WQCS00013_NOV-2024-DV-0007 Resonse to Notice_20240123

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-LIVE INSPIRED" -
January 23, 2024
Ms. Vanessa Manuel, Assistant Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Raleigh Regional Office
Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ
1628 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1628
CERTIFIED MAIL
Subject: Notice of Violation NOV-2024-DV-0007
Dear Ms. Manuel:
On January 17, 2024, Cary received a Notice of Violation (NOV) letter postmarked on January
11, 2024, from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water
Resources — Raleigh Regional Office for a sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) that occurred on
December 29, 2023. The letter identifies the December 29 SSO as an NOV and requests a
written response from Cary to provide additional information within 15 business days from
receipt of the letter.
Incident #
Start Date
iDuration
Location
(min)
2600 Harvest
202301771 12/29/2023
128
Creek Place,
Cary, 27518
Cause Total Total Volume DWR
�'Volume Surface Action
(Gal) Water
- -1- dal) -
523 523 Notice of
Grease
Violation
Cary takes great pride in the operation and management of our 1,000+ miles of wastewater
collection system infrastructure. We are an award winning and progressive wastewater utility
that has very few reportable or larger volume sewer overflows. We place special emphasis
on responding quickly to sewer emergencies to prevent and minimize any impacts to our
citizens, our community, and the natural environment. We appreciate the opportunity to
provide additional information on the recent sewer overflow, along with our mitigation efforts,
and justification for why additional enforcement action or civil penalty should not be assessed
to Cary.
INCIDENT # 202301771 — 2600 Harvest Creek Place.
Sewer Overflow Cause — On Friday, December 29, 2023, at 12:40 PM, Cary staff received
a call stating there was a possible water line rupture at the address provided. Water
distribution staff were dispatched to investigate the potential leak. Upon arrival at
approximately 1:40 PM, Cary staff discovered that the leak was a sanitary sewer manhole
overflowing and contacted Wastewater Collections staff. When collections staff arrived, they
919.469.4000 1 carync.gov
PO Box 8005 Cary, NC 27512

observed manhole number SP76117043 overflowing. Staff located the downstream manhole
and were able to clear the sewer blockage caused by grease by utilizing a hydraulic sewer
jetting machine at 2:48 PM.
Sewer Spill Cleanup — After clearing the spill, staff took conductivity readings, and those
readings were consistent with the water coming from the hydrant being flushed by Cary staff
in the area.
Sewer Spill Assessment — Cary performed conductivity readings following the overflow to
assess the spill. They noted the readings in the unnamed tributary to Camp Branch were
similar to the water being flushed from a hydrant by distribution staff.
Corrective Actions — After clearing the blockage, the sewer lines in the area were hydraulicly
cleaned, and video inspected to ensure there were no additional accumulations or partial
sewer line blockages. A thorough review of previous maintenance records assured us that
no previous problems have been observed near this address. In fact, this line was last
cleaned on July 31, 2023, as demonstrated by our 5-day report.
On January 5, 2024, Cary's Pretreatment Supervisor spoke with staff at the nearby apartment
complex about our FOG program and emailed the property manager a copy of Cary's Best
Management Practices concerning fats, oils, and grease control.
We appreciate the opportunity to provide additional information on this unfortunate sewer
spill. We appreciate NC DEQ's consideration -in evaluating this sewer spill, the cause, and
Cary's thorough record and response actions to remediate and ensure that another overflow
does not occur at this location. If we can answer any questions or provide any additional
information, please feel free to contact our Wastewater Collection System ORC, Mr. Chad
Lemke, at [phone].
Sincerely,
4
ie Revels, P.E.
Utilities Director
Cc: Chad Lemke, Wastewater Collection System ORC
Attachments:
• NCDEQ Notice of Violation to issue Civil Penalty — NOV-2024-DV-0007
• Collection System Sanitary Sewer Overflow 5-Day Report — Incident #
202301771
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DocuSign Envelope ID: 5ECD932C-80A8-4CE3-A687-6DBC92D1E03A
ROY COOPER
ELIZ BETH S. BISER
SO.rClR7f
RICHARD E. ROGERS, JR.
:X"'-CMt
Certified Mail # 7020 3160 0000 2219 3471
Return Receipt Re nested
Jamie Revels, Director Utilities
Town of Cary
400 James Jackson Ave
Cary, NC 27513
f �.
NORTH CARCI.':NJA
Environmental Qaality
January 08, 2024
SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION
Tracking Number: NOV-2024-DV-0007
Sanitary Sewer Overflows - December 2023
Collection System Permit No. WQCS00013
Cary Collection System
Wake County
Dear Permittee:
The self -reported Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) 5-Day Report submitted by Town of Cary 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 Date (Mina) Location Cause (Gals) (Gals) DWR Action
202301771 12/29/2023 128 2600 HARVEST CREEK Grease 523 523 Notice of Violation
PLACE, CARY, 27518
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 incidents)
in the response. The submittal will be considered in determining whether the Division will assess a civil penalty for
the cited violations.

