Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutNC0027626_NOV-2023-LV-0633_20231010Manuel, Vanessa From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: Attachments: Follow Up Flag: Flag Status: Greetings, Vanessa and Cheng! I trust you are well. Patel, Nainesh Tuesday, October 10, 2023 4:32 PM Manuel, Vanessa Zhang, Cheng NCDAC Roanoke River Cl WWTP - NOV Response NOV Response_Fecal_2023Oct10.pdf Follow up Flagged AI:DV-2,23- LV-D4,33 Attached please see our response to the NOV letter. FYI, the letter was delivered in our office on 2 October 2023 and it arrived in my Inbox on 3 October 2023. The original document is in the mail. As previously stated, I have a few issues I'd like to discuss with your team. Could you please tell me which days of the week are normally good for you? Thanks! Best Regards. Nainesh (Nash) Patel, PE, PEM Section Manager - Civil/Environmental Engineering NC Department of Public Safety Engineering ? Central Engineering 2020 Yonkers Road 4216 MSC? Raleigh, NC 27699-4216 Phone: (919) 324-1283 ? Fax: (919) 716-3978 E-Mail: nainesh.oatelralncdos.aov N/1 � anmc:a N C Aduit Couechon VJ r ` Please consider the environment and your budget before printing this email. Email correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties by an authorized state official. A' Department of 1� Adult Correction PROTECTION • INNOVATION REHABILITATION Roy Cooper, Governor 10 October 2023 Vanesa E. Manuel Assistant Regional Supervisor Water Quality Regional Operations Section Raleigh Regional Office Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ 3800 Barrett Dr., Raleigh, NC 27609 IN RE: NOV-2023-LV-0633 Roanoke River C.I. — WWTP Halifax County Dear Ms. Manuel: Todd Ishee, Secretary The Department of Adult Correction (DAC) has received the aforementioned NOV on 02 October 2023, and we are submitting herewith, the desired response. We exceeded fecal coliform daily limit by a small number. Although our monthly fecal limit was well below the allowed maximum limit. The DAC conducted a comprehensive investigation into the occurrence and obtained all relevant field notes and logs related to the incident. You may recall that in our last communication, I had mentioned that there may be a possibility of fecal exceedance. During the time when exceedance occurred, the DAC was in the process of significantly major upgrade and maintenance of the wetlands. We invested close to $96,000 to establish new varieties of specialized plants in our constructed wetlands. To maintain a safe water level for the new plants, we had to turnoff half of the facility's wetland cells (16 out of 32). Asa result, we were only achieving 50% treatment efficiency. MAILING ADDRESS: 4216 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-4216 OFFICE LOCATION: 2020 Yonkers Road Raleigh, NC 27604 An Equal Opportunity Employer FROM THE OFFICE OF: Nainesh Patel Environmental Engrg. Manager Central Engineering Telephone: (919) 324-1283 https://dacxc.gov NOV-2023-LV-0633 NCDAC - Roanoke River C.I. Page 2 of 2 10 October 2023 Our suspended solids and turbidity in the wetland cells were significantly higher. There were significant human movement and other wildlife migration within the wetland cells. There was ongoing pumping (to sustain extremely low water levels) and transferring of plant within the wetland cells. The combination of limited treatment capacity and disturbance in the settled wetland environment had caused this onetime daily elevated level in the fecal coliform count. Ever since then, we continue to remain in full compliance. A note about this change was also included in our e-DMR report. Due to the following reasons, the DAC respectfully requests that the DEQ not impose any civil penalties for this incident: (1) Even though the WWTF exceeded maximum daily limit by 200 MPN, we still met the monthly fecal limit for the subject month. (2) Soon after major the new planting related activities were completed, the situation was promptly remedied. (3) The DAC has been able to maintain full compliance and there haven't been any violations for the wastewater treatment at this facility in a very long time. (4) The available funds could be used to make more significant and beneficial enhancements to operation and maintenance rather than paying a civil penalty (if one were to be levied). The DAC has requested to eliminate fecal coliform monitoring at the subject facility. Also, due to the complex wastewater treatment and disinfection system at this facility, the DAC is asking the DEQto allow sampling for the fecal coliform and the toxicity on different cycle. The DAC is still steadfastly committed to upholding strict compliance. Should you have any questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me at (919) 324-1283 or via e-mail at nainesh.patel@ncdac.gov. Respectfully�� Nainesh (Nash) Patel, PE, PEM Civil/ Environmental Engineering Manager NCDPS - Central Engineering Cc: NP/BM/JO/Central File Page 2 of 2