Violations are an ongoing issue at Warsaw’s wastewater treatment plant

WARSAW — On the Nov. 21 edition of Duplin Journal, we covered some of the most pressing topics discussed during the town of Warsaw’s monthly meeting. One of the biggest concerns addressed was the ongoing issues at the Warsaw Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), as notices of violation have become a recurrent theme for over a year.

On Nov. 6, the town of Warsaw was issued a notice of violation and intent to assess civil penalty highlighting fecal coliform readings six times the weekly allowed of 400/100ml and nearly three times the weekly ammonia nitrogen limit, with a total of 10 violations incurred from Aug. 3 to Aug. 31, 2024.

“The town manager has the authorization to respond back within 10 days to argue the point in regards to the town being assessed those civil penalties. It is very critical that our town manager does respond back, and I would like to know, has our town manager responded back to any of those notices of violations in that 10-day timeframe?,” asked Commissioner Ebony Willis-Wells at the November meeting, questioning Town Manager Lea Turner for not including the information about the violations in her report. Willis-Wells noted that the board should receive updates when the town manager meets with DEQ and we should not be blindsided, receiving the information after the fact. “As the town of Warsaw, it is our responsibility, because we are the permit holders for any industrial user who pumps into the town’s wastewater system as well as receives services to the town.”

Between December 2023 and May 2024 Warsaw has been fined $45,878 in penalties from formal enforcement actions due to multiple violations of requirements set by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, that is only a fraction of what it could be next as the process from notice of violation to civil penalty assessment can take about three months based on prior enforcement actions.

Timeline

Jan. 8, 2024, the town paid a civil penalty of $1,970.56 for three violations in September 2023. The WWTP violations exceeded the weekly fecal coliform readings by 42%, weekly ammonia by 314%, and monthly ammonia by 219%. Also the summer instream concentration was 92.2% — case LV-2023-00307.

Jan. 28, 2024, a notice of violation highlighted fecal coliform readings eight times the allowed amount, ammonia was almost five times the limit. The WWTP incurred a total of 34 violations in January 2024 and on April 5 the town paid a civil penalty of $21,093.51. Case LV-2024-0088.

Jan. 30, 2024, a notice of violation & Intent to assess civil penalty highlights fecal coliform readings more than three times the allowed, ammonia was nearly seven times the limit, exceeded the 5-day biochemical oxygen demand by 10 times and received a total of 16 violations in December 2023. Case NOV-2024-LV-0095.

Feb. 28, 2024, a notice of violation highlights fecal coliform readings more than 12 times the allowed, ammonia more than three times the limit, exceeded the 5-day biochemical oxygen demand by 27 times and received a total of 34 violations incurred in January 2024. Case NOV-2024-LV-0163.

April 1, 2024, the town paid a civil penalty of $10,489 for violations in December 2023. Case NC-LV-2024-0056.

April 4, 2024, a notice of violation & intent to assess civil penalty highlights fecal coliform readings six times the max allowed, ammonia more than five times the limit and exceeded the weekly biochemical oxygen demand by more than 24 times. A total of 14 violations were incurred in February 2024. Case NOV-2024-LV-0304.

May 22, 2024, the town paid a fine of $12,323.51 for violations in February 2024. Case LV-2024-0135.

Sept. 17, 2024, a notice of violation highlights fecal coliform readings more than three times the max allowed for a violation incurred in June 2024. Case NOV-2024-LV-0810.

Nov. 6, 2024, a notice of violation & Intent to assess civil penalty highlights fecal coliform readings six times the max allowed, ammonia almost three times the limit and exceeded the 5-day biochemical oxygen demand almost by eight times. A total of 10 violations were incurred in August 2024. Case NOV-2024-LV-0972.

Duplin Journal has reached out to Turner multiple times for comment, as of press deadline we have not received a response.