NC0065684_Complaint_20240115 (2)

Baker, Caroline D
From: Justin Nicolette <[e-mail]>
Sent: Friday, December 15, 2023 6:25 PM
To: Becker, Shannon V
Cc: Pitner, Andrew; Wyatt Dunn; Gavin Eales; Sewell, Alex; Scheller, Roberto; Erinn Nichols;
Max Hsiang; Graham Hall; Matt Dillard; [e-mail]; Paul Newman; Franklin,
Christopher H; David Scholl; [e-mail]; [e-mail];
Wolanin, Melinda; [e-mail]; [e-mail]; Biser,
Elizabeth; Talley, Noelle S; Collins, Christopher A; Grzyb, Julie; Pjetraj, Michael;
[e-mail]; Keefer, Heather Vail; Rep. Dan Bishop; Ray Kirby;
[e-mail]
Subject: Re: [External] Aqua Sewer Treatment Plant - Complaint
CAUTION: External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless verified. Report suspicious emails with the Report Message
button located on your Outlook menu bar on the Home tab.
Hi all. The plant sounds like it's going to explode tonight. It's like a freight train is parked behind our house and idling at
full rpm's. We can hear it I. The house and have for much of the afternoon.
And it stinks.
Anyone else hearing this?
Added a few more neighbors and the governors office.
Justin
Sent from my iPhone, typos are inevitable.
On Dec 2, 2023, at 5:09 PM, Gavin Eales <[e-mail]> wrote:
5 pm Saturday evening
A stench that is not fit for human consumption spreads over the neighborhood once again.
How I wish you were all here to savor it !
This is not make believe
Gavin Eales
[phone]
On Dec 1, 2023 at 18:44 -0500, Becker, Shannon V <[e-mail]>, wrote:
Mr. Eales,

Aqua is aware of the odor complaint in the Country Woods East community. We are, and have been,
working to evaluate this situation as previously explained.
When we consider odor in a wastewater system, which separately includes a collection system and
treatment facility, we evaluate the cause and possible options to help mitigate odors naturally
associated with the treatment process. In 2021, when we investigated a separate odor complaint in
this system, we determined they resulted from high levels of certain bacteria in two segments of the
sewer collection system. We then installed chemical feeds to reduce the bacteria levels and verified
the positive results.
Our wastewater treatment facility is being operated properly and meeting state permit requirements,
as has been verified by DEQ in previous communications. When we recently received the new odor
complaint claiming odors were coming from the facility, we investigated and were not able to identify
an odor issue on our site that matched the description. As a result, we brought in an engineering firm
to further evaluate the facility to identify if an issue exists. If the engineering firm determines the
source of the issue is our facility, we will ask the firm to propose ways we can resolve the issue, and
Aqua will take appropriate action.
We will update you and our community partners when we know more.
Respectfully,
Shannon V. Becker
AQUA_
#Eswr&M Utilities Company
Shannon V. Becker
President
Aqua North Carolina, Inc.,

w � f
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From: Gavin Eales <[e-mail]>
Sent: Friday, December 1, 2023 5:03 PM
To: Justin Nicolette <[e-mail]>; Alex Sewell <[e-mail]>
Cc: Pitner, Andrew <[e-mail]>; Wyatt Dunn <[e-mail]>;
Scheller, Roberto <[e-mail]>; Becker, Shannon V
<[e-mail]>; Erinn Nichols <[e-mail]>; Max Hsiang
<[e-mail]>; Graham Hall <[e-mail]>; Matt Dillard
<[e-mail]>; [e-mail]; Paul Newman
<[e-mail]>; Franklin, Christopher H <[e-mail]>; David
Scholl <[e-mail]>; [e-mail]; [e-mail];
Wolanin, Melinda <[e-mail]>; [e-mail];
[e-mail]; Biser, Elizabeth <[e-mail]>; Talley, Noelle S
<[e-mail]>; Collins, Christopher A <[e-mail]>; Grzyb, Julie
<[e-mail]>; Pjetraj, Michael <[e-mail]>;
[e-mail]
Subject: RE: [External] Aqua Sewer Treatment Plant - Complaint
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments
unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
I'm very surprised that I've not even received one single response to my email of November 23
from anybody, until today!
I am astounded that no one cares about this issue enough to actually take action!
This evening, the stench is too terrible.
Will someone take responsibility and get this dealt with ???
We can't be expected to breathe this in !
Gavin Eales
On Dec 1, 2023 at 16:44 -0500, Alex Sewell <[e-mail]>, wrote:
Hi Mr. Pitner,