DocuSign Envelope ID: 5ECD932C-80A8-4CE3-A687-6DBC921)1 E03A
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Kevin Fowler with the Water Quality Section in the
Raleigh Regional Office at 919-791-4200 or via email at [e-mail].
Cc: Laserfische
Sincerely,
^--Oaoa8lgn- d by:
L
aua t ss. -e. NI.al,lti bit,(,
02916HAB321.11F
Vanessa Manuel, Assistant Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Raleigh Regional Office
Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ
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State of North Carolina
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
DWR Division of Water Resources
Collection System Sanitary Sewer Overflow Reporting Form
Dlvlslon of Water Resources Form CS-SSO
PART I:
This form shall be submitted to the appropriate DWQ Regional Office within five business dam of the first knowledge of the
sanitary sewer overflow (SSO).
Permit Number: VVQCS00013 (WQCS# if active, otherwise use WQCSD#)
Facility: Cary Collection System Incident #: 202301771
Owner: Town of Cary
City: Cary County: Wake Region: Raleigh
Source of SSO (check applicable): 0 Sanitary Sewer ❑ Pump Station / Lift Station
SPECIFIC location of the SSO (be consistent in description from past reports or documentation - i.e. Pump Station 6,
Manhole at Westall & Bragg Street, etc)- 2600 HARVEST CREEK PLACE, CARY, . 27518
Manhole #: SP76117043
Latitude (Decimal Degrees): Longitude (Decimal Degrees):
Incident Started Dt: 12/29/2023 Time: 12:40 pm Incident End Dt: 12/29/2023 Time: 02:48 pm
(mm-dd-yyyy) (hh:mmAM/PM) (mm-dd-yyyy) (hh:mmAM/PM)
Estimated Volume of the SSO: 523 gallons Estimated Duration (Round to nearest hour): 2:8 hours
Describe how the volume was determined: NCDEQ provided sewer spill estimation guide
Weather conditions during the SSO event: Clear and Sunny
Did SSO reach surface waters? 21 Yes [-]No ❑ Unknown Volume reaching surface waters (gals): 523
Surface water name: Camp Branch
Did the SSO result in a fish kill? ❑ Yes QNo ❑ Unknown If Yes, what is the estimated number of fish killed? 0
SPECIFIC cause(s) of the SSO:
0 Grease
24 hour verbal notification (name of person contacted ): George Bernard
❑ DWR 0 Emergency Mgmt Date (mm-dd-yyy): 12/30/2023 Time (hh:mm AM/PM): 09:46:00 am
If an SSO is ongoing, please notify the appropriate Regional Office on a daily basis until SSO can be stopped.
Per G.S. 143-215.1 C(b), the responsible party of a discharge of 1,000 or more of untreated wastewater to surface waters
shall issue a press release within 24-hours of first knowledge to all print and electronic news media providing general
coverage in the county where the discharge occurred. When 15,000 gallons or more of untreated wastewater enters surface
waters, a public notice shall be published within 10 days and proof of publication shall be provided to the Division within 30
days. Refer to the reference statute for further detail.
The Director Division of Water Resources may take enforcement action for SSOs that are required to be reported to
Division unless it is demonstrated that:
1) the discharge was cause by sever natural conditions and there were no feasible alternative to the discharge; or
2) the discharge was exceptional, unintentional, temporary and caused by factors beyond the reasonable control of the
Permittee and/or owner, and the discharge could not have been prevented by the exercise of reasonable control.
Part II must be completed to provide a justification claim for either of the above situations. This information will be the basis
WHETHER OR NOT PART III IS COMPLETED A SIGNATURE IS REQUIRED AT THE END OF THIS FORM
CS-SSO Form Page: 1

PART II:
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS FOR EACH RELATED CAUSE CHECKED IN PART I OF THIS FORM AND
INCLUDE THE APPROPRIATE DOCUMENTATION AS REQUIRED OR DESIRED
COMPLETE ONLY THOSE SECTONS PERTAINING TO THE CAUSE OF THE SSO AS CHECKED IN PART I
(In the check boxes below, NA = Not Applicable and NE = Not Evaluated)
A HARDCOPY OF THIS FORM SHOULD BE SUBMITTED TO THE APPROPRIATE DWR REGIONAL OFFICE UNLESS IS
Grease
When was the last time this specific line (or wet well) was cleaned?
07/31 /2023
Do you have an enforceable grease ordinance that requires new or retrofit of grease 0 Yes ❑ No ❑ NA ❑ NE
traps/interceptors?
Have there been recent inspections and/or enforcement actions taken on nearby Yes ❑ No 0 NA ❑ NE
restaurants or other nonresidential grease contributors?
Explain.
Residential a artment complex. No food service establishments in that area of service.
Have there been other SSOs or blockages in this area that were also caused by Yes 0 No ❑ NA ❑ NE
grease?
When?
If yes, describe them:
Have cleaning and inspections ever been increased at this location?
0 Yes ❑ No ❑ NA ❑ NE
Explain.
This area is considered commercial and the sewer mains are cleaned on a bi-annual basis
Have educational materials about grease been distributed in the past? ❑ Yes 0 No ❑ NA ❑ NE
When?
and to whom?
Explain?
If the SSO occurred at a pump station, when was the wet well and pumps last
checked for grease accumulation?
Were the floats clean?
❑ Yes No 0 NA ❑ NE
CS-SSO Form
Page: 2

Comments:
System Visitation
ORC ❑ Yes
Backup W Yes
Name:
Thomas Lubcker
Cert#
998695
Date visited:
12/29/2023
Time visited:
2:15PM
How was the SSO remediated (i.e. Stopped and cleaned up)?
The sewer line was ietted and hydraulically cleaned to remove the grease blockage and stop the spill. Water distribution
staff were onsite flushin the area. The area bein flushed drained into two storm drain inlets at the apartment complex
entrance and ran into a unnamed stormwater channel to Camp Branch. Conductivity readings were taken from pockets a
water in the channel and were similar to the flush water readings.
As a representative for the responsible party, I certify that the information contained in this report is true and accurate to the
best of my knowledge.
Person submitting claim: Chad Lemke
Signature:
Telephone Number:
919-795-7089
Date: 01/03/24 01:13 pm
Title: 01 /03/24
Any addition information desired to be submitted should be sent to the appropriate Division Regional Office within five days of f
knowledge of the SSO with reference to the incident number (the incident number is only generated when electronic entry of th
form is completed, if used).
CS-SSO Form Page: 3