NC0028827_LV20170201_20170816

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RECEIVED/NCDENWR
AUG 22 2017
Water Quality
Permitting Section
16 August 2017
Wastewater Branch
Division of Water Resources
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1617 Re: Letter of 07 July 2017
Subject: Notice of Violation & Intent
to Assess Civil Penalty
Case No. LV -2017-0201
Permit No. NCO028827
Snug Harbor on Nelson Bay WWTP
Carteret County
Gentlemen:
Pursuant to Mr. Gregson's above referenced letter, it is requested that remission of
this civil penalty be considered. The "Justification For Remission Request" (att 1) and
"Request For Remission, Waiver of Right to an Administrative Hearing, and
Stipulation of Facts " (att 2) forms are attached as requested.
The "Justification For Remission Request" (att 1) lists five factors and I believe two
of those factors, (b) and (c), applies to this case and they are checked. The detailed
explanation as to how both factors apply was provided by the letter to Mr. Gregson
dated 10 May 2017. (att 3)
The cost to Snug Harbor for rebuilding the Tertiary Filters, the cause of the violation
at issue, was $6,622.54 and breaks down as follows:
Material: $1,530.60
Contract Labor $3,019.80
Equipment Rental $1,000.00
Travel $1,072.14
As soon as I had knowledge of a problem, action was taken to reduce the pollutants
to acceptable levels. Test results the following week and since have confirmed our
efforts resulted in the desired outcome.
I hope you will have regard for the cost and resulting outcome when the
determination is pondered for the penalty assessed against us.
I thank you for your time and efforts.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Paul Tully, Director of Engineering
Snug Harbor on Nelson Bay
272 Hwy. 70 E
Sea Level, NC 28577
1P 0'1 ox 150 dea Pevel, WC 26577 252-225-4411

