WQCS00057_NOI_NOV2021DV0134_Response_20210309

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Lon T. Snider
Regional Supervisor
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City of Thomasville
Thomasville, North Carolina 27360
WQROS, WSRO, DWQ, NCDEQ
450 W. Hanes Mill Road, Suite 300
Winston-Salem, NC 27105
NC Department of
Environmental Quality
Received
MAR 10 2021
Winston-Salem
Regional Office
Utilities Department
09 March 2021
RE: Intent to Enforce Letter Response
Incidents Numbers 202002895, 202002953, 202003376, and 202003378
Dear Mr. Snider,
In response to the letter of Intent to Enforce of 23 February 2021 the City of Thomasville asks
that the following be taken into consideration:
Regarding all four incidents #'s 202002895, 202002953, 202003376, and 202003378: These
event 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 have been no additional spills
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.
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
Phases 1 and 2. Hanks Branch Rehabilitation Phase 1 is nearly complete. Hanks Branch Rehabilitation
Phase 2 has been bid and is awaiting approval to award from DWI so that we can move ahead with our
existing plans to address the known sources of Inflow and Infiltration.
The above statements are to share with you that the City of Thomasville has taken 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,
CC: Michael Brandt
Morgan Huffman
Public Utilities Director
City of Thomasville
336-475-4220