WQCS00005_NOV-2022-DV-0268 Rsp_20231012

WATER MANAGEMENT
CITY OF DURHAM
October 12, 2022
Mr. Scott Vinson, Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Raleigh Regional Office
NCDEQ, Division of Water Resources
3800 Barrett Drive p�bg
Raleigh, N.C. 27609 ?
Subject: NOV-2022-DV-0103 Permit No. WQCS00005
Dated: September 16, 2022; Received: September 29, 2022
City of Durham Collection System, Durham County
Dear Mr. Vinson,
Dept of Environmental Qualit;
UC T 13 2M
Raleigh Regional Office
The above referenced letter states that the City of Durham is provided an opportunity to present evidence and
justification to demonstrate that the proposed civil penalties for the Notice of Violation (NOV) should not be
assessed for the sanitary sewer overflows (SSO) which occurred in the City's sewer collection system between
August 1, 2022 and August 31, 2022.
As requested, the City of Durham, Department of Water Management (DWM) is providing information about the
four incidents that occurred during this timeframe to support the City's position that these events were
exceptional, unintentional, temporary, and beyond the City's exercise of reasonable control despite meeting all the
conditions of the City's Collection System permit including system cleaning, site visits, inspections, and easement
maintenance.
Incident# 202201379 - 6312 KINARD ROAD - August 30, 2022
On August 30, 2022 at 7:18 PM, an overflow occurred near 6312 Kinard Road releasing an estimated 19,000
gallons of wastewater into lick Creek. Crews discovered two sewer plugs placed by a sub -contractor to perform
minor repairs and were preventing the normal operation of new sewer main. These plugs were placed without any
notification to the City nor the City's engineering firm responsible for overseeing the project. Neither the City nor
the City's engineering firm were aware the plugs were in place. Crews used bypass pump and cleared the line by
removing the two plugs. After assessing the extent of the spill, crews dammed the downstream creek with
sandbags, set up a 4-inch pump to pump the untreated wastewater back into the collection system, and used two
nearby hydrants (dechiorinated water) to flush the area. A comprehensive walkthrough and punch list was
completed the next business day with multiple staff attending from the department, engineering firm, and
contractor.
The City's Stormwater Services Division responded and conducted ammonia testing to help determine the spill's
extent and advise when the site returned to normal conditions. No immediately visible adverse environmental
impacts or hazards to persons or property were observed.
A news release was issued within the 24-hour window. The cost to remediate this spill was $5,043.07.

