WQCS00193_NOV-2024-DV-0185_20240506

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April 24, 2024
Vanessa Manuel
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Raleigh Regional Office
Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ
1628 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1628
RE: NOTICE OF VIOLATION NOV-2024-DV-0185
Sanitary Sewer Overflow
Incident #202400589 and 202400658
Collection System Permit No. WQCS00193
Town of Fuquay-Varina
Wake County
Dear Ms. Manuel,
Michael Wagner
Public Utilities Director
mwagne r @fuq u ay-varina. o rg
MAY 6 2024
The Town of Fuquay-Varina appreciates the opportunity to respond to the Notice of
Violation dated April 11, 2024, for Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) incident numbers
202400589 and 202400658.
It is our intent that this response will provide sufficient additional information regarding the
incident and justification that the Town should not be assessed a civil penalty.
• Incident # 202400589
Cause of Non -Compliance:
On March 6, 2024, town staff were notified of a potential spill and odor complaint behind
1020 Quindell Dr Holly Springs which the Town of Fuquay-Varina serves. The Town of
Fuquay-Varina sewer collection staff responded immediately to find a manhole spilling behind
said address. It was determined that the cause of the spill was due to a plug left in the manhole
during construction by the contractor that the Town was not aware of until the incident.
Remedial Action Taken:
Sewer Collections staff responded within 20 minutes of the notification. Staff was
directed to set up the combo vac/jet truck in the downstream manhole to try and remove the
blockage in the manhole that was spilling. Other staff were to build an earthen dam to contain the
spilling sewer in the meantime. It was determined after not being able to remove the blockage
Public Utilities
Town of Fuquay-Vadna 134 N. Main Street, Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526 [phone] fuquay-varina.org

that there was a possible plug in the manhole. Sewer Collections staff pumped the manhole down
and set up confined space equipment to access the manhole to manually remove the mechanical
plug. The sewer was returned into the manhole and was vacuumed out of a downstream manhole
with the combo track. The area around the spilling manhole and downstream where the earthen
dam was created was cleaned thoroughly, raked, and limed per state standards.
The town has discussed with engineering inspectors as well as all staff that are included
on inspections to notate the locations of plugs during construction and IT has added a layer on
the town GIS to notate plug locations for future reference to avoid issues in the future.
• Incident # 202400658
Cause of Non -Compliance:
On March 16, 2024, town staff responded to a sewer backup call at 413 S Main St. Upon
arrival, an investigation ensued and found the sewer services at 413 and 409 S Main St. backed
up and overflowing due to grease and roots in the main downstream of their tie-in to the main.
Remedial Action Taken:
The Town of Fuquay-Varina sewer collection staff responded to the backup call at 413 S
Main St. and found the sewer services at 413 and 409 overflowing and discharging into a
tributary to Kenneth Creek.
Staff started investigating the sewer main that these services tied into and found the
upstream MH full of sewer and grease. Staff then brought the jet/vac truck out to vac out the
ME and jetted the main multiple times to clear the blockage and verify that the pipe was clean.
The impact area of the spill was raked, and all debris was removed. Staff also limed the area and
flushed the creek with a hydrant for 1.5 hours.
RootX was applied to the sewer lines in this area as a temporary measure. At the end of
April 2024, this area will be added to the list for Duke's Root Control to treat. These areas will
see attention soon for staff to jet/vac to eliminate problems in the future.

J Q _ _A`(—\ A _ ! N� Michael Wagner
J % P Public Utilities Director
noriil c0iolioo [e-mail]
We believe that this letter demonstrates the investment and commitment the Town is
making to resolve sewer issues, and we hope the Division recognizes these efforts- Therefore, we
respectfully request that the Division grant remission based on the efforts in this letter.
Sincerely,
Michael Wagner
Public Utilities Director
Cc: file
Jonathan Joyner, ORC
Public Utilities
MAY 6 T 2024
Town of Fuquay-Varina 134 N. Main Street, Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526 [phone] fuquay-varina.org

DocuSign Envelope ID: B8009176-1855-495C-A422-3369AC51CB40
ROY COOPER
ELIZABETH S. BISER
Stt.rhvr
RICHARD E. ROGERS. JR.
Oil'm er
Certified Mail # 7017 0190 0000 2486 0575
Return Receipt Requested
Adam Mitchell, Town Manager
Town of Fuquay-Varina
134 N Main St
Fuquay Varina, NC 27526-6267
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NORTH CAROLINA
Environmental Quality
April 11, 2024
SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION & INTENT TO ISSUE CIVIL PENALTY
Tracking No.: NOV-2024-DV-0185
Sanitary Sewer Overflows - March 2024
Collection System Permit No. WQCS00193
Fuquay-Varina Collection System
Wake County
Dear Mr. Mitchell:
A review has been conducted of the self -reported Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSO's) 5-Day Report/s submitted by
Town of Fuquay-Varina. The Division's Raleigh Regional Office concludes that the Town of Fuquay-Varina violated
Permit Condition I (2) of Permit No. WQCS00193 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 Raleigh Regional Office is providing the Town of Fuquay-Varina an opportunity to provide evidence and
justification as to why the Town of Fuquay-Varina 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
202400589
3/6/2024
96
1020 Quindell Drive, Other
240,315
240,315
Notice of Violation -
Holly Springs, NC,
Notice of Intent
27540
202400658
3/16/2024
204
413 South Main Street, Grease, Roots
2,500
2,500
Notice of violation -
Fuquay Varina, NC,
Notice of Intent
27526
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DocuSign Envelope ID: 88009176-1855-495C-A422-3369AC51CB40
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 Kevin Fowler with the Water Quality Section in the
Raleigh Regional Office at 919-791-4200 or via email at [e-mail].
Cc: Laserfiche
Sincerely,
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Vanessa Manuel, Assistant Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Raleigh Regional Office
Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ
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