Horizon30CPAPkgSignedtv12.10.25

JOSH STEIN
Governor
D.REID WILSON
Secretary
WILLIAM E.TOBY VINSON,JR NORTH CAROLINA
Director Environmental Quality
*December 10,2025
Certified Mail *(Certified#: 7022 0410 0003 1110 0042)
Return Receipt Requested
Horizon 30 LLC
ATTN: Sean E Chipman
512 West Hamilton Street, Suite 1800
Allentown, PA 18101
Certified Mail *(Certified#: 7022 0410 0003 1110 0035)
Return Receipt Requested
Horizon 30 LLC(USPS)
c/o Registered Agents,
4030 Wake Forest Rd. Suite 349
Raleigh,NC 27609
(Via FedEx)
Brent Fernandes
3639 North Kilroy Road
Turlock, CA 95382
Via Email: Billlane@parkerpoe; Steveweber@parkerpoe; [e-mail];
[e-mail]
RE: Civil Penalty Assessment for Violations of the Mining Act of 1971,N.C. General Statute 74-50(a).
Mitchell County
LQM 2025-001
Dear Mr. Chipman:
Pursuant to North Carolina Administrative Code 15A 05F .0105 et seq. and the above-referenced Act,this letter is
notice of a civil penalty assessed by the Department of Environmental Quality(DEQ),in the amount of$460,000.00.
The civil penalty assessment document is attached.
Within thirty(30)days from the date of receipt of this letter,you must do one of the following:
(1) Pay the civil penalty assessment;or
(2) File a written petition for a contested case under N.C.G.S. 150B-23.
Pursuant to N.C. General Statute 150B-22, informal settlement negotiations may be initiated at any time. To
negotiate a settlement of this assessment,please contact Carolyn McLain,Assistant Attorney General,who may be
reached by telephone at(919)716-6600. Settlement offers do not extend the 30-day deadline for payment or filing
of a contested case petition.
Additional information about your options is provided below,
10" North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Energy.Mineral and Land Resources
512 North Salisbury Street 1 1612 Mail Service Center I Raleigh,North Carolina 2 769 9-1612
pn2D N �� 919.707.9200

Certified Mail
Mr.Chipman,Mr.Fernandes
Page 2
PAYMENT
To pay the penalty, send your payment by check or money order made payable to the North Carolina Department
of Environmental Quality(DEQ)or to:
Carolyn McLain,Assistant Attorney General,
North Carolina Department of Justice,
Environmental Division,
9001 Mail Service Center,
Raleigh,North Carolina 27699-9001.
The Attorney General's Office will represent DEQ in the resolution of this civil penalty assessment.
NOTICE REGARDING THE RIGHT TO CONTEST A CIVIL PENALTY
Right of Persons Aggrieved to File a Contested Case: Pursuant to NCGS 74-61 and NCGS 150B, Article 3, a
party or person aggrieved by the issuance of a civil penalty may file a contested case by filing a petition under
NCGS 15OB-23 in the Office of Administrative Hearings within 30 days after the Department makes the decision.
General Filing Instructions: A petition for contested case hearing must be in the form of a written petition,
conforming to NCGS 15013-23, and filed with the Office of Administrative Hearings, 1711 New Hope Church
Road, Raleigh NC, 27609, along with a fee in an amount provided in NCGS 15013-23.2. A petition for contested
case hearing form may be obtained upon request from the Office of Administrative Hearings or on its website at
https://www.oah.nc.gov/hearings-division/filing/hearing-forms. Additional specific instructions for filing a
petition are set forth at 26 NCAC Chapter 03.
Service Instructions: A party filing a contested case is required to serve a copy of the petition, by any means
authorized under 26 NCAC 03 .0102,on the process agent for the Department of Environmental Quality:
Daniel S.Hirschman, General Counsel
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
1601 Mail Service Center
Raleigh,North Carolina 27699-1601
If the party filing the petition is a person aggrieved other than the permittee or permit applicant,the party must also
serve the permittee in accordance with NCGS 15013-23(a).
Be aware that other rules or laws may apply to the filing of a petition for a contested case. Additional information
is available at https://www.oall.nc.gov/liearin!zs-division hearing-process/filing-contested-case. Please contact the
Office of Administrative Hearings at(984) 236-1850 or oah.postmaster(u?oah.nc.gov with all questions regarding
the filing fee and/or the details of the filing process.

