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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNC0032867_NOV Response_20180911Malik's International, Inc. 400 Dixon School Road Kings Mountain, NC 28086-8203 September 11, 2018 Mr. W. Corey Basinger, Regional Supervisor Mooresville Regional Office NC DEQ Division of Water Resources 610 East Center Avenue, Suite 301 Mooresville, NC 28115 RECEIVEDINCOENRIDWR SEP 12 2018 WQROS MOORESVILLE REGIONAL OFFICE Subject: Notice of Violation, Kings Mountain Travel Plaza, NPDES permit NCO032867 Cleveland County Dear Mr. Basinger: This is our response to the post -inspection letter of August 15, 2018 and provides the action plan and schedule that you requested. An action plan prepared by the operators is attached. Kings Mountain Travel Plaza will complete work as described in the attached plan by the dates indicated in the following list of items from the Notice of Violation. 1. Two septic tanks — repair leaks and connection piping August 1, 2019 2. Inactive aeration basins — install blowers and grating May 1, 2019 3. Aerobic digester and holding tank leaks and repair — inspect and repair January 1, 2019 4. Flow meter chart recorder — repair and put in operation October 15, 2018 5. Right-of-way to the outfall 001- cleating and inspection November 1, 2018 We look forward to continued discussion of these items if required and ask for your patience while we work through them. Sincerely, Laeeq Khan, President Cc: Dan Dougherty, ORC INTERIM MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION REPORT Action Items from 8/9/2018 Inspection and Permit NCO032867 latest revision Kings Mountain Travel Plaza September 3, 2018 1) Repair leak in septic tanks and connect piping to allow operation. The two septic tanks previously used as oil and grease separators at the plant influent have leaks in the horizontal seams between the two tanks. On the last pump event for the tank contents it was found that wastewater leaked from the tanks causing a public health issue and uncontrolled discharge. The leaks must be stopped and the septic tanks are listed in the new permit, therefore, they must be available for use. A schedule and budget should be prepared for this work as well as the other numbered items below. Repairing the tanks and sealing the leaks may require entry into the tanks or their removal and replacement. Regardless of the leaks, the tanks need new access lids. The contents of the tanks must be removed in order to proceed with the work. The piping at the influent must be modified to connect the tanks with a by-pass. Following are the leak repair options in ascending order of effort and cost: (A) Hand auger between the tanks, check for leak location, and attempt to seal with external application of bentonite clay and/or expansive concrete. This step is recommended and is expected to entail the lowest cost. The tanks will be filled with water and the repair check by observing the tank levels. The operators can provide the effort to do this work. If the work is not successful and the leakage continues, it will be necessary to proceed with the other options. (B) Clean the tanks and enter to apply sealing material on the inside of the tanks horizontal seam. This work could be done by the operators or an outside contractor. (C) Remove existing tanks and install new tanks. This option will incur the highest cost but would allow the position of the tanks to be moved back so that the connecting piping can be more easily installed at the influent. The work would require an outside contractor. 2) Install new blowers in the inactive aeration basin and repair grating to make safe The blowers for this aeration basin were removed at some time in the past and used on the active basin. The housing for the blowers and the motors remain. Any equipment or piping including the electrical system, motors, and diffusers must be inspected and replaced as necessary. New or used blowers of the correct size must be acquired and installed. The operators can assist with inspection and locating a source for new blowers. Installing the motors will require an outside contractor The repairs made to the grating on the unit were found to be unsatisfactory at the DEQ annual inspection and the grating over the aeration basin should be replaced completely. 3) Check for leaks in the upper septic tanks and repair as needed This item is less intensive and may not require a large effort outside of operator time. However, the lids on the septic tanks need replacement. Other leaks that may be identified including stormwater leakage to fill the tanks undesirably must be repaired. 4) Clear the right-of-way to Outfall 001 and maintain during the year. The operators have already worked on this item. We found heavy growth of kudzu near the lower turn to the west of the outfall piping. We can continue to work on this item and using Dan Dougherty's equipment clear the route to the outfall if you provide the necessary financial backing by paying promptly for time spent and in advance for estimated costs. As you ate aware, we do the yard maintenance inside the fence at the wastewater plant. Right-of-way maintenance is an extra expense that should now be addressed. We have not been able to identify the exact route of piping from the plant to the outfall after repeated checks. In order to assure that the piping is intact, we will need to better determine the pipe route and check flow at the outfall to verify the absence of leak in the system. 5) Repair the flow meter and weir box on the effluent near the chlorine contact basin The weir box had a leak under the weir plate that required repair. The flow recorder needs to be made functional with recorder strip chart and annual calibration. This flow recorder is obsolete and consideration should be given to replacement. 6) Other items — mentioned in the inspection report by DEQ or Operator observations The plant lighting should be upgraded to allow night time work in the event of failure or schedule necessity. At present, the existing lighting outside the shed is not functional and the fixtures are insufficient for work on the flow meter and other locations in the plant. Some of the outlets do not work or are infested with fire ants causing difficulty in their use. It is recommended to add an overhead spotlight near the influent and raise the light fixture at the shed. A file system should be created at the truck stop office for records related to the wastewater plant operation and maintained by the local site manager with the assistance of the operators. An account should be set up with Blue Book or other suppliers to allow the operators to order disinfection tablets and other supplies on a regular basis.