Page 2 of 3
On oin Ci -Wide Measures to Reduce the Occurrence of SSOs
The City has several programs in place to prevent and reduce the occurrence of SSOs. The City has implemented a
CMOM plan that expands and enhances its existing programs.
System Flushing and Inspection: The City routinely contracts cleaning, CCTV inspection, smoke testing, and
manhole inspections of portions of the sewer collection system. The City completes the inspection of the
collection system systematically based City defined geographical basins.
The City ensures the requirements of the collection system permit are met by deploying City crews to clean at
least 10% of the collection system annually with a goal of exceeding the requirement by at least 2 to 5% each
year. The City measures the cleaning on a fiscal year basis starting July 1. As of August 31, 2022, 1% of the
City's collection system has been cleaned by City staff and contractors.
Sewer Rehabilitation Program: The City has an active Sewer Rehabilitation Program. The program includes flow
monitoring (25 permanent monitors), CCTV inspection, manhole inspection, easement mowing, field
inspections and investigations, point repairs, line replacement, root and grease abatement and cured -in -place
manhole and line rehabilitation. There are four full-time equivalents (FTEs) employees dedicated to the City's
system rehabilitation programs in the Utility Engineering Division of DWM. This workgroup handles flow
monitoring and system data management and contract preparation, administration, and inspections. There are
21 FTEs in the City's Collections Systems Maintenance workgroup in the Water and Sewer Maintenance (WSM)
Division of DWM. This group performs CCTV inspections, hydraulic cleaning activities, mowing, manhole
inspections, and manhole repairs. They respond to all reported concerns including blockages and overflows. In
addition, the CSM crews are supported by the Excavation Services workgroup of WSM who perform identified
point repairs, line replacements, and cured -in -place lining. In 2018, the department established the Lift Station
Maintenance Division to focus on oversight and maintenance of the 63 lift stations throughout the service area
and the 136 ARVs in the system. This workgroup of 21 FTEs conducts required daily, weekly, monthly, and
annual inspections and associated preventive maintenance activities. The City spends more than $5,000,000
on Sewer Rehabilitation projects annually as a part of its Capital Improvements Programs.
Fats, Oils, and Grease Program (FOG): The department's FOG education and outreach effort is conducted by
three FTEs (staff shared between the Industrial Pretreatment, Septage and FOG Programs). In addition to
working with the Durham County Health Department, staff routinely inspect over 800 food service
establishments (FSEs) annually to ensure appropriate cleaning and maintenance of grease interceptors. Staff
participate in several community events, such as Earth Day, Center Fest and Bimbe, as well as neighborhood
meetings. Department staff deliver residential Fat Trappers to increase awareness of the proper disposal
methods for waste, FOG staff also conducts post-SSO follow-up education and enforcement as necessary. The
City invests over $50,000 per year in advertising the proper disposal of FOG on television. Staff post to the
City's quarterly newsletter, The Durham Digest, along with multiple mentions in the City Manager's Report
known as City Connect, to reach a broad range of Durham residents.
Summary
Based upon the documented information provided above regarding these incidents, the City believes that this SSO
were exceptional, unintentional, temporary, and caused by factors beyond the City and Department's control. The
City actively manages, operates, and maintains its system in such a manner as to meet or exceed all the
requirements of the Collection System permit. As detailed above, the City systematically inspects, flushes, and
rehabilitates its wastewater collection system. The Department actively works to educate the community
regarding what should and should not be discharged into the City's sewer collection system.

Page 3 of 3
The department staff welcomes the opportunity to meet with you and your staff to review our program and
discuss constructive ways to improve what we are already doing in the City of Durham. If you have any questions
or need any additional information please do not hesitate to contact me at [phone] or via email at
Don.Greele a)durhamnc. ov.
Sincerely,
Donald F. Greel y
Director
Attachments
c: Jason Robinson, DEQ— Water Quality Regional Operations Section, Raleigh Regional Office
Junior Mobley, Superintendent, Water & Sewer Maintenance
Scott Smart, Assistant Director
Jerry Morrone, Utility Engineering Manager, Sr.