Since your last update on 10/6/23, I've seen several complaints from residents. There may
be efforts/communications that I'm not aware of right now. Would you be able to give the
group an update?
Thanks,
Alex
% M. Alexander Sewell, Esq., ICMA-CM
Town Manager
Town of Stallings
[phone]
*Pursuant to Chapter 132 of the North Carolina General Statutes, this email message and any
attachments hereto, as well as any electronic mail message(s) that may be sent in response to it
may be considered a public record(s) and as such are subject to request and review in
accordance with the law.
From: Justin Nicolette <[e-mail]>
Sent: Thursday, November 30, 2023 10:51 PM
To: Justin Nicolette <[e-mail]>
Cc: Gavin Eales Gmail <[e-mail]>; Pitner, Andrew
<[e-mail]>; Alex Sewell <[e-mail]>; Wyatt Dunn
<[e-mail]>; Scheller, Roberto <[e-mail]>; Becker,
Shannon V <[e-mail]>; Erinn Nichols <[e-mail]>; Max
Hsiang <[e-mail]>; Graham Hall <[e-mail]>; Matt Dillard
<[e-mail],>; [e-mail]; Paul Newman
<[e-mail]>; [e-mail]; David Scholl
<[e-mail]>; [e-mail]; [e-mail];
Wolanin, Melinda <[e-mail]>; [e-mail];
[e-mail]; Biser, Elizabeth <[e-mail]>; Talley, Noelle S
<[e-mail]>; [e-mail]; Grzyb, Julie
<[e-mail]>; Pjetraj, Michael <[e-mail]>;
[e-mail]
Subject: Re: [External] Aqua Sewer Treatment Plant - Complaint

people who received this message don't often get email from justin.nicolettekgmail.com. Learn why this is important
The smell is terrible again this evening. Just FYI. Is there anyway I can help you see that there
is a real issue here?
Gov. Cooper's office has also been in touch.
Please help us
Justin
Sent from my iPhone, typos are inevitable.
On Nov 23, 2023, at 7:55 PM, Justin Nicolette <[e-mail]>
wrote:
Gavin,
I agree. The smell has been horrible. What a way to ruin a holiday for many
of us.
Among other things, I've been working with a few reporters on a story about
this to help raise broader awareness of the issue and lack of action. I'll send
you the information and encourage you to reach out directly to the
reporter.
Justin (affected homeowner not in CWE)
Sent from my iPhone, typos are inevitable.

On Nov 23, 2023, at 12:18 PM, Gavin Eales Gmail
<[e-mail]> wrote:
Hello All.
Things are still really bad with the smell originating from the
sewerage plant in Country woods East,.
Last night was terrible, why must our breath be
contaminated with this filth in the air? Whether it is a gas or
airborne solids, it is still originating from the orifices of the
areas human residents, and why should I be breathing that
into my nostrils? and why should my thanksgiving guests and
family breathe it in?
Please, we need this escalated,.
Thanking you in advance
Gavin Eales
From: Pitner, Andrew[mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: Friday, October 6, 2023 3:40 PM
To: Sewell, Alex <[e-mail]>; Wyatt Dunn
<[e-mail]>; Basinger, Corey
<[e-mail]>; [e-mail]
Cc: Scheller, Roberto <[e-mail]>; Gavin
Eales Gmail <[e-mail]>; Becker, Shannon V
<[e-mail]>; Erinn Nichols
<[e-mail]>; Max Hsiang
<[e-mail]>; Graham Hall
<[e-mail]>; Ruben Ortiz
<[e-mail]>; [e-mail]; Paul
Newman <[e-mail]>;
[e-mail]; David Scholl
<[e-mail]>; [e-mail];
[e-mail]; Wolanin, Melinda
<[e-mail]>; iason.stooge nke@wsoc-
tv.com; [e-mail]; Biser, Elizabeth
<[e-mail]>; Talley, Noelle S
<[e-mail]>; [e-mail];
Grzyb, Julie <[e-mail]>; Pjetraj, Michael
<[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: [External] Aqua Sewer Treatment Plant -
Complaint

