WQ0003924_Celadon's Repsonse to NOV's issued by the City of Lincolnton. Lincolnton's permit #0028_20200521

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May 5, 2020
VIA EMAIL & FIRST CLASS MAIL
Debra V. Tunstall
City of-Lincolnton Waste Water Treatment
PO Box 617
Lincolnton, North Carolina 28093-0617
Re: Notice of Significant Non -Compliance
Permit Number: O028
Dear Ms. Tunstall;
This Firm represents the interests of Celadon Recycling Solutions. In that capacity, please allow
this letter to provide a written response to the Letter of Explanation and accompanying Notice of
Significant Non -Compliance ("Notice") issued on April 20, 2010. The primary 'basis for the Notice
appears to be the City's contention that Celadon violated a "verbal agreement entered between the City
and Celadon, on March 18, 2020" wherein the City contends that Celadon agreed to "cease all wastewater
discharges until such time that the pretreatment department feels comfortable with [Celadon's] processes
and lifts this cessation." With all due respect, it was never Celadon's understanding that a verbal
agreement of that nature was entered into on that date or any date wherein Celadon agreed to "cease all
wastewater discharges." Therefore Celadon denies there was a Non -Compliance.
As you indicated there was a meeting held on March 18t` wherein modifications were discussed to
Celadon's existing permit which was valid through February 28, 2023. The meeting was called at
Celadons request. As background to the meeting, on March I1'" Celadon sent the City an email
indicating that "[dote washing will be restarting soon following changes to the system. The City
responded and in its response indicated it would send Celadon "a copy of changes to [Celadon's] permit."
Until this email exchange Celadon was not aware of what the City was changing on Celadon's permit.
While Celadon had no objection to a change it did request the opportunity to discuss and review the
proposed changes. The purpose of the March 18t1' meeting was to discuss those changes.
During the meeting on March 18t', Celadon learned the City wanted to add specifications to
modify Celadon's existing permit in regard to the acceptance of totes and the discharge parameters.
Discussions were held as to how to write up descriptions on incoming totes. Celadon suggested using the
EPA or RCRA standards. At your request, that information was sent to your office by email. There were
also discussions about the City's proposal to modify the permit so that the Biological Oxygen Demand
(BOD5) which was at 951 pounds per day was changed to a 500 PPM. There was no resolution of that
issue although Celadon indicated it thought it could comply with that modification but requested that it be
allowed to review the proposed modifications before they were sent to the City Manager.
At the time of the March l8"' meeting, Celadon was preparing to restart the tote washing
equipment pending completion of changes to the system and operation but not to the wastewater
equipment or process as that would require a permit modification to install and or change the system.
Through the changes, Celadon eliminated the treatment of glue which had been a prior concern of the

May s, 2020
Page 2
City and which is discussed further below. On March 31" Celadon discharged rinse waters. Prior to
discharging, 1 understand Alan Lynch updated you verbally and indicated Celadon was doing batch
treatment which would have involved discharge. There4fier, Perry Keister sent the City a discharge
report on April 9 h documenting the March 3-1" discharge.
There were a number of communications from the City immediately following the submission of
the discharge report on April 9th. After submitting the report, Celadon did receive an email from you
stating "I thought we agreed to communicate before discharging any water into the sewer." That was the
first time Celadon received any indication the City understood a verbal agreement had been agreed upon
on March 10 to "cease all wastewater discharges.". Prior to that time it was Celadon's understanding
that it was to contact the City after the rotary drum was installed and prior to the startup of the rotary
drum (and any related discharge) as the installation of the rotary drum would be a modification to the
permit. It is important to note that the discharge on March 31 ' was not related to the startup of the rotary
drum..
Celadon followed up with the City again on April 14a' after a storm terminated power to
Celadon's facility. Representatives of the City visited Celadon that day and asked whether Celadon had
discharged. That question is somewhat unusual in that on April 90' Celadon had notified the City of its
discharge as indicated above. While Celadon disputes the existence of the verbal agreement, on April 1 P
You instructed Celadon not to discharge and there has been no subsequent discharge.
Simply put, on the date(s) in question Celadon was authorized to operate under the existing
permit which was in effect until February 28, 2023 and, while I apologize for any confusion, Celadon
never understood it was to cease all waste water discharge "until such time that the pretreatment
department feels comfortable with [Celadon's] process." Candidly I would, think an agreement or
directive of that nature would have been memorialized in writing given its importance. In that regard, it is
my understanding that prior conversations with the City suggested that changes to the permit status or
requirements made by the City would be memorialized in writing in order to improve the communication
between Celadon and the City. In regard to written communication, I should also note that Celadon did
receive a letter from the City on March 6, 2020. (Exhibit A). While that letter denied Celadons request
for a Centralized Waste Treatment permit it did not limit Celadons's operations (or discharge) under its
existing permit.
The Letter of Explanation also made a number of comments which I would like to clarify as they
suggest that Celadon's past discharge practices lead to the verbal agreement. The Letter indicated that at
"[a]t various times throughout 2018 and 2019, Celadon has introduced various unknown pollutants into
the City's sewer when discharging several of [Celadon's] waters to include [Celadon's] glue totes.
Celadon always tests its discharges as required by all applicable codes and permits and thus never deals
with "unknown pollutants" nor has Celadon ever knowingly discharged an "unknown pollutant." While
Celadon acknowledges there were discussions with the City after the City expressed concerns about a
change in the physical appearance of the City's wastewater there was never a determination that it was a
detrimental change to the POTW operations and no further action was taken by the City or addressed in
the proposed permit modifications.
Celadon acknowledges there was a prior violation beginning on April 22, 2019. That violation
occurred when "sudsy foam" entered into the City's sewer system. Celadon accepted the Notice of
Violation and took the required steps to ensure there were no subsequent problems. Exhibit B contains
the documentation between Celadon and the City related to that Notice.