State of North Carolina
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
DWR NC Dept of Environmental Qualit. Division of Water Resources
Collection System Sanitary Sewer Overflow Reporting Form
Division of Water Resources i,tForm CS-SSO
ART I: Raleigh Regional Office
This form shall be submitted to the appropriate DWQ Regional Office within five business days of the first knowledge of the
sanitary sewer overflow (SSO).
Permit Number: WOCS00005 (WQCS# if active, otherwise use WQCSD#)
Facility: Durham Collection System Incident #: 202201378
Owner: City of Durham
City: Durham
County: Durham
Region: Raleigh
Source of SSO (check applicable): 0 Sanitary Sewer ❑ Pump Station I Lift Station
SPECIFIC location of the SSO (be consistent in description from past reports or documentation - i.e. Pump Station 6,
Manhole at Westall & Bragg Street, etc): 6312 Kinard Road
Manhole #: 58173
Latitude (Decimal Degrees):
Longitude (Decimal Degrees):
Incident Started Dt: 08/30/2022 Time: 7:18 pm Incident End Dt: 08/31/2022 Time: 01:38 am
(mm-dd-yyyy) (hh:mm AM/PM) (mm-d -yyyy) (hh:mm AM/PM)
Estimated Volume of the SSO: 19,000 gallons Estimated Duration (Round to nearest hour): 6:20 hours
Describe how the volume was determined: 380 minutes X 50 gpm
Weather conditions during the SSO event: Dry
Did SSO reach surface waters? 21 Yes ❑ No ❑ Unknown Volume reaching surface waters (gals): 19000
Surface water name: Lick Creek
Did the SSO result in a fish kill? ❑ Yes PNo ❑ Unknown if Yes, what is the estimated number of fish killed?
SPECIFIC cause(s) of the SSO:
0 Other (Please explai
24 hour verbal notification (name of person contacted ): Eric S Rice
0 DWR ❑ Emergency Mgmt Date (mm-dd-yyy): 08/31/2022 Time (hh:mm AM/PM): 03:45:00 pm
If an SSO is ongoing, please notify the appropriate Regional Office on a daily basis until SSO can be stopped.
Per G.S. 143-215.1 C(b), the responsible party of a discharge of 1,000 or more of untreated wastewater to surface waters
shall issue a press release within 24-hours of first knowledge to all print and electronic news media providing general
coverage in the county where the discharge occurred. When 15,000 gallons or more of untreated wastewater enters surface
waters, a public notice shall be published within 10 days and proof of publication shall be provided to the Division within 30
days. Refer to the reference statute for further detail.
The Director, Division of Water Resources, may take enforcement action for SSOs that are required to be reported to
Division unless it is demonstrated that:
1) the discharge was cause by sever natural conditions and there were no feasible alternative to the discharge; or
2) the discharge was exceptional, unintentional, temporary and caused by factors beyond the reasonable control of the
Permittee and/or owner, and the discharge could not have been prevented by the exercise of reasonable control.
Part II must be completed to provide a justification claim for either of the above situations. This information will be the basis
WHETHER OR NOT PART III IS COMPLETED, A„SIGNATURE IS REQUIRED AT THE END OF THIS FORM
CS-SSO Form Page: 1

PART II:
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS FOR EACH RELATED CAUSE CHECKED IN PART I OF THIS FORM AND
INCLUDE THE APPROPRIATE DOCUMENTATION AS REQUIRED OR DESIRED
COMPLETE ONLY THOSE SECTONS PERTAINING TO THE CAUSE OF THE SSO AS CHECKED IN PART I
(In the check boxes below, NA = Not Applicable and NE = Not Evaluated)
A HARDCOPY OF THIS FORM SHOULD BE SUBMITTED TO THE APPROPRIATE DWR REGIONAL OFFICE UNLESS IS
Other Please explain in Part II
Describe:
On 08/30/22 at 7:18prn City of Durham's oncall staff received a call for overflowing Manhole. Upon arrival Willie Elliott fOL
a Unknown Manhole overflowing at 50gpm. He checked to find the dry Manhole in order to flush for removal of blockage.
After investigation Willie Found that a contractor had left 2 inflatable plugs in the sewer main blocking the flow. Willie calla
his back-up on call supervisor Jeremy Farlow and they got a 4inch Pume to do a pump around to stop the overflowing anc
investigate issue. At 1:38am crews turned on bypass pump and this is the time they were able to notice the inflatable
plugs in sewer main. The sewer plugs were removed and thus stopping the overflow issue. Engineering was notified. tha
the contractors left two plugs and also two ladders in Manholes. Wade tong from Engineering will be investigation the
Contractor incident. Pictures of plugs and ladders are available. The Manhole in Question has not currently been takin oN
by City Utilities but we performed clean up duties and reported anyway. We had Wade Tong get a asset number for the
manhole with overflow issue.
Were adequate equipment and resources available to fix the problem? [Z Yes ❑ No ❑ NA ❑ NE
If Yes, explain:
Crew had a 4 inch pump to do a pump around so that we could clearly verify what was causing the overflow_. After pumpE
down completely the on -call crew was able to see inflatable sewer plug and released air to remove plugs.
If the problem could not be immediately repaired, what actions were taken to lessen
the impact of the SSO?
While crew was investigating they had staff set up a,pump downstream with sandbags in the creek to stop anyuntreated
wastewater from getting by.
Comments:
Crews also set up two defusers to help push the untreated wastewater to pump.
System Visitation
ORC Yes
Backup W Yes
Name:
Larry Hughes
Cert#
1005483
Date visited:
08/31 /2022
Time visited:
8:30am
CS-SSO Form Page: 2