Hi Alex and others,
I apologize for the delay in responding to your email. DEQ-
Division of Water Resources (DWR) staff from this office
have been working in the background since you and others
reached out to us this week to report continuing odor
problems that Aqua's Country Woods wastewater treatment
facility is creating in the neighborhood. Unfortunately,
DWR's attempts to get Aqua to respond to us were
unsuccessful.
As Aqua had been unresponsive to our calls and emails,
DWR staff visited the site yesterday unannounced. While
I'm glad to report that DWR staff were greeted by Aqua staff
and an engineering contractor who suggested they were
considering steps they could take, DWR has not yet been
presented with a plan to address the problems. There are
several operational, engineering, and on the ground
approaches that could be taken by Aqua to address the
odors and DWR has requested that Aqua submit a plan to us
to do just that.
We understand that until Aqua implements such a plan,
there are likely to be additional odor problems as
wastewater treatment is a biological process that will always
generate some level of odor. Until that time, we'd request
that the following be included in future concerns about the
facility:
Andrew Pitner, DWR, Andrew. [e-mail], 704-235-
2180
Roberto Scheller, DWR, [e-mail], 704-
235-2204
Christopher Collins, Aqua North Carolina Western
Operations Area Manager, [e-mail],
704-489-9404
Shannon Becker, Aqua North Carolina, President, ,
[e-mail], 919-467-8712

Thanks,
Andrew
Andrew H. Pitner, P.G.
Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Mooresville Regional Office
Division of Water Resources
Department of Environmental Quality
704 235 2180 direct office
704 663 1699 MRO main line
704 663 6040 fax
DWR website: http://www.ncwater.org
610 East Center Avenue, Suite 301, Mooresville, NC 28115
NOTICE: Email correspondence to and from this address is
subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be
disclosed to third parties unless the content is exempt by
statute or other regulation.
From: Alex Sewell <[e-mail]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 3, 2023 9:55 AM
To: Wyatt Dunn <[e-mail]>; Basinger, Corey
<[e-mail]>; Pitner, Andrew
<[e-mail]>; [e-mail]
Cc: Scheller, Roberto <[e-mail]>; Gavin
Eales Gmail <[e-mail]>; Becker, Shannon V
<[e-mail]>; Erinn Nichols
<[e-mail]>; Max Hsiang
<[e-mail]>; Graham Hall
<[e-mail]>; Ruben Ortiz
<[e-mail]>; [e-mail]; Paul
Newman <[e-mail]>;

[e-mail]; David Scholl
<[e-mail]>; [e-mail];
[e-mail]; Wolanin, Melinda
<[e-mail]>; iason.stooge nke@wsoc-
tv.com; [e-mail]; Biser, Elizabeth
<[e-mail]>; Talley, Noelle S
<[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: [External] Aqua Sewer Treatment Plant -
Complaint
CAUTION: External email. Do not click links or open attachments
unless verified. Report suspicious emails with the Report Message
button located on your Outlook menu bar on the Home tab.
Mr. Basinger & Mr. Pitner,
Good morning. Attached is a letter Stallings Mayor Wyatt
Dunn to NCDENR last year regarding objectionable odors
coming from Aqua North Carolina's Wastewater Treatment
Plant in Stallings. The Town of Stallings has recently
received several more complaints regarding the smell and I
am consolidating everyone from several different email
chains to keep everyone in the loop.
What is NCDENR's plan of action here?
Thank you for your assistance,
Alex
<i mage001.j pg>
M. Alexander Sewell, Esq., ICMA-CM
Town Manager
Town of Stallings

[phone]
*Pursuant to Chapter 132 of the North Carolina General
Statutes, this email message and any attachments hereto, as
well as any electronic mail message(s) that may be sent in
response to it may be considered a public record(s) and as
such are subject to request and review in accordance with the
law.
From: Wyatt Dunn <[e-mail]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2022 11:42 AM
To: Basinger, Corey <[e-mail]>
Cc: Scheller, Roberto <[e-mail]>; Pitner,
Andrew <[e-mail]>; Alex Sewell
<[e-mail]>; Town Council
<[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [External] Aqua Sewer Treatment Plant -
Complaint
Corey,
Thank you for your reply and I look forward to DENR's next
steps.
Thanks.
Wyatt Dunn, Mayor
Town of Stallings
Get Outlook for iOS
From: Basinger, Corey <[e-mail]>
Sent: Sunday, March 13, 2022 9:04 PM
To: Wyatt Dunn <[e-mail]>
Cc: Scheller, Roberto <[e-mail]>; Pitner,
Andrew <[e-mail]>
10