May 5, 2020
Page 2
There were also discussions several months ago between Celadon and the City relative to pH
testing. A copy of the communication relative to that issue is attached as Exhibit C. Simply put when
concerns were raised by the City, Celadon identified the problem which caused the pH violation and
agreed to do a second sample as required by the letter dated November 27, 2019. There have been no
subsequent issues regarding pH testing.
Celadon takes its responsibilities very seriously. If anything Celadon's response to questions
concerning prior discharge practices indicate it accepts responsibility when warranted and makes changes
to its practices and procedures when appropriate. Likewise, Celadon would never ignore a directive from
the City. Candidly if you take "a step hack" the question would be asked as to what Celadon had to gain
by starting to discharge especially when it then told the City it discharged. The obvious answer is nothing
and in fact it has created a myriad of problems for Celadon. Simply put Celadon was not aware the City
understood there was a "verbal agreement" that is the basis for the Notice of Non -Compliance.
Celadon would like to work with the City to ensure improved communication and a better
relationship going forward. With that goal in mind this letter will also request that Celadon be afforded
the opportunity to meet with the City and discuss these matters before any further action relative to
Celadon is taken by the City. Meanwhile 1 will remain
Very truly yours,
BANKS LAW
F. Douglas Banks
cc: Robert W. Pearson

EXHIBIT A

CITY COUNCIL
Ed L. Hatley, Mayor
Mart€n A. Eaddy, Mayor Pro-Tem
Mary Frances white
Roby D.letton
Jim Watson
March 6, 2020
Jeff Reynolds
Celadon Resources, LLC
288 Whitehouse Drive
Lincolnton, IBC 28092
Gear Mr. Reynolds:
r
Lincolnton NC
CrrY MANAGER
Steve ZicketooSe, MBA
szi kefoose@jjnceslrlior�nc.org
CITY CLERK
Daphne Ingram
:am lincnlnin.era
CITY ATTORNEY
ThomasJ. Wilson, jr,
This letter serves as notification of actions taken by City Council at their March Sth, 2020 meeting
regarding the request from Celadon to operate udder a Centralized Waste Treatment permit.
Councilman Eaddy made a motion '?o deny Celadon's request to expand their business model
requiring a Centralized Waste Treatment permit and that we ploce there on notice that any further
violation of the existing permit will result in an immediate cancellation of such permit,"
The motion was unanimously approved.
City staff will continue all related compliance monitoring with respect to Industrial User
Pretreatment Permit 0028. please direct questions related to this permit to the Wastewater Treatment
Plant staff.
c: Robert Pearson
Don Surkey
Debra Tunstali
Richard Haynes
Sincerely,
Steven S. Zickefoose, MBA
City Manager/Finance Director
114 WEST SYCAMORE STREET- P.O. SOX 617 • LINCOLNI"TON, NORTH CAROUNA 28093-0617
PHONE [phone]

