May 24, 2011 Honorable Hugh Hardgrave, Mayor City of Lavaca P.O. Box 3 AFIN: 66-00241 NPDES Permit No.: AR0034070 Dear Mayor Hardgrave: On April 28, 2011, I performed a reconnaissance inspection at 1011 Highway 253 North in response to a complaint. The complaint alleges that raw sewage had overflowed from the manhole located behind the residence. This inspection was conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Clean Water Act, the Arkansas Water and Air Pollution Control Act, and the regulations promulgated thereunder. The inspection revealed the following violation: An unpermitted discharge of raw sewage had recently occurred in the pasture from the alleged manhole overflow. It is apparent that the City of Lavaca failed to report the overflow within the required 24 hour period after becoming aware of the incident. This is a violation of Part III. 5 of the permit. The above item require yours immediate attention. Please submit a written response to this finding to Cindy Garner, Water Division Enforcement Branch Manager at the address below. In the response, please provide details in regards to the above mentioned overflow and all information gathered during your investigation. Your written response is due by June 3, 2011. If I can be of any assistance, please contact me at 479-424-0325 Sincerely, Jeff Tyler District 4 Field Inspector Water Division cc: Water Division Enforcement Branch Water Division Permits Branch
ADEQ Water NPDES Inspection AFIN: 66-00241 Permit #: AR0034070 Form Approved OMB No. 2040-0003 UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Washington, D.C. 20460 NPDES Compliance Inspection Report Section A: National Data System Coding Transaction Code NPDES Yr/Mo/Day Inspec. Type Inspector Fac. Type 1 N 2 5 3 A R 0 0 3 4 0 7 0 11 12 1 1 0 4 2 8 17 18 R 19 S 20 1 Remarks Inspection Work Days Facility Evaluation Rating BI QA -------------------------------Reserved------------------------------ 67 69 70 N 71 N 72 N 73 74 75 80 Section B: Facility Data Name and Location of Facility Inspected (For industrial users discharging to POTW, also include POTW name and NPDES permit number) City of Lavaca POTW Crowe Road Entry Time/Date 1145 / April 28, 2011 Exit Time/Date 1235 / April 28, 2011 Permit Effective Date December 1, 2005 Permit Expiration Date November 30, 2010 Name(s) of On-Site Representative(s)/Title(s)/Phone and Fax Number(s) Bobby Leonard / Operator / 479-806-5252 / Dewayne Wallace / 479-674-5616 / Mayor Hugh Hardgrave Name, Address of Responsible Official/Title/Phone and Fax Number Hugh Hardgrave / Mayor / 479-674-5616 / fax / 479-674-5106 City of Lavaca P.O. Box 3 Contacted Yes No Other Facility Data N 35 20 29 W 94 10 07 Section C: Areas Evaluated During Inspection (S = Satisfactory, M = Marginal, U = Unsatisfactory, N = Not Evaluated) N Permit N Flow Measurement N Operations & Maintenance N Sampling N Records/Reports N Self-Monitoring Program N Sludge Handling/Disposal N Pollution Prevention N Facility Site Review N Compliance Schedules N Pretreatment N Multimedia N Effluent/Receiving Waters N Laboratory N Storm Water U Sanitary Sewer Overflow Section D: Summary of Findings/Comments (Attach additional sheets if necessary) A reconnaissance inspection was conducted in response to a complaint. Complainant advised that the manhole located behind his residence located at 1011 Highway 253 North in Lavaca had experienced a sewage overflow. I met with Mayor Hardgrave and POTW operators Bobby Leonard and Dewayne Wallace at the site. They confirmed that the sewage overflow did occur on April 26, 2011, during the heavy rainfall event. Pumps at the nearby left station had been operating at full capacity, but were unable to keep up with the volume. At the time of my inspection, they installed an inflow protector at the manhole and advised that the city had order 60 additional protectors to install within the collection system. Mr. Leonard stated that the city was scheduling a contractor to come out the following week and run cameras down the sewer line to further investigate. In regards to reporting the sewer overflow to the Department, it was apparent that this overflow was not reported within the required 24 period. I advised the Mayor that all overflows must be reported according to the requirements in the permit regardless of the cause. In regards to the neighbor s service line. City officials planned to contact the property owner and advise him that the line must be repaired or replaced immediately. Name(s) and Signature(s) of Inspector(s Jeff Tyler Agency/Office/Telephone/Fax ADEQ/ Fort Smith/ 479-424-0325/ 479-424-0330 Date May 11, 2011 Signature of Reviewer Agency/Office/Phone and Fax Numbers Date NPDES Report Page 2
June 13, 2011 Honorable Hugh Hardgrave, Mayor City of Lavaca P.O. Box 3 RE: AFIN: 66-00241, NPDES Permit No.: AR0034070 Response to Complaint Inspection #058946 Dear Mayor Hardgrave: The Department has received your response to the April 28, 2011 inspection of your facility by our District Field Inspector, Jeff Tyler. Your letter appears to satisfy the discrepancies identified during the visit. However, in accordance with Part II, Section D, Condition 6 of your permit, you shall report any noncompliance which may endanger health or the environment within 24 hours, regardless of the amount raw sewage that is spilled onto the ground. The Department expects the corrective actions taken will be maintained to ensure consistent compliance with the requirements of the permit. Acceptance of this response by the Department does not preclude any future enforcement action deemed necessary at this site or any other site. The Department will keep the inspection and response on file. If future violations occur that require enforcement action, the Department will consider the inspection and response as required by the Pollution Control and Ecology Commission Regulation No. 7, Civil Penalties. This regulation requires the Department to consider the past history of your site and how expeditiously the violations were addressed in determining any civil penalty that may be necessary for any future violations. If we need further information concerning this matter, we will contact you. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Should you have any questions, feel free to contact me at 501-682-0632 or you may e-mail me at bolenbaugh@adeq.state.ar.us. Sincerely, Jason Bolenbaugh Enforcement Analyst Water Division Enforcement Branch