Subject: RE: [External] Aqua Sewer Treatment Plant -
Complaint
Mayor Dunn,
This Office continues to investigate the odor issues you
reference in your email.
I have included Roberto Scheller and Andrew Pitner on my
response. Mr. Scheller is our field representative
responsible for the compliance of the Country Woods
wastewater treatment facility.
Regards,
Corey Basinger
W. Corey Basinger
Regional Supervisor
NC Division of Water Resources
Mooresville Regional Office
610 E. Center Avenue, Suite 301
Mooresville, NC 28115
704-235-2168 (new Office number)
Chairman
Water Pollution Control System Operators Certification
Commission
704-235-2168 (new Office number)
11

From: Wyatt Dunn [mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: Friday, March 11, 2022 4:07 PM
To: Basinger, Corey <[e-mail]>
Cc: Biser, Elizabeth <[e-mail]>;
Gov_Requests <[e-mail]>; Talley, Noelle S
<[e-mail]>; [e-mail]; Sen. Todd
Johnson <[e-mail]>; Rep. Dean Arp
<[e-mail]>; [e-mail];
[e-mail]; [e-mail];
[e-mail]; [e-mail]; Sewell, Alex
<[e-mail]>; Graham Hall
<[e-mail]>; David Scholl
<[e-mail]>
Subject: [External] Aqua Sewer Treatment Plant - Complaint
CAUTION: External email. Do not click links or open attachments
unless you verify. Send all suspicious email as an attachment to
Report Spam.
Dear Mr. Basinger,
Attached is a letter regarding complaints about the
oder coming from Aqua Sewer Treatment Plant in the
Country Woods East neighood in Stallings, NC. As you
can see I have forwarded this attachment to state
elected officials and local news media. I look forward
to hearing from you on what action can be taken by the
State of NC.
Thank you for your assistance.
Thank you,
Wyatt Dunn, Mayor
Town of Stallings
12

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----------------------- IMPORTANT NOTICE: This e-mail message
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the confidential information it may contain. E-mail messages
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Email correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North
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From: Justin Nicolette[mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: Thursday, October 5, 2023 7:21 AM
To: Alex Sewell <[e-mail]>
Cc: Wyatt Dunn <[e-mail]>; Basinger, Corey
<[e-mail]>; Pitner, Andrew
<[e-mail]>; Scheller, Roberto
<[e-mail]>; Gavin Eales Gmail
<[e-mail]>; Becker, Shannon V
<[e-mail]>; Erinn Nichols
<[e-mail]>; Max Hsiang
<[e-mail]>; Graham Hall
<[e-mail]>; Ruben Ortiz
<[e-mail]>; [e-mail]; Paul
13

Newman <[e-mail]>;
[e-mail]; David Scholl
<[e-mail]>; [e-mail];
[e-mail]; [e-mail];
[e-mail]; [e-mail];
[e-mail]; [e-mail]
Subject: Re: [External] Aqua Sewer Treatment Plant -
Complaint
Good morning from Golden Acres, lot 14 - otherwise known
as 15709 Knollwood Place in Indian Trail.
As we opened our sliding glass door to enjoy the fall temps
this a.m., we were greeted by the stench of the wastewater
plant yet again. This obnoxious moment occurred as we
were making our daughter's school lunch, so imagine how
lovely that was at 6:45 in the morning.
Please help us; please fix this problem.
Justin Nicolette
704-301-4544
On Tue, Oct 3, 2023 at 9:55 AM Alex Sewell
<[e-mail]> wrote:
Mr. Basinger & Mr. Pitner,
Good morning. Attached is a letter Stallings Mayor Wyatt
Dunn to NCDENR last year regarding objectionable odors
coming from Aqua North Carolina's Wastewater Treatment
Plant in Stallings. The Town of Stallings has recently
received several more complaints regarding the smell and I
am consolidating everyone from several different email
chains to keep everyone in the loop.
What is NCDENR's plan of action here?
14

