Onslow
Water and Sewer Authority is trying to figure out what to do with
months worth of untreated solid waste that led a spill reported on
Friday.
Springdale Acres wastewater treatment plant, located in the
Southwest area of Jacksonville, has been failing for months, said Frank
Sanders, the operations manager at ONWASA. He said crews have been
working since Friday to clean up the spill, which they don't know the
extent of yet.
"As we understand it, the problem has been occurring for about four
or five months," he said. "The problem is there is a lot of build up of
solids in the plant - that reduces the time for treatment a lot."
Crews have been working since Friday to take out some of the sludge
and chlorinate the spill area to try and kill the bacteria, he said.
The plant, which is currently owned by Centerline Utilities based in
Burgaw, provides waste treatment services to approximately 280 people,
as well as Blue Creek Elementary and Southwest Middle School.
ONWASA was directed on Friday by the N.C. Division of Water Quality
to step in and try to figure out how to clean up the spill and bring
the plant back into compliance, Sanders said.
ONWASA has begun the process of taking over the plant, Sanders said.
It will take several weeks for ONWASA to have full control of the
plant, he added.
The plant has had numerous violations of its permits over the years
for exceeding its flow capacity and discharging unacceptable levels of
pollutants into the New River, according to DWQ documentation.
"This has been an ongoing problem for quite some time and it's been
a very intricate situation where NCDWQ and ONWASA have been working
together and very involved - there are a lot of legal layers going on
right now," said Susan Massengale, the public information officer with
DWQ.
Brian Wheat, with White Oak-New River Alliance, is concerned that DWQ has not been doing its job.
"Why the state was not out there conducting regular testing over the last several months is mind boggling," Wheat said.
He pointed out a lack of the maintenance required by state
regulations for all wastewater treatment plants, gesturing to shoulder
high weeds that had to be cut by ONWASA to access the main holding tank
and pump and vegetative growth on top of the main solid waste holding
tank and settling pond.
"People have been paying their bills (to Centerline Utilities) for
wastewater treatment, and none of it has been done for months," Wheat
said.
Paul Rawls, a section chief for the surface water protection section
of the DWQ, said the department has been working for some time to have
ONWASA take ownership of the plant.
"My opinion is that to better serve the community and the
environment it should be owned and operated by ONWASA," he said. "We
want compliance that is both predictable and long term and if
(Centerline) can't do that then we want them out of business."
North Carolina Assistant Attorney General Phillip Reynolds said it
has taken longer than expected to facilitate the transfer of plant
ownership to ONWASA.
Right now, he said, the emphasis has been on getting a responsible
party to remedy the situation over punitive damages against Centerline.
Sanders is concerned the residents in the area have not been
notified of the issue nor asked to cut back on unnecessary wastewater
until the situation is alleviated.
Onslow County Health Department Environmental Director John Harrison
said the Division of Water Quality out of Wilmington is the permitting
agency and, therefore, responsible for public notifications.
Officials with the DWQ office in Wilmington and Centerline Utilities could not be reached for comment.
Contact Topsail area reporter Suzanne Ulbrich at sulbrich@freedomenc.com or 910-219-8454. Visit www.jdnews.com to comment on this report.