EXHIBIT B

June 14, 2019
Mr. Lorin Weaver
Celadon Recycling Solutions
288 Whitehouse Drive
Lincointon, North Carolina 28092
Subject: Notice of Violation and Assessment of Fine, Permit #0028
Mr. Weaver.
Celadon Recycling Solutions has been found to tie in violation of their Permit #0028, with an effective date of
March 13, 2018_ The initial violation occurred on April 22, 2019, and again on dune e and 70, 2019, These
violations are summarized below:
April 22, 2019 you received a Notice of Violation
for discharging sudsy foamy water into the City's
sewer system. On June 6`" and 7"-, you were
again in violation when additional sudsy foamy
water entered into the Citv's sewer system.
The City of Lincointon Sewer Use Ordinance and
Enforcement Response Plan authorizes the City
of Lincointon to fine Celadon Recycling Soln. for
prohibited water discharges into our WWTP.
Pursuant to the Sewer Use Ordinance and the Enforcement Response Flan, the pretreatment Compliance
Technician, and Industrial Users have established an agreement to follow the rules and regulations set forth by
the City of Lincointon. The approval for this fine can be found in the City's Sewer Use Ordinance and
Enforcement Response Plan. Please refer to these documents for any concerns.
On the morning of June 6, 2019, l was informed by the operator and maintenance technician that sudsy foamy
water had entered our WWTP. After reviewing some pictures showing the foam mixing with the wastewater in
various operational units and equipment, in our plant, I then drove around the plant to assess the concerns.
After assessing the foam, the maintenance technician and I visited three lift stations in hopes of determining
where the Sudsy discharge was coming from. During this visit, ail three lift stations had been pumped down,
and I could not make a definitive determination of where the foam had originated. Later that morning, I again
visited the lift stations with our chemist in hopes of learning which industrial user was discharging this foam.
The sudsy foam was seen entering the lift station were Celadon discharges their waters. upon identifying that
the industrial user was Celadon, we immediately visited your facility and verified, by looking in your Clearwell,
that this foam was coming from your plant.
On the evening of .tune B, 2019, our operator whose shift began at seven in the evening until seven in the
morning documented that the foam had again entered our plant anct was discharging into the river. Pictures of
the river covered with foam were taken on June 7'", and forwarded to my superintendent and me. Both sets of
pictures were also forwarded to your email.

Page eighteen, Section 8-60(b)(22), of the Sewer Use Ordinance, under specific prohibitions, address the
prohibition of your type discharge. Also, page severs of our Enforcement Response Plan classifies this type
violation as a Violations of Permit Conditions.
Unauthorized discharges entering the City's sewer system may be detrimental to our good bacteria and can
Have an impact on our state limit for proper removal. It is also against Federal and North Carolina State
Regulations. Therefore. no industrial user can discharge such type waters into our system. In accordance with
the Terms and Conditions outlined in the City's Sewer Use Ordinance and Enforcement Response Plan, as
stated above, under types of violation and recommendations for corrective action a penalty in the amount of
1 600, 0 is hereby assessed to Celadon Recycling Solutions. Payment of the penalty must be submitted
to this office within 30 days of receipt of this notice.
The payment shalt be made to: City of Lincointon
PO Drawer 617
Lincolnton, NC 28093
Celadon Recycling Solutions can appeal this fine by submitting in a written format a letter to the Pretreatment
Compliance Technician identifying any ConCems. This appeal must be received within 30 days of the receipt of
this ietter
If you have any questions, please call Debra V. Tunstail, Pretreatment Compliance Technician., at 704-74()-
7584 or email meat d raturstali(Mci.lincolnton,n�,us.
Regards,
Habra V. Tunsta
Pretreatment Complaance Technician
City of Lincolnton

Lorin Weaver
Celadon Recycling Solutions
288 Whitehouse Drive
Lincolnton, NC 28092
NOVICE OF VIOLATION
Industrial User Name:
Celadon Recycling Solutions
Date of Notification:
June 14,2019
This Notice of Violation is being issued for violating your April 22, 2019 Notice of Violation. On May bm,
2019,.1 received a written. response from you outlinbg your plan for corrective aetion to prevent further
foam from catering the City's sower system. Part of your corrective action plan is listed as follows: (I).
"We will continue to operate with existing customers." (2), "The EQ tank will be re -circulated and treated
via. the DAl° and then with your permission we will start to 'bleed that slowly to the system. We will notify
you as to when this will start, We will put a schedule together .for calendar days and proposed release
amounts. The amounts will stay constant for a week and then we will touch base on increasing the amount
with your permission."
I did. agree to this plan of slowly bleeding this product back for discharge aver having this product go
through many re -circulations and then being treafent by the DAF. 1 also explained if You saw any sudsy
foam, you had to discontinue your process and it could not be discharged into the City's sewer lines. 1 also
stated you could try a defoatning agent, but could not discharge any sudsy foam into the sewer lines.
According to your response plan for corrective action the plan was not followed as outlined and your
discharge places you in violation of the terfns of our agreement, 1 have also forwarded all pictures for you
to see how our waste treatment plant, operational units, and river looked covered with foam. Please refer to
the City's Sewer Use Ordinance and Enforcement Response Alan ss a guide of what can be discharged into,
the City's sewer system. It is essential that you know which process wastewaters acre detergent {used or
harmful to the City's Wastewater Treatment Plant. You should always keep in mind the protection of our
wastewater plant and our good bacteria are paramount for protmtion of the United States Waters. A written
response to this Notice ofviolation is due within 15 days from the date of notification above. Your w-riilen
resiw,s:se should outline rc-asons fcX- n0t7compliance and idle cOffec:tive actions taken to achietie compliance.
Failure to correct this violation u�itl lead to escalated actions by the city of i inee�lntc�c}, which includes
and m suspen.sir�n of service,
Notice of Violation written res nse due date: June 29,201