How was the SSO remediated (i.e. Stopped and cleaned up)?
Crew set up bvoass pump on unknown Manhole to pump down the wastewater in order to view issue in pipe. After pump
down the crew found two inflatable sewer plugs in line left by contractors. Crew also set up a 4inch pump on Lick Creek
and used this -pump to remove all untreated wastewater and pump back into the sewer system. Crew used sandbags in
order to stop the untreated wastewater from getting by pump. On 8-31-22 at 8am a second shift of crews came out to cle
uug spill area. We had two Jet -vac trucks onsite and a 2 inch bypass pump. Crew used vac truck to remove all soil that
was involved in spill area and used bypass pump to pump all wash water back into the sewer system. After clean up crev
used 13 bails of straw and grass seed to dress up area involved in spill. We walked the unknown sewer main to confirm n
further overflows of contractor incident, We will keep the bypass pump going while we use our flush trucks and manual
labor to help clear creek and push to pump set up in Lick Creek.
As a representative for the responsible parry, I certify that the information contained in this report is true and accurate to the
best of my knowledge.
Person subr
Signature:
Telephone Number: - -I'd`I - J.0 9 - ; OBI G
Date: 09/01/22 11:39 am
Title: &(, k !g Q R.-L
Any addition information desired to be submitted should be sent to the appropriate Division Regional Office within five days of I
knowledge of the SSO with reference to the incident number (the incident number is only generated when electronic entry of th
form is completed, if used).
CS-SSO Form Page: 3

From: Lunne, Joe
Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2022 4:38 PM
Subject: SSO at 6312 Kinard Road
COMMUNICATIONS
CITY OF DURHAM
NC Dept of Environmental Qualit.
UL r�»
Raleigh Regional Offige
News Media Contai
Joe Lunne, SR Public Information & Communicatio
Analy-
Water Management Dep
919.560.4381 ext. 35255 1 919.397.6131(mobili
[e-mail]�
News Release
For Immediate Release: August 31, 2022
City of Durham contains sewer spill at 6312.Kinard_Road
?URHAM, N.C. —The City of Durham Department of Water Management reports that on August 30, 2022 staff responded
-4 manhole overflowing at 6312 Kinard Road. Approximately 19,000 gallons of untreated wastewater flowed into Lick
ak. The cause of the overflow was a sewer plug* that a contractor failed to remove from the sewer line after
:onstruction.
itaff were notified of the overflow at 7:18 p.m. on August 30, and the blockage was cleared at 1:38 a.m. on August 31.
-rews dammed the creek downstream and pumped the untreated wastewater back into the sewer system. There were
to observed hazards to persons, property, or the environment.
the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Resources was notified of the event on August 31, as
•equired by state regulations/law. For more information, contact Junior Mobley, Superintendent of Water & Sewer
Maintenance.
"A sewer plug is a plug manually installed in the mouth of the sewer to ensure no water or untreated wastewater
nfiltrates the sewer while work is being performed in the line.
###

