April 7, Mayor Mark Reeves City of Cave Springs P.O. Box 36 Cave Springs, Arkansas RE: Cave Springs Wastewater Treatment Plant #1

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1 April 7, 2010 Mayor Mark Reeves City of Cave Springs P.O. Box 36 Cave Springs, Arkansas RE: Cave Springs Wastewater Treatment Plant #1 AFIN: Permit #: 4893-WR-1 Dear Mayor Reeves: On March 11, 2010, I performed an inspection of the above-referenced waste treatment and disposal system in accordance with the provisions of the Arkansas Water and Air Pollution Control Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder. The following violations were noted at the time of the inspection: 1. Wastewater was found to be surfacing in the drip irrigation field located within the driving range west of Treatment Plant #1. Condition 17 of the Permit requires that the system be maintained to prevent leaks, seeps or surfacing. Immediate repairs must be made to the damaged lines. Following the inspection, I spoke with your operator, Rick Sayre. Mr. Sayre suspected that heavy machinery used for maintenance on the Creeks Golf Course may have caused the damage to the drip field lines. Heavy machinery must not be driven over areas on the golf course or driving range where drip fields are located. Also, be reminded that Condition 17 requires that the drip fields must be checked regularly for water surfacing. 2. Condition 25 of the Permit requires that monthly volumes of wastewater processed by the treatment plant be reported to the Department. According to Mr. Sayre, the effluent flow meters for Treatment Plant #1 have been out-of-service for many months. Effluent flows are currently being calculated based on pump rates and pump run times. According to Stuart Bradford, ADEQ Water Division Permit Engineer, pump rates can vary according to the total head pressure at the pump discharge. The current method of determining monthly flow may be providing you with inaccurate data and may be the cause of large discrepancies between estimated monthly customer water use and the reported monthly volumes of wastewater processed by Treatment Plant #1. These discrepancies are discussed in item #3 below. Effluent flow meters must be installed and properly maintained to ensure that you are obtaining and providing reliable flow volume data. 3. Comparison of reported monthly volumes of wastewater processed by the treatment plant with the number of active customers on the sewer system for the period of February 2009 through February 2010 has raised concerns that that the sewage collection system may be leaking very substantial volumes of wastewater into the subsurface.

2 Mayor Mark Reeves, Cave Springs Wastewater Treatment Plant April 7, 2010 Page 2 The table below includes the number of active customers on the sewer system for each month from February 2009 through February 2010; the estimated total water use for each month based on 250 gallons/day/household (the Waste Management Plan estimated 260 gal/day/household); the reported monthly volumes of wastewater processed by the treatment plant; and the differences between the estimated monthly water-use volumes and treated wastewater volumes. The number of active customers per month was provided by the Cave Springs Water Department, and the monthly processed wastewater volumes were provided by Mr. Sayre. According to Mr. Sayre, the City of Cave Springs made approximately 18 collection system repairs during the last year. The data below suggests that more repairs are necessary. The discrepancies between the estimated monthly water use and the monthly volumes of wastewater processed suggest that leakage of sewage from the collection system may be occurring. Investigation into the sources of the suspected leaks must be initiated immediately. As discussed in item #2 above, the method the City currently uses to determine monthly processed wastewater volumes may be the reason for the discrepancies. However, if flow meters are installed and the discrepancies continue, it is likely that ground water and surface waters are being impacted by leaks or breaks in the collection system. Month Active Customers Estimated Water Usage (EWU) (gal/month) Wastewater Processed (WP) (gal/month) Monthly Effluent Flow Deficit (EWU-WP) February , ,824 98,176 March , , ,716 April , , ,047 May , , ,095 June , , ,680 July ,750 65, ,740 August ,000 38, ,445 September ,000 29, ,080 October , , ,385 November , , ,500 December , , ,095 January , , ,090 February , , ,375 Total Gallonage Deficit for 13 months = 3,277, Condition 21 of the Permit requires that treated wastewater be sampled at a frequency of once per month. Condition 25 requires submittal of monthly monitoring reports and lab analyses of the treated effluent parameters specified in Condition 21. According to Departmental records, monthly reports have been received for the months of May 2009 through October 2009 only.