JUSTIFICATION FOR REIVHSSION REQUEST
Case Number: LV -2017-0201
Assessed Party: Snug Harbor Management LLC
Permit No.: NC0028827
County: Carteret
Amount Assessed: 5567.25
Please use this form when requesting remission of this civil penalty You must also complete the "Request For Remission
Waiver of Right to an Adinanzstratrve Hearing, and Stipulation o,Facts" form to request remission of this civil penalty
You should attach any documents that you believe support your request and are necessary for the Director to consider in
evaluating your request for remission. Please be aware that a request for remission is limited to consideration of the five
factors listed below as they may relate to the reasonableness of the amount of the civil penalty assessed Requesting
remission is not the proper procedure for contesting whether the violation(s) occurred or the accuracy of any of the factual
statements contained in the civil penalty assessment document Pursuant to N.C.G S § 143B -282.1(c), remission of a cavil
penalty may be granted only when one or more of the following five factors apply. Please check each factor that you
believe applies to your case and provide a detailed explanation, including copies of supporting documents, as to why the
factor applies (attach additional pages as needed).
(a) one or more of the civil penalty assessment factors in N.C.G.S. 14313-282.1(b) were wrongfully applied to the
detriment of the petitioner (the assessment factors are listed an the civil penalty assessment document),
_ (b) the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting from the violation (a e, explain the
steps that you took to correct the violation and prevent future occurrences);
AZ (c) the violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident (a e, explain why the violation was unavoidable or
something you could not prevent or prepare fon),
(d) the violator had not been assessed civil penalties for any previous violations;
(e) payment of the civil penalty will prevent payment for the remaining necessary remedial actions (a e., explain
how payment of the cavil penalty wall prevent you frons performing the activities necessary to achieve
compliance)
EXPLANATION: S8 e- A f/ _3, /- ffe-,- 0/,z f�c� /o r" ,v -7, o / Z
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STATE OF NORTH CAROLrNA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
COUNTY OF CARTERET
IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT ) WAIVER OF RIGHT TO AN
OF CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST ) ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING AND
STIPULATION OF FACTS
Snug Harbor Management LLC )
Snug Harbor on Nelson Bay WWTP )
PERMIT NO NCO028827 ) CASE NO. LV -2017-0201
Having been assessed civil penalties totaling S567 25 for violation(s) as set forth in the assessment document of the Division
of Water Resources dated July 07, 2017; the undersigned, desiring to seek remission of the civil penalty, does hereby waive
the right to an administrative hearing in the above -stated matter and does stipulate that the facts are as alleged in the
assessment document. The undersigned further understands that all evidence presented in support of remission of this civil
penalty must be submitted to the Director of the Division of Water Resources within thirty (3 0) days of receipt of the notice
of assessment No new evidence in support of a remission request will be allowed after (30) days from the receipt of the
notice of assessment
This the
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day of A u 5 u s f
SIGNATURE
ADDRESS
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TELEPHONE
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WaI `e-c�, N\Gq 11 t aO t 7
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10 May 2017
James H. Gregson, Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
127 Cardinal Drive Extension
Wilmington, NC 28405 Re: Your Letter of 02 May 2017
Subject: Notice of Violation & Intent
to Assess Civil Penalty
Tracking No. NOV-2017-LV-0307
Permit No. NC0028827
Snug Harbor on Nelson Bay WWTP
Carteret County
Mr. Gregson:
Your above referenced letter addresses Limit Exceedance Violations reported on the
January 2017 Discharge Monitoring Report. The specific violations are BOD and TSS.
As you know, the TSS was 43 on 19 January 2017, and although not above the Daily
Maximum, did cause concern and I investigated the potential cause as soon as I
received notification from the Lab, Environment 1, on 24 January. When looking for
the culprit, everything appeared normal and the cause was not identified. On 26
January, I received notification from the Lab that BOD, from the sample taken on 19
January, was >84.00. I investigated the potential source of the malfunction again on 26
January and could not locate the source.
In the evening hours of the 26U' and morning hours of the 27a' I continued to
investigate the cause of the high values. Knowing the problem was most likely tertiary
filter related, I started digging deeper into the filter media and discovered debris in the
filter media was causing a short circuit. Numerous hours were spent on the 27th
removing portions of the media, removal of the debris, washing, and replacing. At the
same time on the 27th I was locating sources for the media, P&A, and contacting
outside contractors to line up the labor force needed to rebuild the filters.
Over the next several days, we spent numerous manhours removing portions of the
media, cleaning and replacing to attempt to stay in compliance while the media and
labor force was getting lined up and on site. The results of the effluent analysis from 02
February samples proved that our time spent on cleaning the filters was not in vein.
On 31 January, the order, with prepaid freight to Snug Harbor, was placed for the
anthracite and the anticipated delivery was scheduled NLT 06 February, but did not
arrive. On 06 February the sand for the filters was picked up in SC by Snug Harbor, and
ready to begin work, however without the anthracite, we had to reschedule the crew.
We ended up having to pick up the anthracite in Greenville on 08 February due to a
transfer of freight from the original carrier to a subcontracted carrier.
A -r f 3 /� 112-

The crew began work on the East Filter on 08 February, however we discovered the
specifications had been altered sometime in the past and on 09 February, I contacted
Dean Hunkele and Tom Tharrington for advice which was very helpful and most
appreciated. We continued our daily media cleaning process on the West Filter,
prepped the East Filter under drain and tank interior, and began the search for the
balance of media gravel needed to rebuild the filters in accordance with the advice of
your staff.
On 14 February, the gravel media was picked up in Hoffman, NC by Snug Harbor
and delivered to the site. The crew began immediately placing the media in the East
Filter. The newly placed media was saturated and the West Filter media cleaned while
still on line. After almost 40 hours of total saturation, the East filter was placed on line,
observed through several backwash cycles and after confirmation of proper operation,
the West Filter was taken off line and rebuilt in kind.
The debris which caused the filters was not visible on the surface and was only
discovered after hours of looking and then only by digging down to the sand layer
under the anthracite.
In summary, I began investigating the situation as soon as I received knowledge of
the problem and spent numerous hours cleaning the old media with the filters in service
to curtail the Parameter Values of BOD and TSS exceeding our NPDES Permit.
It is requested that consideration be given for the enormous expense and effort by
Snug Harbor in resolution of the matter giving rise to your NOTICE OF VIOLATION
& INTENT TO ASSESS CIVIL PENALTY when you evaluate the civil penalty
associated with the Limit Exceedance Violations.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Paul Tully, Director of Engineering
Snug Harbor on Nelson Bay
272 Hwy. 70 E
Sea Level, NC 28577
o: 252-225-4411 x223
c: 910-389-1295
e: [e-mail]
cc: F Patrick Ausband
Penny Sproul
Joe Behan
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