State of North Carolina
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
ualit) Division of Water Resources
�" ' NC Dept of Environmental Q Collection System Sanitary Sewer Overflow Reporting Form
Dlvislon of Water Resources Form CS-SSO
ART 1: n
This form shall be submitted to the appr W1 MI tWa �dPt TKi within five business days of the first knowledge of the
sanitary sewer overflow (SSO).
Permit Number: WQCS00065 (WQCS# if active, otherwise use WQCSD#)
Facility: Durham Collection System Incident #: 202201378
Owner: City of Durham
City: Durham
County: Durham
Region: Raleigh
Source of SSO (check applicable): Z Sanitary Sewer ❑ Pump Station 1 Lift Station
SPECIFIC location of the SSO (be consistent in description from past reports or documentation - i.e. Pump Station 6,
Manhole at Westall & Bragg Street, etc): 6312 K;nard Road
Manhole #: 58173
Latitude (Decimal Degrees):
Longitude (Decimal Degrees):
Incident Started Dt: 08130r2022 Time: 7:18 pm Incident End Dt: 08/31/2022 Time: 01:38 am
(mm-dd-yyyy) (hh:mm AM/PM) (mm-dd-yyyy) (hh:mm AMIPM)
Estimated Volume of the SSO: 19,000 gallons Estimated Duration (Round to nearest hour): 6:20 hours
Describe how the volume was determined: 380 m nutes X 50 gpm
Weather conditions during the SSO event: Dry
Did SSO reach surface waters? Yes []No ❑ Unknown Volume reaching surface waters (gals): 19000
Surface water name: Lick Creek
Did the SSO result in a fish kill? ❑ Yes [INo ❑ Unknown If Yes, what is the estimated number of fish killed?
SPECIFIC cause(s) of the SSO:
0 Other (Please explai
24 hour verbal notification (name of person contacted ): Eric S Rice
0 DWR ❑ Emergency Mgmt Date (mm-dd-yyy): 08/31/2022 Time (hh:mm AM/PM): 03:45:00 pm
If an SSO is ongoing, please notify the appropriate Regional Office on a daily basis until SSO can be stopped.
Per G.S. 143-215.1C(b), the responsible party of a discharge of 1,000 or more of untreated wastewater to surface waters
shall issue a press release within 24-hours of first knowledge to all print and electronic news media providing general
coverage in the county where the discharge occurred. When 15,000 gallons or more of untreated wastewater enters surface
waters, a public notice shall be published within 10 days and proof of publication shall be provided to the Division within 30
days. Refer to the reference statute for further detail.
The Director Division of Water Resources may take enforcement action for SSOs that are required to be reported to
Division unless it is demonstrated that:
1) the discharge was cause by sever natural conditions and there were no feasible alternative to the discharge; or
2) the discharge was exceptional, unintentional, temporary and caused by factors beyond the reasonable control of the
Permittee and/or owner, and the discharge could not have been prevented by the exercise of reasonable control.
Part 11 must be completed to provide a justification claim for either of the above situations, This information will be the basis
WHETHER OR NOT PART III IS COMPLETED, A SIGNATURE IS REQUIRED AT THE END OF THIS FORM
CS-SSO Form Page: 1

PART II:
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS FOR EACH RELATED CAUSE CHECKED IN PART I OF THIS FORM AND
INCLUDE THE APPROPRIATE DOCUMENTATION AS REQUIRED OR DESIRED
COMPLETE ONLY THOSE SECTONS PERTAINING TO THE CAUSE OF THE SSO AS CHECKED IN PART I
(In the check boxes below, NA = Not Applicable and NE = Not Evaluated)
A HARDCOPY OF THIS FORM SHOULD BE SUBMITTED TO THE APPROPRIATE DWR REGIONAL OFFICE UNLESS IS
Other (Please explain in Part II)
Describe
On 08/30/22 at 7:18pm City of Durham's oncall staff received a call for overflowing Manhole. Upon arrival Willie Elliott for
a Unknown Manhole overflowing at 50gpm. He checked to find the dry Manhole in order to flush for removal of blockage.
After investigation Willie Found that a contractor had left 2 inflatable plugs in the sewer main blocking the flow. Willie calla
his back-up on call supervisor Jeremy Farlow and they got a 4inch pump to do a pump around to stop the overflowing anc_
investigate issue. At 1:38am crews turned on bypass pump and this is the time they were able to notice the inflatable
plugs in sewer main. The sewer plugs were removed and thus stopping the overflow issue. Engineering was notified tha
the contractors left two plugs and also two ladders in Manholes. Wade tong from Engineering will be investigation the
Contractor incident. Pictures of plugs and ladders are available. The Manhole in question has not currently been takin o%
by City Utilities but we performed clean up duties and reported anyway. We had Wade Tong get a asset number for the
manhole with overflow issue.
Were adequate equipment and resources available to fix the problem? [Z Yes No NA ❑ NE
If Yes, explain:
Crew had a 4 inch pump to do a pump around so that we could clearly verify what was causing the overflow. After pumpe
down completely the on -call crew was able to see inflatable sewer plug and released air to remove plugs.
If the problem could not be immediately repaired, what actions were taken to lessen
the impact of the SSO?
While crew was investigating they had staff set up a, pump downstream with sandbags in the creek to stop anV untreated
wastewater from getting by.
Comments:
Crews also set up two defusers to help push the untreated wastewater to pump.
System Visitation
ORC ❑ Yes
Backup 0 Yes
Name:
Larry Hughes
Cert#
1005483
Date visited:
08/31 /2022
Time visited:
8:30am
CS-SSO Form Page: 2

