WQ0029653_Notice of Violation_20230223 (2)

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Tot CHARLOTTE WATER
4222 WESTMONT DRIVE
LI U se, CHARLOTTE NC 28217-1030
's-i .ATTN:ANGELA CHARLES;DIRECTOR I-
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CHARLOTTE WATER
4222 WESTMONT DRIVE
ARLOTTE NC 28217-1030
1:1N ANGELA CHARLES,DIRECTOR
dwr/jh 2/23/23
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ROY COOPER 1' I>
Governor x ' lA
ELIZABETH S.BISER •
Secretary •
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RICHARD E.ROGERS,JR. NORTH CAROLINA ,
Director - Environmental Quality •
•
•
Certified Mail # 7022 0410.0000 7789 4452
Return Receipt Requested
February 23;2023
. Angela D Charles, Director• -
Charlotte Water ,
4222 Westmont Dr
Charlotte,.NC 28217-1030
SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION
Tracking Number: NOV-2023-DV-0107 •
-
Sanitary Sewer Overflows -January 2023 •
Collection System Permit No. WQCS00001
Charlotte Water Collection System •
- Mecklenburg County
Dear Ms. Charles:
The self-reported Sanitary Sewer-Overflow (SSO) 5-Day Report submitted by Charlotte Water indicates violations
of permit conditions stipulated in the subject permit and North Carolina G.S. 143-215.1. Violations include failing to
effectively manage, maintain,'and operate the subject collection system so that there is no SSO to the land or
surface waters and making an outlet to waters of the State for purposes of G.S. 143-215.1(a)(1);for which a .
permit is required.
Specific incident(s) cited in the subject report include the following: •
Total Vol
Total Surface
Incident Start Duration • Vol Water
Number pate {Mins) Location Cause (Gals) (Gals) DWR Action
•
202300064 1/11/2023 160 11711 Dan Maples Dr Debris in line 320 320 Notice of Violation
ZONE 3 ••- •
•
202300172 1/30/2023 179 8231 Magnolia Estates Grease, . 1,000 500 Notice of Violation
•
. Dr ZONE 1 •
•
•
n North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources
.w E Q v Mooresville Regional Offiice;.b10 East Center Avenue.Suite 301 1 Mooresville.North Carolina 2tf115 •
c.i.TM o ^urm / 704bb3.1699

Remedial actions .if not already implemented, should be taken to correct the above noncompliance. Please submit
a written-response to this Notice of Violation. Your response is to be received by the regional office within 15
business days following receipt of this violation. Please include any additional documentation about this incident(s)
in the response. The submittal will be considered in determining whether the Division will assess a civil penalty for
the cited violations.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Joanna Harbison with the Water Quality Section in
the Mooresville Regional Office at 704-663-1699 or via email at ioanna.harbison(ancdenr.Aov.
Sincerely,
DocuSigned by:
F161 FB69A2D84A3...
Andrew H. Pitner, P.G., Assistant Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section •
• Mooresville Regional Office
Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ •
0 •
Cc: Regional.Office - WQS File
Central Files, Water Quality Section
Tim:Downsc charlottenc.gov
Rusty.Rozzelle(cr�,rnecklenburgcountync.gov
.
•
� .wDEQ'v North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources '
Mooresville Regional Office i bID East Center:\venue,Suite 3UI!Mooresville North Carolina 28115 1
/ .04.663.1699
v '
1i

CHARLOTTE,
WTER
March 20 2023
Mr. Andrew Pitner
Regional Supervisor
Mooresville Regional Office.
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
610 East Center Avenue, Suite 301
Mooresville,North Carolina 28115
Subject: Response•to Noticeof Violation
Tracking.#NOV-2023'-DV-0.107
Sanitary Sewer Overflows—January 2023
Collection System Permit No. WQCS00001
Charlotte Water Collection System', Mecklenburg County
Dear Mr. Pitner:
This letter'is:in response to the NC Department of Environmental Quality's(NCDEQ)Notice of
Violation letter dated February 23,2023, which was,received by Charlotte Water-Field
Operations on February 27,2023.
NCDEQ identified the following Sanitary Sewer Overflow(SSO)'incident that occurred in
January 2023 for consideration of a Notice of Violation with the possibility of.a civil penalty.
In response, Charlotte Water is providing the following evidence that the overflow cited was
unintentional and beyond the reasonable control of our operation and that compliance with the
collection system permit remains our utmost responsibility.
Incident.#202300064 occurred on January 11, 2023, located at 11711 Dan Maples Dr. as the •
result of a debris blockage as reported in the five-day BIMS report. Please seethe attached
spreadsheet for details of the response for this and all January SSOs.
Incident#202300172 occurred on January 30,,2023, located at 8231 Magnolia Estates as the
result of a grease blockage as reported in the five-day BIMS report. Please see the attached
spreadsheet for details of the response for this.and all January SSOs.
As stated in,section I.3.b. of the Permit, Charlotte Water must demonstrate through properly
signed, contemporaneous operating logs; or other evidence that the causes Of the SSOs were
exceptional,unintentional,temporary and caused by factors beyond the reasonable control of the
permittee; the SSOs could not have,been prevented by the exercise of reasonable control, such as
proper management,operation and maintenance; adequate treatment facilities or collection
system facilities or components(e.g. adequately enlarging treatment or collection facilities to
accommodate growth or adequately•controlling and preventing infiltration and inflow); and the
permittee took all reasonable steps to stop, and mitigate the impact of,the discharge as soon as
Charlotte Water 5730 General Conuuerce Dr.Charlotte,North Carolina 28213
charlottewater.org

