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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNC0020800_Remission Request_20181105J "M Ut andmw IM .Main Shed J U J3ax 1210 Qndwm, Ne289U1 J hmw: 828-321-3113 9avx: 828-321-4159 James D. Reid, Mayor BOARD OF ALDERMEN Steve Jordan, Mayor Pro Tern Richelle Phillips Scott Stalcup Michael G. Sheidy November 5, 2018 Subject: Notice of Violation and Assessment of Civil Penalty for Violations of North Carolina General Statute (G.S.) 143-215.1(a)(6) and NPDES WW Permit No. NCO020800 Town of Andrews RECEIVE®/®ENR/DWR Andrews WWTP NOV 19 2018 Case No. LM-2018-0049 Cherokee County Water Resources Permitting Section To whom it may concern, The Town of Andrews and the Andrews WWTP formally request remission of the civil penalties levied against the Town of Andrews for the Notice of Violation and Assessment of Civil Penalty, Case #: LM- 2018-0049 for the month of February 2018. Our reasons for this request for remission are based on the following criteria as set forth in the Justification For Remission Request form along with an explanation for each factor: (b) The violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting from the violation; For week three of February 2018, our facility exceeded our Permitted Weekly Geometric Mean for Coliform,Fecal MF, MFC Broth 44.5 C. During this period, our records indicate that we experienced an increase in average flow for a 10 day period. Additionally, our facility was still in the process of upgrades as part of Phase I of the Town of Andrews Wastewater Treatment Plant Capital Improvements project. The need for an automatic flow - proportional feed for our chlorination and dechlorination system was to be a part of these upgrades. At the time of this extreme rain event, the upgrade to our Chlorination/Dechlorination system had not been completed yet, so our operators were still attempting to adjust the feed rate manually. This poses certain difficulties when taking into consideration that it typically takes a day or two to get Fecal Coliform results back from our lab if there is a discrepancy. This is due to the nature of the test itself, and is not the fault of any one party. Under these circumstances there were times when we were not aware that we needed to make an adjustment until late in the next day. By that time we have lost two days in reality. Operators worked to make the proper adjustments to the feed rate as the week passed and were able to resolve the issue. Therefore, this shows that the Town of Andrews WWTP made a good faith effort within its knowledge and capability at the time to promptly abate continuing environmental damage. Our plant had flows well above our rated (and state approved) 1.5 MGD capacity for six of the ten aforementioned days, making it impossible to treat more wastewater than our plant was rated to hold. In essence, a fine is being sought for an act of nature that we, at our "rated" capacity could not handle. We did not set this rating, nor were the former town officials or WWTP operators responsible for setting this rating. Therefore, this cannot be placed at the feet of plant operators or Town officials for not meeting an unachievable and impossible standard under the circumstances. It should be noted that the process of upgrading our Chlorination/Dechlorination feed system was completed not long thereafter, and we have showed excellent improvement in this area throughout the duration of 2018. It is also worth mentioning that this was one of the primary areas of concern and focus for the implementation of the Capital Improvement Plan to begin with, and I feel that the Town as well as the Wastewater Plant has went above and beyond in their vision to see this accomplished. (c) The violation was inadvertent...; For the month of February 2018 Notice of Violation and Assessment of Civil Penalty Case #: LM-2018- 0049 there are eight assessment factors listed for "failure to properly monitor". This issue was a simple case of oversight, and was completely inadvertent. At the time of these violations, I was under the assumption that in order to mark a specific date as a holiday I would use the option "holiday" from the drop down menu given within the eDMR online system. The day in question February 19, 2018 was for us a town holiday. When I used the "holiday" option to mark this day as a holiday, I did not know at the time that this would delete any information that was entered into the specific parameter category for that day for all parameters. I have since learned that town holidays are not necessarily state holidays, and are not considered official holidays by the state or the NCDEQ. It was also brought to my attention by Janet Cantwell of the Asheville regional office on 6/21/18 that in order for the eDMR to accurately record my submission into each specific parameter category for a given day that I must ignore the holiday feature so that it will always include the plant "Flow" as set forth in our permit, while manually entering an "H" into each of the given parameter categories. Her willingness to be of assistance, and her knowledge of the eDMR system was immensely helpful to us. I have now returned to our reports within the eDMR system and have made the proper adjustments for the date of 2/19/2018, and have resubmitted the report. Based upon these criteria I feel that our request for remission is justified. The Town of Andrews as well as Wastewater Treatment Operators, and all other entities involved have worked hard to make the vast improvements that have been made. I feel that under the circumstances, which have been well - documented and known to the Town as well as the NCDEQ, and taking into consideration the effort, expense, and willingness during the completion of Phase 1 of our Capital Improvement Plan, it would be both an injustice and a disservice to the Town of Andrews as well as the already hard-pressed taxpayers to seek enforcement of this penalty. Respectfully, Timothy Wood Andrews WWTP-ORC (828)557-8630 wastewaterplant@andrewsnc.c DocuSign Envelope ID. A7F1C6D6-9ED7-4CC3-88A1-C906D5C2CD88 JUSTIFICATION FOR REIMSSION REQUEST Case Number: LM-2018-0049 Assessed Party: Town of Andrews Permit No.: NCO020800 County: Cherokee Amount Assessed: $956.68 Please use this form when requesting remission of this civil penalty. You must also complete the "Request For Remission, Waiver of Right to an Administrative Hearing, and Stipulation of 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 civil penalty maybe 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. 143B-282.1(b) were wrongfully applied to the detriment of the petitioner (the assessment factors are listed in the civil penalty assessment document); (b) the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting from the violation (i.e., explain the steps that you took to correct the violation and prevent future occurrences); (c) the violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident (i.e., explain why the violation was unavoidable or something you could not prevent or prepare for); (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 (i.e., explain how payment of the civil penalty will prevent you from performing the activities necessary to achieve compliance). EXPLANATION: DocuSign Envelope ID: A7F1C6D6-gED7-4CC3-88A1-C906D5C2CD88 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COUNTY OF CHEROKEE IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT ) WAIVER OF RIGHT TO AN OF CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST ) ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING AND STIPULATION OF FACTS Town of Andrews ) Andrews WWTP ) PERMIT NO. NCO020800 ) CASE NO. LM-2018-0049 Having been assessed civil penalties totaling $956.68 for violation(s) as set forth in the assessment document of the Division of Water Resources dated October 26, 2018, 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 (30) 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 N day of I�J1rQ�7�l�i�- , 20� ADDRESS TELEPHONE i 6 � 01 IV AJ 7