How was the SSO remediated (i.e. Stopped and cleaned up)?
Crew set up bvpass_oump on unknown Manhole to pump down the wastewater in order to view issue in obe. After pump
down the crew found two inflatable sewer plugs in line left by contractors. Crew also set up a 4inch pump on Lick Creek
and used this pump to remove all untreated wastewater and purno back into the sewers stem. Crew used sandbags in
order to stop_the untreated_ wastewater from getting by pump. On 8-31-22 at 8am a second shift of crews came out to cle
up spill area. We had two Jet -vac trucks onsite and a 2 inch bypass pump. Crew used vac truck to remove all soil that
was involved in spill area and used bypass pump to pump all wash water back into the sewer system. After clean up cre4
used 13_bails of straw and -grass seed to dress up area involved in spill. We walked the unknown sewer main to confirm n
further overflows of contractor incident. We will keep the bypass pump going while we use our flush trucks and manual
labor to help clear creek and push to pump set up in Lick Creek.
As a representative for the responsible party, I certify that the information contained in this report is true and accurate to the
best of my knowledge.
Person subr
Signature
Telephone Number: `I w - .L09 - 3 Z;kf b
Date: 09/01/22 11:39 am
Title: &M-6 � - OR-(.
Any addition information desired to be submitted should be sent to the appropriate Division Regional Office within five days of t
knowledge of the SSO with reference to the incident number (the incident number is only generated when electronic entry of th
form is completed, if used).
CS-SSO Form Page: 3

From: Lunne, Joe
Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2022 4:38 PM
Subject: SSO at 6312 Kinard Road
COMMUNICATIONS
CITY OF DURHAM
News Media Contai
Joe Lunne, SR Public Information & Communicatio
Analy,
Water Management Dep
919.560.4381 ext. 35255 1 919.397.6131(mobili
[e-mail]►
News Release
For Immediate Release: August 31, 2022
City of Durham contains sewer spill at 6311Kinard Road
?URIJAM, N.C. —The City of Durham Department of Water Management reports that on August 30, 2022 staff responded
1 manhole overflowing at 6312 Kinard Road. Approximately 19,000 gallons of untreated wastewater flowed into Lick
_ak. The cause of the overflow was a sewer plug* that a contractor failed to remove from the sewer line after
:onstruction.
itaff were notified of the overflow at 7:18 p.m. on August 30, and the blockage was cleared at 1:38 a.m. on August 31.
-rews dammed the creek downstream and pumped the untreated wastewater back into the sewer system. There were
to observed hazards to persons, property, or the environment.
the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Resources was notified of the event on August 31, as
•equired by state regulations/law. For more information, contact Junior Mobley, Superintendent of Water & Sewer
Maintenance.
*A sewer plug is a plug manually installed in the mouth of the sewer to ensure no water or untreated wastewater
nfiltrates the sewer while work is being performed in the line.

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