NC0021121_NOV-2024-LV-0765_20240909

ROY COOPER
Governor
ELIZABETH S. BISER
Secretary
RICHARD E. ROGERS, JR.
Director
Certified Mail # 7019 1120 0001 5504 9906
Return Receipt Requested
Stan Farmer, City Manager
City of Mount Airy
PO Box 70
Mount Airy, NC 27030-0070
NORTH CAROLINA
Environmental Quality
September 9, 2024
SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION & INTENT TO ASSESS CIVIL PENALTY
Tracking Number: NOV-2024-LV-0765
Permit No. NCO021121
Mount Airy WWTP
Surry County
Dear Mr. Farmer:
A review of the June 2024 Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) for the subject facility revealed the violation(s)
indicated below:
Limit Exceedance Violation(s):
Sample Limit Reported
Location Parameter Date Value Value Type of Violation
001 Effluent Copper, Total (as Cu) (01042) 6/4/2024 35.9 42 Daily Maximum Exceeded
001 Effluent Copper, Total (as Cu) (01042) 6/30/2024 29.7 42 Monthly Average Exceeded
A Notice of Violation/Intent to Issue Civil Penalty is being issued for the noted violation of North Carolina General
Statute (G.S.) 143-215.1 and the facility's NPDES WW Permit. 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.
Remedial actions should have already been taken to correct this problem and prevent further occurrences in the
future. Please respond in writing within ten (10) business days after receipt of this Notice, stating whether the
violation(s) has been corrected, or if it is of an ongoing nature. If the violation(s) has been resolved, your
response should include a description of the actions that were taken to address the violation(s) and to prevent
their reoccurrence.
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources
Winston-Salem Regional Office 1 450 West Hanes Mill Road, Suite 300 1 Winston-Salem. North Carolina 27105
336,776.9800

If the violations cited in this Notice are of a continuing nature, you must provide a report to DWR's
Winston-Salem Regional Office that includes the following information:
• Owner and Facility Name, and NPDES Permit Number.
• A list of violations that have occurred during the noncompliant episode.
• A statement summarizing the facility's investigation of the noncompliance, indicating its cause.
• The facility's corrective action plan or strategy to address the noncompliance.
• A statement describing the facility's implementation of its corrective action plan, including the date of an
anticipated return to consistent compliance.
Your response and/or report should be submitted to my attention to the address at the bottom of the first
page, or you may send it as an attachment to an email to [e-mail]. Either form of
reply should be submitted within ten (10) business days.
Furthermore, if you wish to provide any additional information regarding the noted violation(s)
that may affect the Division's enforcement response, please include that information as part of
your response. This information, along with statements provided on the submitted Monitoring
Report(s), will be evaluated in the consideration of any assessment of civil penalties related to the
violation(s).
If continuing violations are not related to operation and/or maintenance problems, and you anticipate remedial
construction activities, you may wish to consider applying for a Special Order by Consent (SOC). Please be aware
that it is a condition of your NPDES permit that you adequately address such violations (Part II, Section B. 2 -
the "Duty to Mitigate" condition). Violations of a continuing nature can justify the assessment of increased civil
penalty amounts to address the noncompliance.
If you have any questions concerning this matter, wish to request technical assistance, discuss overall
compliance, or explore the possibility of entering into a SOC, please contact Gary Hudson of the Winston-Salem
Regional Office at 336-776-9800, or via email at [e-mail].
Sincerely,
EDoc
uSiiggned by:
5B49E225C94EA...
Lon T. Snider, Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Winston-Salem Regional Office
Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources
Winston-Salem Regional Office 1 450 West Hanes Mill Road. Suite 300 1 Winston-Salem. North Carolina 27105
336 776.9600