NC0045276_LV20170199_20170807

1
ROY COOPER
Governor
MICHAEL S REGAN
Secretary
Water Resources
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY S. JAY ZIMMERMAN
August 7, 2017
CERTIFIED MAIL ITEM 7015 0640 0007 9833 8128 - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Kem Harmon
Facility Management Supervisor
Brunswick County Schools
35 Referendum Drive
Bolivia, NC 28422
SUBJECT: CIVIL PENALTY REMISSION REQUEST
Brunswick County Schools WWTP
NPDES Permit NCO045276
Case LV -2017-0199
Onslow County
Dear Ms. Crayton:
I have considered the information submitted in support of your request for remission in the subject
cases. In accordance with NCGS 143-215.6A (f), I have found no cause to remit the original civil
penalty assessment of $467.25.
If you choose to pay the penalty, send payment to the letterhead address within thirty (30) days of
receipt of this letter. Please make the check payable to NC DEQ.
If payment is not received within thirty (30) days of receipt of this letter, in accordance with NCGS
§ 143-215.6A (0, your request for remission of the civil penalty (with supporting documents) and
my recommendation to deny the request will be delivered to the North Carohna Environmental
Management Commission's (EMC) Committee On Civil Penalty Remissions (Committee) for final
agency decision.
If you desire to make an oral presentation to the Committee on why your request for remission
meets one or more of the five statutory factors you were asked to address, you must complete and
return the attached form within thirty (30) days of receipt of this letter. Please mail the completed
form to:
Ms. Anjah Orlando
NC DEQ / DWR / NPDES
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1617
Your request for an oral presentation and the documents in this matter will be reviewed by the
EMC Chairman and, if it is determined that there is a compelling reason to require an oral
presentation from you, you will be notified by certified mail of the date, time, and place that your
State of North Carolina I Environmental Quality I Water Resources
1617 Mail Service Center I Raleigh, NC 27699-1617
919 807 6300 919-807-6389 FAX
http //portal ncdenr org/web/wq

oral presentation can be made. Otherwise, the final decision on your request for remission will be
made by the Committee based on the written record.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. If you have any questions about this letter, please
contact Ms. Orlando at [phone] or [e-mail].
S1 ely,
S. Jay Zimmerman, P.G.
Director, Division of Water Resources
cc. Enforcement File
Wilmington Regional Office / Jim Gregson
Central Files

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION
COUNTY OF Onslow DWQ Case Number LV -2017-0199
IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT OF )
CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST ) REQUEST FOR ORAL PRESENTATION
Brunswick County Schools )
I hereby request to make an oral presentation before the Environmental Management Commission's
Committee on Civil Penalty Remissions in the matter of the case noted above. In making this request, I
assert that I understand all of the following statements
• This request will be reviewed by the Chairman of the Environmental Management Commission and
may be either granted or denied.
• Making a presentation will require the presence of myself and/or my representative during a
Committee meeting held in Raleigh, North Carolina
• My presentation will be limited to discussion of issues and information submitted in my original
remission request, and because no factual issues are in dispute, my presentation will be limited to five
(5) minutes in length
The North Carolina State Bar's Authorized Practice of Law Committee has ruled that the appearance in a
representative capacity at quasi-judicial hearings or proceedings is limited to lawyers who are active
members of the bar. Proceedings before the Committee on Remissions are quasi-judicial. You should
consider how you .intend to present your case to the Committee in light of the State Bar's opinion and
whether anyone will be speaking in a representative capacity for you or a business or governmental entity
If you or your representative would like to speak before the Committee, you must complete and return this
form within thirty (30) days of receipt of this letter
Depending on your status as an individual, corporation, partnership or municipality, the State Bar's Opinion affects how
you may proceed with your oral presentation See www ncbar com/ethics, Authorized Practice Advisory Opinion 2006-1
and 2007 Formal Ethics Opinion 3
If you are an individual or business owner and are granted an opportunity to make an oral presentation before
the Committee, then you do not need legal representation before the Committee, however, if you intend on
having another individual speak on your behalf regarding the factual situations, such as an expert, engineer or
consultant, then you must also be present at the meeting in order to avoid violating the State Bar's Opinion on
the unauthorized practice of law
If you are a corporation, partnership or municipality and are granted an opportunity to make an oral
presentation before the Committee, then your representative must consider the recent State Bar's Opinion and
could be considered practicing law without a license if he or she is not a licensed attorney Presentation of facts
by non -lawyers is permissible
If you choose to request an oral presentation, please make sure that signatures on the previously submitted Remission
Request form and this Oral Presentation Request form are 1) for individuals and business owners, your own signature
and 2) for corporations, partnerships and municipalities, signed by individuals who would not violate the State Bar's
Opinion on the unauthorized practice of law.
Also, be advised that the Committee on Civil Penalty Remissions may choose not to proceed with hearing your case if the
Committee is informed that a violation of the State Bar occurs
This the
SIGNATURE
ADDRESS
day of , 20
TITLE (President, Owner, etc)
TELEPHONE

DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES
CIVIL PENALTY REMISSION FACTORS
Case Number: LV -2017-0199 Region: Wilmington
County: Brunswick
Assessed Entity: Waccamaw Elementary School WWTP/Brunswick County Schools
Permit: NCO045276
❑ (a) Whether one or more of the civil penalty assessment factors were wrongly applied to
the detriment of the petitioner:
Permittee States:.
DWR Response:
® (b) Whether the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting
from the violation:
Permittee States: they were aware of ammonia limit violations for months of February 2017 and March
2017, but were in the process of making improvements to the sand filter bed. They have added a large
amount of bed sand to the sand filter, and added alkalinity and oxygen via small air pump to the primary
tank. Since the improvements, the ammonia level has conte down to within the permitted limits. The
improvements were made at a significant cost to the school district in the amount of $10,000.
DWR Response: This facility developed operational issues dating back to their expansion in 2004 some of
which were related to design issues initially as discussed in the TA visit on 1-10-2005 Later the issues
were related to poor operational oversight including process control sampling & monitoring and poor
sampling techniques. WIRO performed 6 TA visits between 2-2009 and 2-2012 attempting to both educate
their staff and operators while helping develop better operational controls and oversight. Ammonia has
been their issue in all or nearly all violations during this period and no penalties were assessed during
this time while working with our staff They had been assessed for Ammonia 2-3 times since TA ceased
Addition of alkalinity and process control monitoring for it were a major component of the TA
involvement.
The facility has utilized a contract ORC as its primary operator for years but the back-up ORC was their
own employee starting in 2012 and think he was ORC before contract ones started being used A new
contract primary operator took over in Oct or Nov 2016 and ran into Ammonia problems in Nov which
was assessed in 2-2017. Apparently, no transfer of institutional knowledge or operational logs were
passed along or the facility was not operating per the previous recommendations at the time.
Adding more sand and implementing the other items that were supposedly in place & operating in the past
is a normal O&Mf inction and facility budget should account for it. They provided no invoices to support
their expenditure claims either.
Perhaps they should look at non -discharge options again.

❑ (c) Whether the violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident:
Permittee States:
DWR Response:
❑ (d) Whether the violator had been assessed civil penalties for any previous violations:
Permittee States:
DWR Response:
❑ (e) Whether payment of the civil penalty will prevent payment for the remaining
necessary remedial actions:
Permittee States:
DWR Response:
DECISION (Check One)
Request Denied
Full Remission ❑ Retain Enforcement Costs? Yes ❑ No ❑
Partial Remission ❑ $ (Enter Amount)
Zimmerman o Date