Certified Mail
Mr. Chipman,Mr.Fernandes
Page 3
Payment of this penalty will not foreclose further enforcement action against you for any new or continuing
violation(s). If the violations which resulted in this penalty assessment are continuing in nature, DEQ reserves the
right to assess additional civil penalties in the future or take o er enforcement action against you.
Your attention to this matter is appreciated.
Sin erely, /
illiam . Vinson,Jr., PE
Director
Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources
Department of Environmental Quality
TV/ap
Enclosures: Civil Penalty Assessment
cc: Mr.Adam Parr,PE,Deputy Director
Mr.Brad Cole, PE, Section Chief,Regional Operations
Ms. Carolyn McLain, Esq.,Attorney General's Office
Mr. Stan Aiken,PE,Engineering Supervisor,Ashville Regional Office

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
COUNTY OF MITCHELL LQS 2025-001
IN THE MATTER OF: )
HORIZON 30 LLC )
CIVIL PENALTY ASSESSMENT
FOR VIOLATIONS OF: )
THE MINING ACT OF 1971 )
Acting pursuant to North Carolina General. Statutes (N.C.G.S.) § 143B-290 and North Carolina
Mining Commission (Commission) Rule Title 15A North Carolina Administrative Code (NCAC) 05F
.0103, and the authority delegated to me by the Sectary of the Department of Environmental Quality, I,
William E. Vinson, Jr., P.E., Director, Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources, make the
following:
I. FINDINGS OF FACT
A. The subject property is located off Highway 197 near the town of Poplar, North Carolina,
Mitchell County. The project is known as the Carter Quarry.
B. The owner of record is Horizon 30 LLC, a corporation duly registered to do business and doing
business in the State of North Carolina.
C. In November 2024, Brent Fernandes, as representative of Horizon 30 LLC contacted DEMLR
by phone to discuss the permitting requirements for an anticipated mining operation in North
Carolina. A preapplication meeting was scheduled for December 4, 2024.
D. On December 4, 2024, Brent Fernandes and Sean Chipman, also representing Horizon 30 LLC,
had a virtual preapplication meeting with DEMLR staff on a potential mine permit application.
DEMLR explained the requirement of the Mining Act and when a permit would be required.
E. On December 13, 2024,John Gefferth called the DEMLR mining program and stated they were
working with Brent Fernandes on a property in Mitchell County that was going to be a mine to

supply CSX material. The caller had general questions about what was needed to be provided in
an environmental study for a mine permit application.
F. On January 9, 2025, DEMLR was contacted by email by John Gefferth, who identified himself
as a consultant working on behalf of Horizon 30 LLC, who stated he was assisting with
permitting and engineering.
G. On January 27,2025,DWR provided information to DEMLR that they had received information
about a potential illegal mining operation in Mitchell County.
H. On February 6, 2025, DEMLR inspected the above-referenced site and determined the activity
being conducted would require a mining permit.
I. On or about February 10, 2024, DEMLR staff communicated by phone with Brent Fernandes
that operations at the Mine Site needed to cease and that a mining permit was required.
J. On Wednesday,March 6,2025,DEMLR was contacted by phone by Brent Fernandes. He stated
that the current work was only for exploration. He indicated that they were under contract with
CSX who wants granite stone and everything in the front of the property was sandstone. They
needed to continue to move to the back of the property to see if there was any granite in the back.
They were working on the final stages of getting a permit application completed.
K. On Thursday, March 7, 2025, DEMLR sent a Notice of Regulatory Requirement (NORR) to
Horizon 30 LLC informing them that a mining permit would be required for the operation of the
mining site pursuant to the North Carolina Mining Act.
L. On Wednesday,March 12, 2025, Sean Chipman contacted DEMLR by phone and told DEMLR
staff that an application would be sent via overnight mail to be received March 13 or March 14.
M. On Thursday, March 13, 2025, Sean Chipman contacted DEMLR by phone and stated that the
submission would not be coming until Monday,March 17,2025,or possibly Tuesday,March 18,
2025,but that the application was in final review with their attorneys. Additionally,the engineer
working on their package was out of country and would be returning Sunday, March 16,
2025. They expected him to review the application prior to mailing the package
N. On Wednesday,March 19,2025,Sean Chipman emailed DEMLR to provide an update that their
engineer Wayne King was looking over the application and making a few changes and would
need a few more days. They planned to have it completed over the next weekend and would plan
to submit the following week.
O. On Monday, March 24, 2025, Sean Chipman emailed DEMLR to provide an update that they
were completing the narrative and would submit the following day.
P. On Tuesday, March 25, 2025, Sean Chipman emailed DEMLR to provide an update that
everything was on track and they were sending adjoining landowner notices out in the mail that
day.

