WQ0040265_Compliance Evaluation Inspection_20190719

ROY COOPER
Governor
MICHAEL S. REGAN
Secretary
LINDA CULPEPPER
Director
NORTH CAROLINA
Environmental Quality
July 19, 2019
Wayne Fenton -Assistant Solid Waste Director
City of Durham
101 City Hall Plaza
Durham, NC 27701
Subject: Compliance Evaluation Inspection
N. Durham Composting DCAR
Distribution of Class A Residuals
Permit Number WQ0040265
Durham County
Mr. Fenton,
On July 18, 2019, Rick Trone of the Raleigh Regional Office of the Division of Water Resources
conducted a compliance evaluation inspection for permit WQ0040265 at the N. Durham Composting
DCAR facility. The purpose of this inspection was to ensure compliance with the subject permit. During
the inspection, the cooperation of Ms. Muriel Williman, Senior Assistant Solid Waste Manager for the
City of Durham, and Mr. Alston Sandzen of Atlas Organics was helpful and appreciated.
This compliance evaluation inspection consisted of the following:
• Review of the permit;
• Review of the owner/facility information;
• Review of Operation and Maintenance Plans;
• Review of on -site documentation and logbooks;
• On -site inspection of the facility
The current permit was issued January 22, 2019 and expires on September 30, 2024.
Under permit WQ0040265, The City of Durham is permitted to operate a residuals management program
for the distribution of Class A residuals which are generated from the N. Durham WRF and S. Durham
WRF. The composting facility accepts yard waste that is mixed with biological residuals for composting.
The compost facility is operated by Atlas Organics and is located at the N. Durham WRF.
At the time of the inspection, the facility was in small-scale operation and only a minimal amount of
compost was arranged into rows. Perforated pipe was observed to be connected to blower units with the
D_E Q�� North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources
Raleigh Regional Office 1 3800 Barrett Drive I Raleigh. North Carolina 27609
/O/ 919.791.4200

N. Durham Composting DCAR
City of Durham
Page 2 of 2
7/19/19
pipes placed under the piles. On the above date, the blowers were not yet hard -wired. At some point in the
future, the facility may also accept food scraps to be composted but during the inspection food scraps
were not a component of the compost.
The Operation and Maintenance Plan and Temperature Logs were reviewed. The facility had no records
on site related to the amount of residuals that had been delivered from the source facilities. It is
recommended this information be available for inspection. The permit for this facility requires
submittal of an Annual Report, however the facility has not been in operation long enough to have
submitted an Annual Report.
Residuals from source facilities are located at the composting site and a small amount of leachate was
observed near the edge of the covered area. There was no evidence leachate had left the site, but Mr.
Sandzen and Ms. Williman were reminded to ensure no leachate leaves the site. The facility is designed
so that leachate enters drains and is directed to the wastewater plant. No odors were noted from the
residuals at the compost facility.
Overall, the Composting Facility appears to be well maintained and compliant with permit requirements.
If you have any questions about this inspection or this letter, please contact Rick Trone at
rick.trone(a ncdenr.gov or 919-791-4200.
Sincerely,/
Ri lich, L.G.
Assistant Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations
Raleigh Regional Office
Attachments: EPA Water Compliance Inspection Report
cc:
Central Files
RRO Files