NC0021369_NOV-2019-PC-0228 Upset_20190404

DocuSign Envelope ID: F259C458-8783-4207-B313-OD6779ECD2F3
ROY COOPER
Governor
MICHAEL S. REGAN
Secretary
LINDA CULPEPPER
Director
NORTH CAROLINA
Environmental Quality
CERTIFIED MAIL #: 7017 2620 0000 9759 0928
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
April 4, 2018
Tim Barth, Town Manager
Town of Columbus
PO Box 146
Columbus, NC 28722
SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION
Tracking Number: NOV-2019-PC-0228
Upset
Permit No. NCO021369
County: Polk
Dear Mr. Barth:
A review has been conducted of the self -reported Upset 5-Day Report submitted by Trevor McMinn on December
14, 2018. The Division's Asheville Regional Office concludes that the Town of Columbus violated the Permit
Requirement under Part I.A(1) There shall be no discharge of floating solids or visible foam in other than trace
amounts.
Specific incident cited in the violation includes the following:
Loss of solids from the Town of Columbus' WWTP to Whiteoak Creek occurred for approximately
2.5 hours on December 10, 2018
This Notice of Violation is being issued for the noted violation of North Carolina General Statute (G.S.) 143-215.1
and the facility's NPDES Permit. Please note an Upset is defined as "an incident beyond the reasonable control
of the Permittee causing unintentional and temporary non-compliance with permit effluent limitations and/or
monitoring requirements". To prove an upset occurred, the permittee is required to demonstrate Section C.5
(Upsets) parts b and c of the Standard Conditions for NPDES Permits are applicable to the incident.
Remedial actions, if not already implemented, should be taken to correct the above noncompliance. Please
submit a written response to this Notice of Violation (email is acceptable). Your response is to be received by
the regional office within 30 days following receipt of this violation. The 5-day Report stated approximately 6"
of snow and rain fell over a 2-day period. Please include any additional documentation you believe supports
classifying this incident as an upset (i.e. precipitation data, operational logs, effluent data etc). The submittal
will be considered in determining whether the Division will take any further action regarding the cited incident.
NORTH�EQ��
oewrtnam a enWmnmenm uwnry
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources
Asheville Regional Office 12090 U.S. Highway 70 1 Swannanoa, North Carolina 28778
828.296.4500

DocuSign Envelope ID: F259C458-8783-4207-B313-OD6779ECD2F3
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mikal Willmer with the Water Quality Section in the
Asheville Regional Office at [phone] or via email at [e-mail].
Sincerely,
EDocuSigned by:
G 1� ��.
627B1D2775374D0...
for G. Landon Davidson, P.G., Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Asheville Regional Office
Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ
EC: WQS-ARO Server
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G:\WR\WQ\Polk\Wastewater\Municipal\Columbus WWTP 21369\Bypasses, Upsets & Spills\201803603\20190404_NCO021369_NOV2019PCO228