WQCS00010_DV20220101_Remission_Request_20221011

Public Services Department
Water & Sewer Mains Division
October 11, 2022
Lon T. Snider, Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Winston-Salem Regional Office
Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ
450 West Hanes Mill Road, Suite 300
Winston-Salem, NC 27105
NORTH CAROLINA'S INTERNATIONAL CITY'
NC Department of
Environmental Quality
Received
RE: Notice of Violation and Assessment of Civil Penalty
for Violations of North Carolina General Statute (G.S.) 143-215.1(a)(6)
and Collection System Permit No. WQCS00010
City of High Point
Case No. DV-2022-0101
Guilford County
Incident Number 202200964
Mr. Snider,
OCT 12 2022
Winston-Salem
Pnoion7,,1 n",•e
This letter is in response to the Notice of Violation and Assessment of civil penalty, Case No.: DV-2022-
0101, concerning a Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) that occurred on June 21, 2022, at a tributary
leading to Rich Fork Creek crossing on the outfall on Old Plank Rd, Guilford County, High Point, North
Carolina.
The City of High Point requests remission of this civil penalty. The violation was the result of an
unavoidable accident. Upon further investigation, we realized that after several dry months, the area
had numerous significant rain events which eroded the banks of the creek and caused the creek to
widen. As water washed the creek banks away, the water also weakened the aerial pillars supports and
washed them out of the bank which caused the pipe to break due to lack of support.
There had not been an issue in the past with this aerial, and crews had visually inspected the line a
couple of months prior.
As soon as the City of High Point was notified of a sewer odor complaint in this area, City crews
mobilized to find the cause of the odor. The source of the odor was identified as a sanitary sewer
overflow caused by a broken aerial pipe.
City of High Point, P.O. 230, 211 South Hamilton Street, High Point, NC 27261 USA
Office: 336-883-3691 Fax: [phone] TDD 336.883.8517

Contractor crews began remediation of the SSO by installing 6 bypass pump to stop the flow and begin
repairs. During the night, their pump failed and caused the SSO to begin again. City of High Point
crews were on site with pumps and sandbags to mitigate the amount of sewer in the creek while the
contractors retrieved another pump from the nearest location which was in Raleigh, NC almost 2 hours
away.
Once the second bypass pump was set up, crews excavated the sides of the creek to replace the
broken pipe and built new pillars to stabilize the aerial. They also reconstructed the creek banks for
additional support of the pipe and concrete pillars. In addition to the repair of the aerial line, City of High
Point crews cleaned up solids, put out lime, flushed the creek,,and vacuumed out remaining debris from
the creek.
We have not had any other related violations in this area since the aerial repair.
If you have any questions or require further information, please feel free to call me at [phone].
Sincerely,
s" Ved 7&A"
Sarah Beth McAvoy
ORC WWCS
cc: Robby Stone- Public Services Director, Derrick Boone- Assistant Public Services Director, Joseph
Holden- W/S Mains Superintendent, Carrie Hyler-Pretreatment Supervisor, File
City of High Point, P.O.230, 211 South Hamilton Street, High Point, NC 27261 USA
Office: 336-883-3691 Fax: [phone] TDD 336.883.8517

Case Number: DV-2022-0101
JUSTIFICATION' FOR REMISSION REQUEST
County: Guilford
Assessed Party: City of High Point
Permit No.: WQCS00010 Amount Assessed: $882.71
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. § 14313-282.1(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 (Le., 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 ofthe civil penalty will prevent youfrom performing the activities necessary to achieve
compliance).
EXPLANATION:

„ k
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
COUNTY OF GUILFORD
IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT ) WAIVER OF RIGHT TO AN
OF CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST ) ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING AND
STIPULATION OF FACTS
City of High Point )
High Point Collection System )
PERMIT NO. WQCS00010 ) CASE NO. DV-2022-0101
Having been assessed civil penalties totaling $882.71 for violation(s) as set forth in the assessmentdocument of the Division
of Water Resources dated September 19, 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 eA Pl f a n,4ctn day of Q C 2tn ti e� 20ZZ
Nt
SIGNATL?RE
ADDRESS
•
• {
TELEPHONE

ATTACHMENT A
City of High Point
CASE NUMBER: DV-2022-0101
PERMIT NO: WQCS00010
FACILITY: High Point Collection System
REGION: Winston-Salem
COUNTY: Guilford
i
Other Violations
INCIDENT VIOLATION TOTAL VOLUME PENALTY
NUMBER DATE VIOLATION TYPE VIOLATION DESCRIPTION (GALLONS) AMOUNT
202200838.
6/2/2022
CSO/SSO(Sewer Overflow)
Discharge without valid
permit
1,500
$0.00
202200964
6/21/2022
CSO/SSO(Sewer Overflow)
Discharge without valid
permit
4,612
$750.00