WQCS00057_NOI_NOV2021DV0154_Response_20210330

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City of Thomasville
Thomasville, North Carolina 27360
Lon T. Snider
Regional Supervisor
WQROS, WSRO, DWQ, NCDEQ
450 W. Hanes Mill Road, Suite 300
NC Department of
Environmental Quality
Received
APR 0 1 2021
Winston-Salem
Regional Office
Utilities Department
Winston-Salem, NC 27105
30 March 2021
RE: Intent to Enforce Letter Response
Incidents Numbers 202003433, 2020034643, 202003495, and 202003543
Dear Mr. Snider,
In response to the letter of Intent to Enforce of 25 March 2021 the City of Thomasville asks that
the following be taken into consideration:
Regarding all four incidents #'s 202003433, 2020034643, 202003495, and 202003543: These
events all occurred during a period in which the flow from the pump station that was the site of these
spills was restricted due to the failure of one of the two force mains that this station uses to discharge.
The end result being that flow out of this station was greatly restricted, resulting in these spills. As the
force main was installed 22 feet deep and underneath a bridge and concrete buttress wall by NCDOT in
2002 there was no feasible means of repairing the line. A contractor was hired and has installed a new
line bypassing the area of deeply buried bad pipe at a cost of $131,240 to the city. This updated section
of force main became usable on the morning of 04 February 2021 and there has been one additional
spill at this location as a result of the repairs made. There were no known impacts to public health, fish
kills, or recreational area closures as a result of these spills, and there have been no additional incidents
at this location since the repairs were completed despite two precipitation events that exceeded those
that occurred when these events took place.
Additionally, there are known issues with Inflow and Infiltration in the collection system leading
to this pump station that are in process of being at least partially addressed through the Hanks Branch
Rehabilitation Phase 2. Hanks Branch Rehabilitation Phase 1 lined and sealed the main outfall line
discharging into this station. Hanks Branch Rehabilitation Phase 2 which is designed to reline and
replace multiple lines that discharge into the main outfall to help reduce I&I sources identified by smoke
testing and video inspections has been bid and awarded to J Smith Civil, LLC at a bid price of
$1,591,431.40.
The above statements are to share with you that the City of Thomasville is taking steps to
address the issues that led to these spills and to help prevent recurrences of same. The City of
Thomasville has spent and will continue to spend millions of dollars to protect the environment by
identifying and correcting deficiencies in the collection system.
The City of Thomasville asks that the ongoing efforts to upgrade all aspects of the sanitary
sewer collection system be taken into account with any enforcement actions considered.
Sincerely, ` Morgan Huffman
1 �� Public Utilities Director
City of Thomasville
336-475-4220
CC: Micha Brandt