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Home My WebLink AboutNCG590021_NOV and Intent to Assess_20190318ROY COOPER Governor MICHAEL S. REGAN Secretary LINDA CULPEPPER Director Certified Mail # 70131710 0002 1922 3689 Return Receipt Requested Ron Sink Davidson Water, Inc. PO Box 969 Welcome, NC 27374 NORTH CAROLINA Environmental Quality March 18, 2019 Subject: Notice of Violation and Intent to Issue Civil Penalty 'NOV Tracking No. NOV-2019-DV-0149 Davidson Water WTP NPDES Permit NCG590021/Incident Tracking Number 20190479 Davidson County Dear Mr. Sink: On February 14, 2019, Paul DiMatteo of the Division of Water Resources (Division), Winston-Salem Regional Office received a report from Brandon Garner that the above facility experienced a spill of approximately 1150 lbs of fluoride ion, in the form of up to 622 gallons of hydrofluorosilicic acid, due to operator error. On February 15, 2019, Paul DiMatteo and Rebecca Chandler of this office met with'operators to assess environmental impacts and observe the ongoing mitigation efforts. Inspectors were told that the spill entered a storm drain system that drains to an unnamed tributary of the Yadkin River, Class WS-V waters in the Yadkin Pee -Dee River Basin. The tributary at the point of discharge appeared to be a flowing stream approximately 1 foot wide and 3 inches deep. Inspectors sampled the water at four locations: two samples in the tributary before its confluence with the Yadkin River (samples 1 and 2), one along the storm drain channel before it meets the tributary (sample 3), and one at the wastewater system's effluent (sample 4). Sample results are summarized in the following table. Results showed that the tributary stream had fluoride levels exceeding the stream standard of 1.3 mg/l. Location ID Location Description pH (S.U.) Fluoride (mg/1) 1 Downstream, below culvertjust before Yadkin 6.99 72 2 Confluence, just after discharge point 7.11 5.0 3 Retaining ditch 6.15 4 Wastewater Effluent 6.50 <0.4 A review has been conducted of the incident notes, operator correspondence, and sample results. This office concludes that Davidson Water, Inc. has violated the terms of NPDES General Permit NCG590021 by discharging to the waters of the State in a location and quality that was not authorized by that permit. Therefore, that discharge constituted making an unpermitted outlet to waters of the State for the purposes of NC G.S. 143-215. 1 (a)(1). D Q ._ North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources nf �Oro roaTM cngouw VAnston-Salem Regional Office 1 450 Hanes Mill Road Suite 3001 Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27103 °�N "�"�a�"°""^��"� 336.776.9800 Davidson Water WTP NOV-2019-DV-0149 Accordingly, this office is issuing this Notice of Violation/Notice of Intent to Enforce (NOV/NOI) for the violation(s) that were outlined above, and is providing Davidson Water, Inc. with an opportunity to provide evidence and justification as to why it should not be assessed a civil penalty such violation(s). Pursuant to G.S. 143-215.6A, a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) may be assessed to 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 Paul DiMatteo with the Water Quality Section in the Winston-Salem Regional Office at (336) 776-9800 or via email at paul.dimatteokncdenr.gov Sincerely, Do'Uoi TpnedGby 145BOE2 SMFA... Lon T. Snider, Assistant Regional Supervisor Water Quality Regional Operations Section Winston-Salem Regional Office Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ Enclosures — Inspection Report CC: WQS Winston-Salem Regional Office /;St NPDESi n ila^ l Central�iles Brandon Garner, by email Page 2 of 2 United States Environmental Protection Agency Form Approved. EPA Washington, D.C.20460 OMB No. 2040-OD57 Water Compliance Inspection Report Approval expires 8-31-98 Section A: National Data System Coding (i.e., PCS) Transaction Code NPDES yr/mo/day Inspection Type Inspector Fac Type 1 IN 1 2 IG 1 3 I NCG590021 111 121 19/o2/15 I17 18 J o i 19 I c y 201 I 2111I I I I I I I I II.I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I II I I I 1 1 f6 Inspection Work Days Facility Self -Monitoring Evaluation Rating B1 QA — -Reserved 72 L,J 67 70 LJ71 itJ 73174 75I III I I 80 Section B: Facility Data Name and Location of Facility Inspected (For Industrial Users discharging to POTW, also include Entry Time/Date Permit Effective Date POTW name and NPDES permit Number) 12:OOPM 19/02/15 17/10/01 Davidson Water WTP 388 Koontz Rd Exit Time/Date Permit Expiration Date Lexington NC 27295 01:30PM 19/02/15 19/07/31 Name(s) of Onsite Representative(s)/Titles(s)/Phone and Fax Number(s) Other Facility Data /// Name, Address of Responsible Official/Title/Phone and Fax Number Contacted Ron Sink,PO Box 969 Welcome NC 273740969/General Manager/336-764-2534/ No Section C: Areas Evaluated During Inspection (Check only those areas evaluated) Permit Effluent/Receiving Waters Section D: Summary of Finding/Comments (Attach additional sheets of narrative and checklists as necessary) (See attachment summary) Name(s) and Signature(s) of Inspector(s) Agency/Office/Phone and Fax Numbers Date . Rebecca D Chandler DocuSigned by: Division of Water Quality//336-776-9692i 3/18/2019 Paul DiMatteo WSRO WQ//336-776-9691/ Signature of Management Q A Reviewer Agency/Office/Phone and Fax Numbers Date DocuSigned by: 3/18/19 LoI 'T SMdv '-- 145B49E225C94EA... EPA Form 3560-3 (Rev 9-94) Previous editions are obsolete. Page# NPDES yr/mo/day Inspection Type (Cont.) 31 NCG590021 I11 121 19/02/15 117 18 I o 1 Section D: Summary of Finding/Comments (Attach additional sheets of narrative and checklists as necessary) Site visit/sampling event conducted in response to Permittee's report that approx 1150 Ibs of fluoride ion was released into their site's storm drain system. Chemical was found to have entered a small tributary to the Yadkin River, before it joins with said river. At the time of the site visit, Permittee had an environmental contractor out (Shamrock Environmental) to attempt to contain'the spill. Their plan was to dam the area just before their drain system reaches the tributary, vacuum off what they could, and then flush with clean water. However, we noted that rain was forecasted that night. Contractor was also out the previous night attempting to pump down the wastewater lagoons, as the operators believed at the time that the drain system the spill reached emptied into the wastewater lagoons, and we determined that it would not be possible for them to discharge wastewater in compliance with stream standards (1.3 mg/1) given the -amount spilled and the volume of the lagoons. We took fluoride samples to be analyzed by the State lab, sent chain -of -custody by state courier. pH was also read on -site, but results were normal (all samples were between 6.5-7.1). A fluoride reading of 72 mg/I was recorded just before the tributary joined the Yadkin River; result was 5.0 at the confluence between the Plant's storm drain system and the stream; and a reading below detection (<0.4 mg/I) was recorded at the wastewater lagoon effluent. Page# Permit: NCG590021 Owner - Facility: Davidson Water WTP Inspection Date: 02/15/2019 Inspection Type: Reconnaissance Permit Yes No NA NE (If the present permit expires in 6 months or less). Has the permittee submitted a new ❑ ❑ M ❑ application? Is the facility as described in the permit? ❑ ❑ ❑ # Are there any special conditions for the permit? ❑ 0 ❑ ❑ Is access to the plant site restricted to the general public? N ❑ ❑ ❑ Is the inspector granted access to all areas for inspection? 0 ❑ ❑ ❑ Comment: Page# 3