiday,four employees responded to the spill including
the Water&Sewer Supervisor.The spill site was cleaned in 5.5 hours and has been added to our list of high priority areas for future monitoring.
As a rise in non-sanitary sewer items continues with many systems,we continue to target areas that have the highest potential for disposing of these items.
With this spill we hand delivered letters to Shelby manor(Assisted Living),Shelby Eye Center,Shelby Pediatric Dentistry,Orthocarolina,
Piedmont Plastic Surgery and Dermatology,and Cleveland House(Assisted Living)informing them that discharging gloves and wipes to our sanitary sewer
system is illegal.
We have decreased our sanitary sewer overflows from a high of 26 reported in 2010 to 3 reported in 2022 and we continue to make substantial capital
investments to prevent sewer overflows from occurring.
The City of Shelby would like PERCS and DWI to take into account the amount of capital investment the City of Shelby has spend and has allocated to spend
in an effort to reduce sanitary overflows in our system.Currently,the list of projects that meant to help with SSO's through rehabilitation and repairs are
greater than$7,400,000 which includes$3,400,000 that will be appropriated from ARP funding.We recognize the requirements of our wastewater collection
system permit and the importance to the environment and public health in the prevention of sanitary sewer overflows and will continue to allocate funds and
projects targeting SSO's.
The City contends that we were not negligent in our responsibilities as owner/operator and believes that the State's fine is not justified based upon the findings
of non-sanitary sewer items found at the time of the spill and our quick response to mitigate this overflow and to prevent future overflows in the area.
Based upon this information,the City requests remission of the Civil Penalty.

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
COUNTY OF CLEVELAND
IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT ) WAIVER OF RIGHT TO AN
OF CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST ) ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING AND
) STIPULATION OF FACTS
City of Shelby )
Shelby Collection System )
)
PERMIT NO.WQCS00037 ) CASE NO. DV-2023-0001
Having been assessed civil penalties totaling$878.16 for violation(s)as set forth in the assessment document of the Division
of Water Resources dated January 04,2023,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 - day of NJOin00. ,20 23
RECEIVED
C.Z 710W
JAN 3 0 2023 / SIGNATURE
ADDRESS
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ATTACHMENT A
City of Shelby
CASE NUMBER: DV-2023-0001
PERMIT NO: WQCS00037 REGION: Mooresville
FACILITY: Shelby Collection System COUNTY: Cleveland
Other Violations
INCIDENT VIOLATION TOTAL VOLUME PENALTY
NUMBER DATE VIOLATION TYPE VIOLATION DESCRIPTION (GALLONS) AMOUNT
202201733 11/24/2022 CSO/SSO(Sewer Overflow) Discharge without valid permit 12,300 $750.00