3 Mayor Mark Reeves, Cave Springs Wastewater Treatment Plant April 7, 2010 Page 3 5. Conditions 23 and 24 of the Permit require quarterly sampling of all drip-field lysimeters and monitoring wells. Condition 25 requires submittal of quarterly ground-water monitoring reports and lab analyses of the parameters specified in Conditions 23 and 24. According to Departmental records, no quarterly monitoring reports have been received. Mr. Sayre stated that quarterly sampling of monitoring wells and lysimeters has been conducted. He stated that your contract laboratory obtains the samples and that on some occasions the lab has reported that there was no water to sample from one or more of the monitoring wells and/or lysimeters. Mr. Sayre stated that contract lab personnel communicated to him that it was acceptable by the Department for the permittee to report no water to sample on the quarterly monitoring report forms. However, the permit requires that samples be obtained and analyzed for each monitoring well and lysimeter each monitoring quarter. Inability to obtain a sample from any monitoring well or lysimeter is due to the timing of sampling, or due to damaged or improperly installed monitoring wells or lysimeters. It is recommended that sampling takes place during or immediately following a significant precipitation event when infiltration to ground water is at its peak. If sample collection is unsuccessful under these conditions, repair, replacement or modification of the monitoring device(s) will be necessary. Failure to obtain and report groundwater sample analytical results for any monitoring well or lysimeter in any monitoring quarter is considered a violation of the terms of the permit. The above items require your immediate attention. Please submit a written response to these findings to Cindy Garner, Water Division Enforcement Branch Manager. This response should be mailed to the address provided at the bottom of Page 1 of this letter. This response should contain documentation describing the course of action planned to correct the items noted and must include color photographs that document the corrective action, where applicable. This corrective action should be completed as soon as possible, and the written response is due by April 21, In addition to the above items, please have Mr. Sayre contact Stuart Bradford, Permit Engineer, to discuss submittal of operation and maintenance manuals for both plants and the as-builts for all monitoring wells and lysimeters. Mr. Bradford can be reached at For additional information you may contact the Enforcement Branch by telephone at or by fax at If I can be of any assistance, please contact me at , ext. 16. Sincerely, John Fazio District 1 Inspector Water Division cc: Water Division Enforcement Branch Water Division Permits Branch

4 ADEQ State Sanitary Treatment System Inspection Form AFIN# Permit # 4893-WR-1 Date of Inspection: March 11, 2010 Name of Facility: Cave Springs, Wastewater Treatment Plant Compliance Status: OUT Location: Creeks Golf Course, Hwy 112, Cave Springs, Arkansas County: Benton Coordinates: , On Site Representative: No-one present Title: N/A Phone # N/A SECTION A: 1. Responsible Official: Mayor Mark Reeves 2. Mailing Address: P.O. Box 36, Cave Springs, Arkansas Phone # Operators Name: Rick Sayre 4. Licensed Operator? Y N NA Class of License: III 5. Date of Last Inspection: This is the first inspection 6. Principal Type of Waste Received: Domestic waste from up to 11 subdivisions in Cave Springs 7. Are there any additions, corrections or repairs to the facility since the last inspection? N/A 8. If the facility is a package plant, list type, manufacturer s name and address and approximate number of years in service: Treatment Plant #1: AquaPoint Lotus, 241 Duchaine Blvd., New Bedford, MA 02745; in service 2-3 years. Treatment Plant #2: AquaPoint Lotus, 241 Duchaine Blvd., New Bedford, MA (not yet in service) 9. What is the appearance of effluent? NA 10. Is there any visible effect on receiving stream? NA 11. Are there any complaints against this facility? Y N NA If yes, of what nature? SECTION B: OPERATION and MAINTENANCE 1. Are odors a problem at the plant? Y N NA 2. Is industrial waste a problem? Y N NA 3. Is infiltration a problem? Y N NA 4. Does plant have a flow meter? Currently calculating flows based on pump rate(s) and pump time(s). Y N NA 5. Is flow measuring device properly operated? Y N NA 6. Is flow measuring device being properly calibrated? Y N NA 7. Are all treatment units operational? Y N NA If no, what units are out and why: 8. Is overall maintenance satisfactory? Y N NA If no, list areas for improvement: Drip-field lines apparently damaged by heavy machinery driving over drip-fields. 9. Are operating records kept? Y N NE If yes, describe: 10. Are maintenance records kept? Y N NE If yes, describe: 11. Are samples routinely taken? Samples are taken, but not according to permit requirements. Y N NA 12. Are sampling techniques adequate? Y N NE 13. Are lab records adequate? Monthly Reports not received every month; no Quarterly Reports received Y N NA 14. What laboratory does the facility use? Environmental Services Co., Inc. 15. List laboratory address and telephone: 1107 Century Ave., Springdale, AR / Are solids or sludges disposed of? Required by permit Y N NE 17. Are solids or sludges disposed of adequately? Y N NE

