NC0023736_LV20130093_20171010

Water Resources
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
October 10, 2017
ROY COOPER
601'e/ 101
MICHAEL S REGAN
Secretary
S. JAY ZIMMERMAN
Director
CERTIFIED MAIL ITEM 7015 0640 0007 9833 5790 - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Mr. Radford Thomas
Public Utilities Director
P.O. Box 958
Lenoir, NC 28645-0958
SUBJECT: CIVIL PENALTY REMISSION REQUEST
Gunpowder Creek WWTP
Permit NCO023736
Case LV -2013-0093
Caldwell County
Dear Mr. Thomas:
I have considered your request for remission in the subject case. This case was inadvertently
omitted from the recent settlement agreement which was successfully fulfilled by your
municipality. For that reason, and in accordance with NCGS 143-215.6A (f), I have found cause
to remit the original civil penalty assessment by 50%. The Division will require you to pay half of
the penalty and the enforcement costs, for a total due of $449.50.
If you choose to pay, 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 (f), your request for remission of the civil penalty (with supporting documents) and
my recommendation to deny the request will be delivered to the North Carolina 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:
Mr. Charles H. Weaver
NC DEQ / DWR / NPDES
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1617
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

NCO023736 Remission Decision
Page 2 of 3
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
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 Mr. Weaver at [phone] or [e-mail].
Sincerely,
r
Jay Zimmerman, P.G.
Director, Division of Water Resources
cc_ Asheville Regional Office / Landon Davidson
Central Files

NCO023736 Remission Decision
Page 3 of 3
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION
COUNTY OF Caldwell DWQ Case Number LV -2013-0093
IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT OF )
CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST: ) REQUEST FOR ORAL PRESENTATION
City of Lenoir )
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
day
MAILING ADDRESS
entail TELEPHONE
20
TITLE (President, Owner, etc.)

DWR - CIVIL ASSESSMENT REMISSION FACTORS CONSIDERATION
Case Number:
Assessed
Entity:
LV 2013-0093
Region: Asheville
County: Caldwell
Lenoir - Gunpowder Creek WWTP Permit:
ASSESSMENT FACTORS
NCO023736
❑ (a) Whether one or more of the civil penalty assessment factors were wrongly
applied to the detriment of the petitioner:
Notes:
(b) Whether the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage
resulting from the violation: �p Ll
Notes:
�t �C /►ter/ � J� �C� �
❑ (c) Whether the violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident:
Notes: %- i 016)
(05 Q lav)
❑ (d) Whether the violator had been assessed civil penalties for any previous
violations:
Notes.•
❑ (e) Whether payment of the civil penalty will prevent payment for the remaining
necessary remedial actions:
Notes:
DECISION (Check One)
Request Denied ❑
Full Remission ❑ Retain Enforcement Cost? Yes
Partial Remission (Enter Amount)
2�
4ayZimmerman Date
1`l -
Rev. 7/2015
No❑

Weaver, Charles
From: Hennessy, John
Sent: Wednesday, September 20, 2017 2:24 PM
To: Weaver, Charles
Subject: FW: Request to settle CPA @ 50% NCO023736
John Hennessy
Supervisor, Compliance and Expedited Permitting Unit
Division of Water Resources
Department of Environmental Quality
919-807-6377 office ---
[e-mail]
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27669-1617
Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the
North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third patties
From: Hennessy, John
Sent: Wednesday, September 20, 2017 2:22 PM
To: Risgaard, Jon <[e-mail]>; Poupart, Jeff <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: Request to settle CPA @ 50% NCO023736
Jon,
If you will have Landon work with Charles to get it signed by Jeff, we can close this out quickly. Sorry, we missed this one
in the master settlement prior.
John Hennessy
Supervisor, Compliance and Expedited Permitting Unit
Division of Water Resources
Department of Environmental Quality
919-807-6377 office
john hennessyCa.ncdenr gov
1617 Mad Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27669-1617
Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the
North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties

From: Risgaard, Jon
Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2017 9:56 AM
To: Poupart, Jeff<[e-mail]>; Hennessy, John <[e-mail]>
Subject: FW: Request to settle CPA @ 50% NCO023736
Importance: High
Jeff and John,
Please see Landon's request. Do you have concerns with settling the case as recommended? You may have history on
this facility that you want to share, or have concerns with consistent settlement decisions when compared to other
facilities.
Jeff, do you have any additional concerns with me approving settlement off a NPDES facility, provided I seek your
feedback first?
Jon
Jon Risgaard - Section Chief
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Department of Environmental Quality
919-807-6458
http://decr.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-resources
1636 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1636
Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the
!North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclDsed to third parties
From: Davidson, Landon
Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2017 8:53 AM
To: Risgaard, Jon <[e-mail]>
Subject: Request to settle CPA @ 50% NCO023736
Importance: High
Jon -
I'd like to request that you authorize a reduction of a 2013 CPA to 50% of the assessed amount plus enforcement costs.
This is an outstanding fecal limit violation CPA penalty balance for the City of Lenoir that we would like to resolve. The
permittee has written a supporting statement below in which I agree. It is not clear how this penalty was missed or not
included in the subsequent SOC etc. A 50% reduction would bring the total to $312.50 + $137.00 enforcement costs =
$449.50.
Please let me know if you have any questions. If you agree, simply call me or send me an email back.
Thanks.
Landon
Good afternoon Linda.
Thank you for bringing to my attention the NOV from December 2012 (NOV-2013-LV0260) case number LV -2013-
0093. The NOV was issued for a fecal violation as reported on the December 2012 monitoring report for the
Gunpowder Creek WWTP. In regard to the penalty of $762.00,1 would like to request that consideration be given to a
reduction in the penalty at this time for the following reasons.

The violation occurred almost four years ago and was prior to the Gunpowder WWTP being placed under an AOC
from EPA and an SOC with DEQ. The purpose of the orders was to address continuous monitoring violations dating
back to 2008 which included this violation.
The city was already in the planning and design stages of a project that would address the causes of the
violations. The city spent approximately $3.5 million dollars making improvements to the plant which included a new
SBR basin, air pumping system and a new chlorinator. Problems with the chlorinator are what led to the violation in
question. It was specifically addressed in the AOC and was replaced prior to the major renovation taking place.
Since the completion of the project, the plant has remained in compliance and is achieving some of the highest and
most efficient removal rates for TSS, BOD and Ammonia as N it has experienced in quite some time.
Both the SOC and the AOC were satisfied earlier this year.
With the $3.5 million investment made in this facility and the treatment results that are being achieved as noted,
these are the reasons for requesting that consideration be given to a reduction in the Penalty of $762.00.
Thank you for your consideration. If you need further information, l will be happy to assist you.
Radford Thomas
G. Landon Davidson, P.G.
Regional Supervisor— Asheville Regional Office
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
NCDEQ — Division of Water Resources
828 296 4680 office
828 230 4057 mobile
Landon Davidson (cDncdenrgov
2090 U.S. Hwy. 70
Swannanoa, N.C. 28711
Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the
North Carolina Public Records Law and maybe disclosed to third parties