SOLUTIONS
288 Whitehouse Drive Lincolnton, NC 28092.
Date 7.8.2019
To: Debra
From: Lorin Weaver
RE: EQ tank water at CRS LLC
Debra we are still evaluating the best treatment strategy for the wastewater located in the 300,000 EQ
tank. We continue to recirculate and aerate the material to prevent any deterioration in the materials
while we evaluate treatment alternatives.
Treatment being looked at:
Batch treatment through dewatering equipment and then aeration in EQ tank, with addition of
defoamers. Followed by oxidation via ozone.
Ferric and Lime treatment and then followed by Ozone and or peroxide
Solidification of the materials and land filling
We look to finish this study within 60 days
Sincerely
Lori L. Weaver
President

EXHIBIT C

CELADON RECYCLING
SOLUTIONS
288 Whitehouse Drive Lincolnton, NC 28092
Debra u. Tunstall
City of Lincolnton, NC
RE: Notice of violation dated 11.22.19
Date: November 27, 2019
Celadon has identified the problem which caused the pH violation and will do a second sample as
required by the letter dated November 27, 2019. Blue ridge will be doing the sampling and reporting the
results on or before December 22, 2019,
We will be implementing the following procedures starting immediately and add a second step with the
next thirty days
Procedure 1
Operators will be required to test the pH of the effluent every hour and record the results in a three-ring
binder located adjacent to the effluent sampling point. Operators will receive additional training on all
permit standards and the importance to adhere to all permit parameters.
If the pH is out of compliance, they will redirect the effluent back to the Equalization tank for
retreatment and pH correction
Procedure 2
We will be procuring a pH probe and preamp and installing it in the Clearweli tank. The pH controller is
already installed and powered,
This controller has an alarm light and it will be set to show alarm status if the pH is out of the range of
6.5 to 8.8 S.U.
Calibration of this probe will be done at a minimum of once per week and logged into the same three
ring binder as the pH recordings required in procedure 1 under a separate tab.
As always, this binder will always be available for City and State officials to review _
Sincerely,
Lorin L. Weaver
President

Lincqlpton NC
t b w
Lorin Weaver
CeIadon Recycling Solutions
288 Whitehouse Drive
Lincolnton, NC 28092
NOTICE OF VIOLATION
Industrial User Name:
Celadon RecyclimZ Solutions
Date of Notification:
]Novem ber 22, 2019
Monitoring of your wastewater discharge to the City of Lincolnton sewer system has revealed
noncompliance for the parameters listed below. Corrective action(s) must be taken to return to compliance.
A written response to this Notice of Violation is due within 15 days from the date of notification above.
The written, response should outline reasons for noncompliance and the corrective actions taken to achieve
compliance. Failure to correct violations will lead to escalated actions by the City of Lincolnton, which
includes fines and/or suspension of service. Please note: any parameter in violation listed below trust be re -
sampled as outlined in your pretreatment permit. This°is.in•additi6n to any schied'iled mont2tty sa nntini.
Please set a day for Blue Ridge lab to resample for pEl
Notice -of Violation written response due date: December 7.2019
Re -sample analysis results dire date: December 22, 2019
SamF)le Date Parameter Permit Limit Monitoring Results
10/16/19 PAN 6.0-9.0 S.�U. 9.3 S.U.
11118/.19 pH 6.€1-9.0 SAL 9.66 S.U.
On 11/21/19 your pH value was 6.61 S.U. This value has satisfied one of the two values that are over
the limit. Please have Blue Ridge resample for the other violation by the date indicated above.
Sinc ly,
Debra V. Tunstall
b
Pretreatment Compliance Technician