Q. On Thursday, March 27, 2025, Sean Chipman emailed DEMLR to let them know that digital
copies of the application materials would be sent later that afternoon and the application would
be mailed the next day.
R. On Wednesday, April 2, 2025, Sean Chipman and DEMLR shared email communications
regarding a hyperlink conveying the digital copies of the application materials.
S. On Thursday, April 3, 2025, Sean Chipman sent an email to DEMLR stating that application
hard copies are on the way.
T. On Thursday, April 10, 2025, DEMLR emailed Sean Chipman and requested the tracking
information for the application that was allegedly sent the week prior. Sean Chipman responded
with a photo of the package still in his position with the shipping label showing that it was
scheduled for shipping April 10,2025, for overnight delivery to be delivered April 11,2025.
U. On April 11, 2025, an incomplete application was received by the Mining Program for this
operation. The application did not include the required fees.
V. On April 21, 2025, an email was sent to Sean Chipman to let him know the application was
incomplete and did not include the required fees. Sean Chipman responded that he would send
payment.
W. On April 23, 2025, authorized personnel of DEMLR conducted a follow-up inspection and
observed that the affected area of the unpermitted mining operation had increased to 10 acres in
size. DEMLR personnel instructed Horizon 30 LLC to cease mining operations prior to obtaining
a mining permit.
X. On April 24, 2025, Sean Chipman sent an email stating that payment would be provided to
DEMLR on Monday, April 28, 2025.
Y. On May 6,2025,DEMLR sent Horizon 30 LLC a Notice of Violation(NOV)for mining without
a permit. The NOV specifically required them to cease all mining activities without a permit and
to either submit a complete mining permit application or to restore the site. Sean Chipman
responded that the email had been received and that the application fee would be sent on May 6,
2025, or the next day May 7,2025.
Z. A complete application was not received until May 16, 2025, when the permit application fee
was received. According to USPS tracking,the fee was sent on May 8,2025.
AA. On May 27,2025,DEMLR personnel conducted a follow-up inspection of the mining operation.
The inspection results revealed that the violations outlined in the NOV remained uncorrected and
that since the inspection on April 23, 2025, additional mining had occurred at the site. During
this site inspection, after DEMLR staff told Brent Fernandes to cease mining activities, Brent
Fernandes responded to DEMLR staff saying that he told Adam Parr to go ahead and fine him
$5,000 per day.
BB. On June 5, 2025, DEMLR sent Horizon 30 LLC a Notice of Continuing Violation (NOCV) for
mining without a permit.The NOCV specifically required them to cease all mining activities and

to either submit a reclamation bond if the mining permit application was approved or to restore
the site.
CC. On August 6, 2025, DEMLR personnel conducted a follow-up inspection of the mining
operation. The inspection results revealed that the violations outlined in the NOV remained
uncorrected and that since inspection on May 27, 2025, additional mining had occurred at the
site.
DD. On July 21, 2025, the North Carolina Department of Justice filed a Complaint and Motion for
Preliminary and Permanent Injunction on behalf of DEMLR against Horizon 30 LLC for
violations of the Mining Act. (State of N.C. ex rel. D. Reid Wilson v. Horizon 30 LLC,
25CV001176-600)
EE. On August 13, 2025,Judge Theodore McEntire issued a Preliminary Injunction against Horizon
30 LLC. The Preliminary Injunction required Horizon 30 LLC to immediately cease mining
operations, immediately cease transfer of materials off-site, and within 30 days of execution
submit a reclamation plan to the Mining Program pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 74-53.
FF. The land-disturbing activity was conducted for commercial purposes and covered approximately
30 acres as of the inspection on August 6, 2025.
II. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
A. A civil penalty may be assessed against Horizon 30 LLC, pursuant to North Carolina General
Statute § 74-64(a)(1)(a) for the violations committed on the subject property.
B. From May 6,2025,through August 6,2025,violations of one or more of the requirements of the
Mining Act of 1971 or the rules adopted thereunder existed on the subject property as follows:
N.C.G.S § 74-50(a) No operator shall engage in mining without having first obtained from the
Department an operating permit that covers the affected land and that has not been terminated,
revoked, suspended for the period in question, or otherwise become invalid...

III. DECISIONS
A. Pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 74-64(a)(1)(a) and 15A NCAC 0517 .0103, and the authority delegated
to me by the Sectary of the Department of Environmental Quality, I, William E. Vinson, Jr,
Director of the Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources do hereby assess a civil
penalty against Horizon 30 LLC, in the amount of$5,000.00 per day for Mining Without a
Mining Permit, from May 6, 2025 to August 6, 2025, the days of this violation. The total
penalty amount is calculated at$460,000.00.
B. In determining the amount of this penalty, I have considered the criteria in N.C.G.S. § 74-
64(a)(1)(c).
C. I hereby put Horizon 30 LLC, on notice that I reserve the right to initiate further enforcement
action for any violations occurring on or after August 7, 2025.
December 10, 2025
Date illi 4Vinson, WDireyt
Division of Energy, Mineral, anLvayfd Resources
Land Quality Section