NC0026000_NOV-2019-PC-0580 Response_20190826

Home Of The North Carolina Yam Festival
DIANE B. WARD
TOWN OF TABOR CITY
CLERK-TREAS.
P.O. DRAWER 655
TABOR CITY, NC 25463
KEVIN BULLARD
TOWN ATTORNEY
O: 910.653.3458
F: 910.653.3970
A.J. LEONARD, JR.
TOWN MANAGER
August 26, 2019
NC Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ
Morella Sanchez -King, Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Wilmington Regional Office
127 Cardinal Drive Ext.
Wilmington, NC 28405
Tabor City W WTP — Columbus County
Permit # NCO026000
RECEiUEDMICOENOWR
AUG 2 R 2019
Water Quality Regional
Operations Section
Wilrnln nn Regional Office
ROYCE HARPER
MAYOR
LAMONT GRATE
MAYOR PRO TEM
NELSON LEE
SAM ROGERS
DAVID MINCEY
NOTICE OF VIOLATION & INTENT TO ASSESS CIVIL PENALTY
Tracking Number NOV-2019-PC-0580
Subject: NPDES Compliance Inspection Report
Inspection on April 23, 2019
Dear Ms. Sanchez -King:
The purpose of this letter is to respond to your letter dated August 21 (that was received in our office on
August 22). In that letter you cited the Town for several deficiencies at our wastewater treatment plant as
a result of your April inspection. You had given the Town ten days to respond to your letter, so please
consider this correspondence as our reply.
Per your Inspection Area Description of Violation
The Aerobic Digester was cleaned of overgrown plants and trees the week of August 12 —16,
2019 by the Sludge hauling vendor McGill. Also they began the sludge hauling process on
8/19/2019 in the preparation of upcoming upgrades that includes installation of an aerator.
• The skimmer arm on the clarifier was repaired on 4/25/2019.
• The reporting of the inoperable clarifier was a miscommunication with the operation organization
Envirolink, Inc and the ORC. This communication issue has been resolved with team
communication guidelines.
The inspection report recommendation that the facility have a maintenance operator to assist the ORC
with plant maintenance has been fulfilled. The maintenance operator reported for duty at the W WTP on
"This Institution Is An Equal Opportunity Provider, And Employer"

The State of North Carolina has been advising Tabor City for a few years on an effort to repair our plant
with loans and a forgivable loan. I want to report that the pre -bid conference on this project will take
place on September 3. The bids will be opened on September 19. We are hopeful that competitive bids
will be received and we can make many of the needed repairs at the plant.
Our engineers report to us that contractors are so busy with hurricane recovery work that the bids will
most likely exceed the amount of funds we have been allocated. This situation will force Tabor City to
either borrow more money from the State, deplete our financial reserves, or both.
Tabor City has already raised our sewer rates each year over the past four years to enable us to make the
loan repayments to the State. In light of this, we would respectfully request that any fines against the
town be waived so that we can direct all our local dollars to the sewer plant repair project.
If there are any questions, please contact Stephanie Moore [phone] or Al Leonard, Jr at [phone].
Respectfully
/A1 J. Leonard, r.
Tabor City Town Manager