WQ0044809_Response to Notice_20231114

8771-B Cleveland Rd Clayton NC 27520. P.919-291-2135
November 8, 2023
Mrs. Vanessa Manuel
Assistant Regional Supervisor
NC Department of Environmental Quality
Division of Water Resources
3800 Barrett Drive
Raleigh, North Carolina 27609
Re: Notice of Violation & Intent to Assess Civil Penalty (NOV-2023-CV-0020)
Sewer Extension Permit No. WQ0044809
Dear Vanessa,
On Friday, November 3 rd , 2023, we received a Notice of Violation & Intent to Assess
Civil Penalty letter from your office. The letter is in reference to a private pump station
and forcemain for our building at 8771 Cleveland Road, Clayton, North Carolina. This
building, pump station and forcemain were designed and constructed in 2015. At that
time, Johnston County instructed us that the pump station and forcemain did NOT
require permitting through NCDENR (now NCDEQ) because it was considered a
"private sewer service lateral', based on the low flow and the fact that it only served one
building and connected to a gravity public sewer system. Johnston County required that
the portion of the forcemain inside of the right of way be dedicated as public, since it
was in the public right of way. This forcemain was designed and constructed, tested
and certified to Johnston County standards. Upon approval by Johnston County, the
building, pump station and forcemain were placed into service. Again, it was our
understanding from Johnston County, that the pump station and forcemain connected to
a public gravity sewer were considered a private sanitary sewer service lateral and did
not require permitting through NCDENR.
In 2023, while permitting a project on the adjacent parcel of land, Johnston County
Public Utilities required that we permit the existing pump station and forcemain, after the
fact, since the public portion of the forcemain would now serve two buildings. We were
told that this triggered the need to permit these existing infrastructure items through
NCDEQ. As requested by Johnston County, we submitted Fast Track Applications for
the existing pump station and forcemain. These applications were reviewed by Mr.

Michael Hall of NCDECL and a permit was issued on October 30 th , 2023. As a result of
that permit action, we received this Notice of Violation & Intent to Assess Civil Penalty.
Please find enclosed a copy of the engineered plans provided to Johnston County and a
copy of the As -Built Certification provided by my Engineer for this the 8771 Cleveland
Road project. As you can see from the enclosed documents, we permitted this project
through Johnston County and did everything we were instructed to do. It was our
understanding through discussions with Johnston County Public Utilities staff that this
project was considered a "private sewer service lateral" and did not require permitting
through NCDENR. Hopefully, it is evident through these documents that it was never
our intention to subvert any system or try to construct anything without permission. We
were simply unaware that the pump station and forcemain, serving one building, with
250 gpd flow and discharging to a gravity public sanitary sewer system would require a
permit from NCDENR/NCDEQ. It was our understanding that this was viewed similar to
a residential connection to the sanitary sewer system.
It is my humble and sincere request that NCDEQ not assess civil penalties for this
project, as we believe that we acted in good faith, in accordance with information and
instructions provided by the local permitting authorities and permitting procedures in
place at the time. We acquired all of the permits that we were instructed to, and
believed were relevant or required, including permits through Johnston County and
NCDOT. With regards to what corrective actions we have taken to ensure that future
violations do not occur, we have no future plans for redevelopment or expansion of the
8771 Cleveland Road property so there should be no future violations regarding this
property. Further, on all future projects for Charthouse Holdings, LLC, we will contact
NCDEQ directly to determine if a permit is required, regardless of what we are told by
the local permitting agencies. If you need any other information on our end, please do
not hesitate to contact me directly. Thank you for your time and consideration of this
very important request. If I can be of any further assistance, please don't hesitate to
contact me directly on my cell phone at [phone] or via email at
[e-mail] .
Regards,
Brian D. Gower
Charthouse Holdings, LLC

Red Line Engineering, P.C.
"Engineering Relationships"
October 27, 2015
Mr. Mike Keen
Utilities Project Manager
Johnston County Department of Public Utilities
309 E. Market Street
Smithfield, North Carolina 27577
Re: Brian Gower Sewer Service
Site Plan #15-039-P
Mr. Keen,
Per our phone conversation this morning, please find below the Engineer's Certification for the
sanitary sewer forcemain for the Brian Gower Site, located at 8771 Cleveland Road, Clayton,
North Carolina 27520.
Professional Engineer's Certification:
1, Gary J. McCabe ,attest that the sanitary sewer kmemain far 8771 Cleveland Road has been installed in
substantial comp&nce with the approved Construction Drawings, bearing the seal date of June 26, 2015. Per the As -
Built Survey, provided by True Line Surveying, P.C. and the pressure test, witnessed by Johnston County Department
of Public Utilities Staff on October 27, 2015, the forcemain has been constructed in the proper location and is ready to
be placed into service.
-f
Gary J. McCabe,P.E.
Professional Engineer Name
Red IJne Engineering, P.C.
Engineering Firm - -- -- — — -
3305-109 Durham Drive
Mailing Address
City
919)0064560
Telephone
W.McCabe,
P.E.
Red Line Engineering, P.C.
-- -�e. NC: 27603
State Zip
h. [e-mail]
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NC PE Seal. Slphature & Date
3305-109 Durham Drive 0 Raleigh, NIC 27603 ■ Office: [phone] ■ Fax: [phone]
www.rie-pc.com