WQCS00024_NOV and Intent to Assess_20240117

ROY COOPER
Governor
ELIZABETH S. BISER
Secretary
RICHARD E. ROGERS, JR.
Director
Certified Mail # 7022 0410 0000 2466782
Return Receipt Requested
Wayne Horne, City Manager
City of Lumberton
PO Box 1388
Lumberton, NC 28359-1388
NORTH CAROLINA
Environmental Quality
January 17, 2024
SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION & INTENT TO ISSUE CIVIL PENALTY
Tracking No.: NOV-2024-DV-0031
Sanitary Sewer Overflows - December 2023
Collection System Permit No. WQCS00024
Lumberton Collection System
Robeson County
Dear Permittee:
A review has been conducted of the self -reported Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSO's) 5-Day Report/s submitted by
City of Lumberton. The Division's Fayetteville Regional Office concludes that the City of Lumberton violated Permit
Condition I (2) of Permit No. WQCS00024 by failing to effectively manage, maintain, and operate their collection
system so that there is no SSO (Sanitary Sewer Overflow) to the land or surface waters and the SSO constituted
making an outlet to waters of the State for purposes of G.S. 143-215.1(a)(1), for which a permit is required by
G.S. 143-215.1.
The Fayetteville Regional Office is providing the City of Lumberton an opportunity to provide evidence and
justification as to why the City of Lumberton should not be assessed a civil penalty for the violation(s) that are
summarized below:
Total Vol
Total Surface
Incident Start Duration Vol Water
Number Date (Mins) Location Cause (Gals) (Gals) DWR Action
202301666 12/17/2023 1,110 515 NOIR STREET, Inflow and 55,500 55,500 Notice of Violation
LUMBERTON Infiltration, Severe
Natural Condition
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources
Fayetteville Regional Office 1 225 Green Street. Suite 714 1 Fayetteville, North Carolina 28301
910.433.3300

This Notice of Violation / Notice of Intent to Enforce (NOV/NOI) is being issued for the noted violation. Pursuant
to G.S. 143-215.6A, a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) may be assessed
against any person who violates or fails to act in accordance with the terms, conditions, or requirements of any
permit issued pursuant to G.S. 143-215.1.
This office requests that you respond to this Notice, in writing, within 10 business days of its
receipt. In your response, you should address the causes of non-compliance, remedial actions, and all other
actions taken to prevent the recurrence of similar situations. The response to this correspondence will be
considered in this process. Enforcement decisions will also be based on volume spilled, volume reaching surface
waters, duration and gravity, impacts to public health, fish kills or recreational area closures. Other factors
considered in determining the amount of the civil penalty are the violator's history of non-compliance, the cost of
rectifying the damage, whether the spill was intentional and whether money was saved by non-compliance.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Chad Turlington with the Water Quality Section in
the Fayetteville Regional Office at 910-433-3300 or via email at [e-mail].
Sincerely,
DocuSigned b(ywM1/.N}'�I,�'-
I
E4E1A9691 DB248E...
Mark Brantley, Assistant Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Fayetteville Regional Office
Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ
Cc: Fayetteville Regional Office - CT
D ��� North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources
Fayetteville Regional Office l ZZ5 Green Street. Suite 7141 Fayetteville, North Carolina 28301
910.433.33oo