2.
possible. All protocols were followed according to the Charlotte Water.-Sanitary Sewer
Overflow Rapid Response Plan(SSORRP).
The mitigation factors considered for enforcement listed in the NOV letter and guidance
provided by DEQ when considering a NOV with civil penalty are listed below with additional
reasons for not imposing a civil penalty:
1) There was minimal or no harm to the natural resources of the State,to public health, or to
private property and no large-scale fish kill found or recreational areas closed due to the above
spill. Immediate steps,were taken.to reduce damage as described above.
•
2) Maximum effort was taken to minimize the duration and gravity of the discharges. This is
evident in Charlotte Water's policy of maintaining 24-hour rapid response crews to address spills
quickly which reduces the duration and impact of sewer spills.In addition, contracts with
construction companies for emergency repairs and vendors for needed equipment are maintained
continuously so the time required for permanent repairs to be performed is reduced. Cleaning
contracts are continuously-maintained-for cleaning with established numbers of for both
equipment and crews as needed.
3) The effect on water quantity and quality was minimal. The average response time for
all the SSOs in January 2023 Was 53 minutes.By responding quickly to overflows less volume
is discharged minimizing the impact to the public and surface waters. Charlotte Water has been
diligent in maintaining the required response times. This documentation is evidence that
Charlotte Water makes every possible attempt to follow the:SSORRP.
4) The documentation indicates that the cost of rectifying damage did not deter Charlotte
Water's goal of correcting SSO problems and returning an area to the-pre-spill condition as
quickly as possible. See attached work orders. The mobilization for point repairs of the sewer
line, using.Charlotte'Water construction crews or established contracts with private contractors,
enables Charlotte Water to start a repair immediately and reduce the volume of the overflow.
5) In addition,as,indicated by the information provided,the dollar amounts spent on
staffing, system rehabilitation, rapid response and cleanup indicate the SSOs were not the result
of avoiding the costs of compliance.Charlotte Water commits considerable resources to
evaluation of each spill from an operational perspective by holding bi-monthly meetings with the
Chief of Operations and.all Zone Managers, Field Supervisors, cleaning operators,
planner/schedulers, rehabilitation engineers and other support staff This review ensures that all
established protocols for SSO response are followed so additional spills can be prevented.
6) The SSOs were not the result of willful or intentional actions on the part of Charlotte
Water but of normal usage in our 4;574 miles of sewer system with approximately 1,700 miles
being off street and along streams where severe natural conditions may affect the lines. So far in
FY23 509 miles of'sewer has been cleaned or 11.37% of the total:
7) Charlotte Water's prior record indicates a willingness to address problem areas by
designating them as hot spots which require additional cleaning, root control or rehabilitation,
Charlotte Water 5730 General Commerce Dr.Charlotte.North Carolina 28213
charlottc«•ater:org

3
adding new technology and equipment,and cleaning more sewer line than required. Charlotte
Water has installed 410"Smart Cover" main line blockage detection equipment units. The
devices are tied directly into Charlotte Water's dispatch system and an on-duty, dispatcher
sees the alarm and initiates a response. For FY23 31 blockages,to date,have been
discovered by Smart Cover devices.,The devices have now been installed in the largest
basin and now over 50% of the total system will have early warning capabilities which
indicate rising levels of flow in manholes and possible main line blockages.Future plans
include incorporating the devices into Charlotte Water's preventative maintenance program
using the trending feature to'indicate the need for cleaning. Also, an on-call schedule-of the
Environmental Program Inspectors has been developed to monitor and respond to alerts and
assist"rapid response"crews with the devices.
8) Enforcement costs were not significant due to Charlotte Water's immediate response by
various divisions and in providing all information required to NCDEQ.
Charlotte Water is respectively requesting that a civil penalty`not be applied to the above'SSOs
that occurred during the month of January 2023, due to the above factors being satisfied and
evidence showing these SSO events was not reasonably expected to occur.
If you have any questions or require further information, please contact me at phone number
704-63'4-5410 or via.email at [e-mail]
charlottenc.gov
Sincerely,.
Tim Downs
Compliance Officer
Field Operations Division
Charlotte Water
Attachments: DEQ's NOV and other pertinent information
Cc: Marion Sanders, Interim Chief of Operations, Charlotte Water
Jackie Jarrell, Deputy Director, Charlotte Water
Ms; Joanna Harbison, Environmental Specialist, MRO
Charlotte Water 5730 Genettal.Commerce Dr.Charlotte.North Carolina 28213
charlottewatcr.org