WQCS00202_DV-2017-0085_20180302

ROY COOPER
Goienlor
MICHAEL S REGAN
LINDA CULPEPPER
Water Resources lntel nn Dn eclol
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
March 2, 2018
Mr. Robert Walker CERTIFIED MAIL 7016 2140 0000 4371 0592
Brunswick Regional Water and Sewer 1-12GO RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
PO Box 2230
Leland, NC 28451-2230
RE: Request for Remission of Civil Penalty
File No. DV -2017-0085
Brunswick County
Permit # WQCS00202
Dear Mr. Walker,
In accordance with G.S. 143-215.6A(f) and my delegation by the Secretary of the Department of
Environmental Quality and the Director of the Division of Water Resources, I considered the
information submitted in support of your request for remission and hereby remit $200.00 of the
civil penalty assessment. The revised civil penalty is therefore $1,187.75 ($1,050.00 civil penalty
plus $137.75 investigative costs). A copy of the decision is attached.
There are two options available to you
1) You may pay the reduced penalty.
If you decide to pay the reduced penalty please make your check payable to the Department of
Environmental Quality (DEQ). Reference the case number on the check. Send the payment within
thirty (30) calendar days of your receipt of this letter to the attention of -
Mr Steve Lewis
DWR PERCS
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1617
State of North Carolina I Environmental Quality I Water Resources
1617 Mail Service Center I Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1617
919-807-6300 1 www waterquahty org

2) You may decide to have the Environmental Management Commission's (EMC)
Committee on Civil Penalty Remissions make the final decision on your remission
request.
If payment is not received within 30 calendar days from your receipt of this letter, your request
for remission with supporting documents and the recommendation of the Director of the North
Carolina Division of Water Resources will be delivered to the Committee on Civil Penalty
Remissions for final agency decision
If you or your representative would like to speak before the Committee, you must complete
and return the attached Request for Oral Presentation form within thirty (30) calendar days of
receipt of this letter.
Send the completed Request for Oral Presentation form to:
Mr. Steve Lewis
DWR PERCS
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1617
The EMC Chairman will review the supporting documents and your request for an oral
presentation (if you make the request). If the Chairman determines that there is a compelling
reason to require a presentation, you will be notified of when and where you should appear. If
a presentation is not required, the final decision will be based upon the written record A
representative from the Division of Water Resources will present the case for the full amount
of the original penalty.
The Committee on Civil Penalty Remissions will then render a final and binding decision in
accordance with NCGS 14313-282.1(c).
Thank you for your attention to this matter. If you would like a receipt that your check or
request for remission was received, please send it via certified mail. Please feel free to contact
Steve Lewis at [phone] or steve.lewis a,ncdenr gov if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey 0. Poupart
Water Quality Permitting Section Chief
Division of Water Resources
cc: File 4 DV -2017-0085
Morella Sanchez King, Wilmington Regional Office Supervisor
Dean Hunkele, WIRO
Central Files

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
COUNTY OF BRUNSWICK
IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT )
OF CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST )
BRUNWSICK REGIONAL WATER AND SEWER)
H2GO
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
COMMISSION
DWR Case Number DV -2017-0085
REQUEST FOR ORAL PRESENTATION
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
opm ion 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 day of , 20
SIGNATURE
TITLE (President, Owner, etc)
ADDRESS
TELEPHONE ( 1

DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES
CIVIL PENALTY REAHSSION FACTORS
Case Number: DV -2017-0085 Region: WIRO County: Brunswick
Assessed Entity: Brunswick Regional Water and Sewer 112GO Permit: WQCS00202
❑ (a) Whether one or more of the civil penalty assessment factors were wrongly applied to the
detriment of the petitioner:
® (b) Whether the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting from
the violation:
• H2GO states that they promptly abated potential environmental damage Upon observation of
the SSO, crews were dispatched to locate the inflow source Within 30 minutes, a broken service
lateral was located and repaired Inflow f om that source was immediately terminated, and the
pump station recovered to normal operations The estimated volume was 330 gallons and the
H2GO questions if the overflow reached water of the state
• Summarize Region's position for denial/partial/frill remission
The WiRO concurs with the permittee that the discharge was corrected promptly.
However, this penalty assessment is for failure to report within 24 hours, even more so if
there was no certainty that the spill had reached surface waters. The location was
inspected on 2-20-2018 as part of a collection system inspection. Both operators present
agreed that there was no way it didn't reach the nearby surface water given that it was
raining or had just stopped To illustrate, a visual aid from Google Maps is enclosed.
The photo shows the locations of the pump station and stream, the manhole that
overflowed is inside the fence in the driveway.
® (c) Whether the violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident:
• H2GO states that the violation was inadvertent. Crews are diligent to inspect and monitor
construction activity throughout the district but damage to sanitary sewer laterals from ditch
grading and trenchless construction can occur without staff knowledge Rain events often reveal
such lateral damage in the form of significant inflow to the system
• Summarize Region's position for denial/partial/full remission
It seems that the violation was the result of an accident. As such, the permittee should
have contacted the regional office within 24 hours to report the spill. The fact that a 5 -
day SSO report was completed suggested that the discharge reached surface waters.
® (d) Whether the violator had been assessed civil penalties for any previous violations:
• H2GO states that they have not been assessed for any violations in the past 10 years
• H2GO has not been assessed for a discharge violations in the last five years They were assessed
in Dec 2017 (PC -2017-0056) for a permit condition violation for failing to notify the Division
about the loss of functionality of the Belville WWTP plant on 08/07/2017
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® (e) Whether payment of the civil penalty will prevent payment for the remaining necessary
remedial actions:
• H2GO states that they are investing nearly $3 S million in system upgrades to eliminate tributary
flows to piggy -backed and bottle -necked pump stations where inflow causes immediate effects on
pump station operations including the location of this SSO Payment of the penalty will affect
budgeted reserves for projects currently under construction
• Summarize Region's position for denial/partial/full remission
The civil penalty looks negligible compared to the amounts being allocated for the capital
improvement.
DECISION (Check One)
Request Denied ❑
Full Remission ❑ Retain Enforcement Costs? Yes ❑ No ❑
Partial RemissionX $ 2190• (Enter Amount)
Poupart Date
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