WQCSD0287_NOV and Intent to Assess_20190429

CERTIFIED MAIL:7017 2620 0000 9759 1055
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED

April 29, 2019

Lynne Starr-Vasquez
Cliffside Sanitary District
PO Box 122
Cliffside, NC 28024

SUBJECT: Second Mailing (Original sent 1/22/2019-rtnd unclaimed):
NOTICE OF VIOLATION & INTENT TO ISSUE CIVIL PENALTY
Tracking No.: NOV-2019-DV-0039
Sanitary Sewer Overflows - December 2018
Collection System Permit No. WQCSD0287
Cliffside Sanitary District WWTP
Rutherford County

Dear Permittee:

A review has been conducted of the self-reported Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSO’s) 5-Day Report/s submitted by
Cliffside Sanitary District. The Division’s Asheville Regional Office concludes that the Cliffside Sanitary District
violated Permit Condition I (2) of Permit No. WQCSD0287 by failing to effectively manage, maintain, and operate
their collection system so that there is no SSO (Sanitary Sewer Overflow) to the land or surface waters and the
SSO constituted making an outlet to waters of the State for purposes of G.S. 143-215.1(a)(1), for which a permit
is required by G.S. 143-215.1.

The Asheville Regional Office is providing the Cliffside Sanitary District an opportunity to provide evidence and
justification as to why the Cliffside Sanitary District should not be assessed a civil penalty for the violation(s) that
are summarized below:
Total Vol
Total Surface
Incident Start Duration Vol Water
Number Date (Mins) Location Cause (Gals) (Gals) DWR Action _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
201803692 12/20/2018 758 Cliffside-Cone Mills Inflow and 200,000 150,000 Notice of Violation
influent lift station Infiltration, Pump
station equipment
failure _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DocuSign Envelope ID: 89AD2155-63E2-4AD0-BD33-2D7B25F8DDEB

This Notice of Violation / Notice of Intent to Enforce (NOV/NOI) is being issued for the noted violation. Pursuant
to G.S. 143-215.6A, a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) may be assessed
against any person who violates or fails to act in accordance with the terms, conditions, or requirements of any
permit issued pursuant to G.S. 143-215.1.

This office requests that you respond to this Notice, in writing, within 10 business days of its
receipt. In your response, you should address the causes of non-compliance, remedial actions, and all other
actions taken to prevent the recurrence of similar situations. The response to this correspondence will be
considered in this process. Enforcement decisions will also be based on volume spilled, volume reaching surface
waters, duration and gravity, impacts to public health, fish kills or recreational area closures. Other factors
considered in determining the amount of the civil penalty are the violator’s history of non-compliance, the cost of
rectifying the damage, whether the spill was intentional and whether money was saved by non-compliance.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mikal Willmer with the Water Quality Section in the
Asheville Regional Office at 828-296-4500 or via email at [e-mail].

Sincerely,

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\Rutherford\Collection Systems\Cliffside Sanitary District WQCSD0287\SSOs\201803692\20190122_WQCSD0287_NOVNOI2019DV0039

DocuSign Envelope ID: 89AD2155-63E2-4AD0-BD33-2D7B25F8DDEB