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Home My WebLink AboutWQ0034102_Compliance Report_20190319ROY COOPER Governor MICHAEL S. REGAN Secretary LINDA CULPEPPER Director Mr. W. Darron Flowers, Mayor Town of Fremont P.O. Box 4 Fremont, North Carolina 27830-0818 NORTH CAROLINA Environmental Quality March 19, 2019 SUBJECT: 03/12/2019 Compliance Inspection Fremont WWTP Sprayfield Wastewater Irrigation System Permit No: WQ0034102 (Expires 08/31/2021) Wayne County Dear Mr. Flowers: Attached to this letter please find a copy of the Compliance Inspection Report Form for the Compliance Inspection conducted on March 12, 2019 at the above referenced facility. The Compliance Inspection was conducted by Randy Sipe and Robert Tankard of the Washington Regional Office. Mr. Kenneth Stanley, the ORC for the facility, was also present and provided valuable assistance during the inspection. During the inspection all the wastewater treatment, storage, and disposal components of the facility described in Permit No. WQ0034102 were toured. The inspection also included a review of monthly reports/recordkeeping. At the time of the inspection, the freeboard in the southern lagoon was 1.2 feet, which is less than the minimum of 2 feet allowed by Condition IIL 12 of Permit No. WQ0034012. Because of this high freeboard the facility is considered not compliant with permit No. WQ0034102. The Washington Regional Office understands that conditions at the lagoons have been exacerbated by recent rainfall causing high flows in Fremont's and Eureka's collection systems and limiting the amount of irrigation that can be performed on the spray fields. We do request that Fremont make its best effort to reduce the freeboard in this lagoon, as the weather and site conditions allow and keep the Washington Regional Office apprised of its progress. D North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources EQ�p Washington Regional Office 1943 Washington Square Mall I Washington, North Carolina 27889 NOAnacnaouNn � 252.946.6481 Mr. W. Darron Flowers March 19, 2019 Page 2 of 3 Additional compliance, operational, and maintenance issues identified during the inspection include the following: • There was an exceedance of the North Carolina Groundwater Standard for ammonia at monitoring well MW2 during the latest groundwater sampling event in November 2018. The ammonia concentration detected at MW2 was 8.68 milligrams per liter (mg/L) and the Groundwater Standard is 1.5 mg/L. Historically, this well had high ammonia levels due to the old leaking lagoons. It is located directly south of the lagoons. Previous samples collected from MW2 since repair of the lagoons was completed contained ammonia below the Groundwater Standard. The Washington Regional Office will continue to monitor conditions at MW2. • The back side of the berm west of the lagoons has not recently been mowed with numerous small trees and shrubs present (see the attached photo). Condition III.14 of Permit No. WQ0034102 requires that the berms be kept free of trees, shrubs, and other woody vegetation. Please notify the Washington Regional Office when the berm has been mowed. • During the inspection it was observed that the disinfection system had been recently converted from chlorine gas to liquid chlorine. Currently the Division's Central Office is requiring a permit modification for this type of treatment modification. Please notify the Washington Regional Office when a permit modification application is submitted. • A review of the Division records prior to the inspection revealed that currently there is not a backup ORC on file for the facility. Condition III. 2 of Permit No. WQ0034102 requires that both an ORC and backup ORC be designated for the facility. The Operator Designation Form can be found at the following link: htlps://files.nc.gov/ncdeg/Water`/`20Qualily/Operator Certification_ Files/W W_Files/W W Downloads/ORC Designation Form Fillable-2.pdf. Please provide a copy of the completed form to the Washington Regional Office when it is submitted. • During the review of the monthly reports and records it was observed that there were electronic copies of reports and monitoring data on multiple computers and that hard copies of current and historical records were stored in multiple locations. The Washington Regional Office highly suggests that Fremont consider having electronic and hard copies of reports and records stored on only one computer and in in one location. This would help ensure that there are not different multiple electronic versions of reports and records and that complete hard copies are maintained for 5 years as required by Conditions IV.3, IV.6, and IV.9 of Permit No. WQ0034102. Please be aware that if the issues identified during the inspection with operation and maintenance of the treatment and irrigation systems continue, this may result in issuance of a Notice of Violation (NOV) or initiation of other enforcement mechanisms available to the state. Mr. W. Darron Flowers March 19, 2019 Page 3 of 3 If you have any questions concerning the findings of the compliance inspection, please contact me at 252-948-3849. Sincerely, DocuSigned by: AD7A20BABEFC447...®® Dwight Randy Sipe, P.G., Hydrogeologist Water Quality Regional Operations Section Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ Cc: Barbara Aycock — Town Manager, Town of Fremont (electronic copy) Kenneth Stanley — ORC (electronic copy) WARO Files Attachments