5 Explain (including destination): 18. Any evidence of unpermitted discharges. Surfacing was occurring in WWTP 1 Drip Field Y N NA 19. In the space below, furnish a simplified diagram, flow diagram, or a written description of the separate plant units in flow sequence. Include whether flow to the plant is pump or gravity. Individual septic tanks at each residence Interceptor force main where flow is divided and directed to either Treatment Plant #1 or Treatment Plant #2 Treatment Plant #1 (flow capacity = 92,000 gpd): 30,000 gal equalization tank Fixed Film Treatment Unit Two 9,000 gal Final Settling Tanks 38,000 gal Pump Tank Drip Fields (10 Zones covering 6.3 acres on golf course driving range) Treatment Plant #2 (flow capacity = 320,000 gpd): Two 19,000 gal parallel Fixed Film Treatment Units Two 47,663 gal Clarifiers in parallel Pump Tank Drip Fields (27 Zones covering 23 acres on golf course western fairways) Treatment Plant #2 is not currently in service. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS/ COMMENTS: Surfacing occurring in Treatment Plant #1 drip field. Effluent flow meters at Plant #1 not operable. Flow determination based on pump rates and pump run times. Large discrepancies between monthly estimated water usage volumes and monthly effluent volumes. Data suggests leaks exist in the collection system. Not confirmed. Monthly effluent monitoring reports received by Department for May 2009 through October 2009 only. No quarterly ground-water monitoring reports have been received by the Department. Inspector: John Fazio Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality Date Report: April 2, 2010 Reviewed by: Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality Date Report: April 5, 2010

6 ADEQ State Sanitary Inspection AFIN: Permit # 4893-WR-1 Water Division State Permit Photographic Evidence Sheet Location: Cave Springs Wastewater Treatment Plant #1 Photographer: John Fazio Witness: Alison West Photo # 1 Of 3 Date: 03/11/10 Time: 1458 Description: Damaged drip-field line(s) area. Treatment Plant #1 in background. Compare with next photo. Photographer: John Fazio Witness: Alison West Photo # 2 Of 3 Date: 03/11/10 Time: 1520 Description: Surfacing occurring while pump is dosing effluent to the drip-field.

7 ADEQ State Sanitary Inspection AFIN: Permit # 4893-WR-1 Water Division State Permit Photographic Evidence Sheet Location: Cave Springs Wastewater Treatment Plant #1 Photographer: John Fazio Witness: Alison West Photo # 3 Of 3 Date: 03/11/10 Time: 1520 Description: Effluent surfacing during dosing of drip-field.

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15 May 25, 2010 Mayor Mark Reeves City of Cave Springs P.O. Box 36 Cave Springs, Arkansas RE: Permit #: 4893-WR-1, AFIN: Response to Inspection Dear Mayor Reeves: The Department has received your response to the March 11, 2010 inspection of your facility by our District Field Inspector, Mike Kennedy. Your letter appears to adequately address the discrepancies identified during the visit. The Department assumes 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 or you may me at Sincerely, Sam Sawyer Enforcement Coordinator Water Division Enforcement Branch

16 May 25, 2010 Mayor Mark Reeves City of Cave Springs P.O. Box 36 Cave Springs, Arkansas RE: Permit #: 4893-WR-1, AFIN: Response to Inspection Dear Mayor Reeves: The Department has received your response to the March 11, 2010 inspection of your facility by our District Field Inspector, Mike Kennedy. Your letter appears to adequately address the discrepancies identified during the visit. The Department assumes 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 or you may me at Sincerely, Sam Sawyer Enforcement Coordinator Water Division Enforcement Branch