Thank you for your assistance,
Alex
<>M. Alexander Sewell, Esq., ICMA-CM
Town Manager
Town of Stallings
[phone]
*Pursuant to Chapter 132 of the North Carolina General
Statutes, this email message and any attachments hereto, as
well as any electronic mail message(s) that may be sent in
response to it may be considered a public record(s) and as
such are subject to request and review in accordance with the
law.
From: Wyatt Dunn <[e-mail]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2022 11:42 AM
To: Basinger, Corey <[e-mail]>
Cc: Scheller, Roberto <[e-mail]>; Pitner,
Andrew <[e-mail]>; Alex Sewell
<[e-mail]>; Town Council
<[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [External] Aqua Sewer Treatment Plant -
Complaint
Corey,
Thank you for your reply and I look forward to DENR's next
steps.
Thanks.
Wyatt Dunn, Mayor
15

Town of Stallings
Get Outlook for iOS
From: Basinger, Corey <[e-mail]>
Sent: Sunday, March 13, 2022 9:04 PM
To: Wyatt Dunn <[e-mail]>
Cc: Scheller, Roberto <[e-mail]>; Pitner,
Andrew <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: [External] Aqua Sewer Treatment Plant -
Complaint
Mayor Dunn,
This Office continues to investigate the odor issues you
reference in your email.
I have included Roberto Scheller and Andrew Pitner on my
response. Mr. Scheller is our field representative
responsible for the compliance of the Country Woods
wastewater treatment facility.
Regards,
Corey Basinger
W. Corey Basinger
Regional Supervisor
NC Division of Water Resources
Mooresville Regional Office
610 E. Center Avenue, Suite 301
16

Mooresville, NC 28115
704-235-2168 (new Office number)
Chairman
Water Pollution Control System Operators Certification
Commission
704-235-2168 (new Office number)
From: Wyatt Dunn [mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: Friday, March 11, 2022 4:07 PM
To: Basinger, Corey <[e-mail]>
Cc: Biser, Elizabeth <[e-mail]>;
Gov_Requests <[e-mail]>; Talley, Noelle S
<[e-mail]>; [e-mail]; Sen. Todd
Johnson <[e-mail]>; Rep. Dean Arp
<[e-mail]>; [e-mail];
[e-mail]; [e-mail];
[e-mail]; [e-mail]; Sewell, Alex
<[e-mail]>; Graham Hall
<[e-mail]>; David Scholl
<[e-mail]>
Subject: [External] Aqua Sewer Treatment Plant - Complaint
CAUTION: External email. Do not click links or open attachments
unless you verify. Send all suspicious email as an attachment to
Report Spam.
Dear Mr. Basinger,
Attached is a letter regarding complaints about the oder
coming from Aqua Sewer Treatment Plant in the Country
Woods East neighood in Stallings, NC. As you can see I have
forwarded this attachment to state elected officials and local
news media. I look forward to hearing from you on what
action can be taken by the State of NC.
17

Thank you for your assistance.
Thank you,
Wyatt Dunn, Mayor
Town of Stallings
----------------------- IMPORTANT NOTICE: This e-mail message
is intended to be received only by persons entitled to receive
the confidential information it may contain. E-mail messages
may contain information that is confidential and legally
privileged. Please do not read, copy, forward, or store this
message unless you are an intended recipient of it. If you
have received this message in error, please forward it to the
sender and delete it completely from your computer system.
For auditing purposes, a copy of this message has been
saved in a permanent database.
----------------------- IMPORTANT NOTICE: This e-mail message
is intended to be received only by persons entitled to receive
the confidential information it may contain. E-mail messages
may contain information that is confidential and legally
privileged. Please do not read, copy, forward, or store this
message unless you are an intended recipient of it. If you
have received this message in error, please forward it to the
sender and delete it completely from your computer system.
For auditing purposes, a copy of this message has been
saved in a permanent database.
Thanks,
Justin
<3-11-22 - Letter to State Re Aqua Sewer Plant.docx>
IMPORTANT NOTICE: This e-mail message is intended to be received only
by persons entitled to receive the confidential information it may contain. E-mail messages
may contain information that is confidential and legally privileged. Please do not read, copy,
forward, or store this message unless you are an intended recipient of it. If you have received
this message in error, please forward it to the sender and delete it completely from your
18

computer system. For auditing purposes, a copy of this message has been saved in a
permanent database.
19