19990203 Ver 1_COMPLETE FILE_19990303

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
P.O. BOX 1890
WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 28402-1890
IN REPLY REFER TO
Regulatory Branch
Action ID. 199920555
Ms. Paula Smith Honeycutt
161 Shady Acres Lane
Reidsville, North Carolina
Dear Ms. Honeycutt:
March 2, 1999
273
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Please reference the site inspection of February 24, 1999,
conducted by Mr. John Thomas of the Raleigh Regulatory Field
Office on your property located off of Gammon Road, adjacent to
Little Mill Creek, near Pelham, in Caswell County, North Carolina.
Also in attendance were Mr. Ron Linville of the Division of Water
Quality, North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (NCDENR), Mr. Matthew Gantt of Land Quality Section,
NCDENR, Mr. Warren Mincer of the Natural Resources Conservation
Service, your brother, and you. The purpose of this meeting was
to investigate excavation and filling activities you have
undertaken on your property and to inspect the site for waters and
wetlands subject to Department of the Army permitting authority.
Based upon the inspection, normal flows of an unnamed
tributary have been diverted into a 150-foot long, recently-
excavated ditch that drains directly into the main branch of
Little Mill Creek. This work has adversely impacted, by
dewatering, approximately 2000 linear feet of this unnamed
tributary. An earthen plug, approximately 100 feet long, was
placed in the tributary to divert flows into the ditch. The
purpose of the work was to divert normal flows from the unnamed
tributary to protect four culverted, existing road crossings of
this tributary. It appears that the culverts are under-sized (12
inch diameter plastic drainpipe), resulting in frequent blowouts
of the road crossings under normal high flows. Your discharge of
fill material into the tributary, conducted in waters of the
United Sates without authorization by a Department of the Army
(DA) permit, is a violation of Section 301 of the Clean Water Act
(33 U.S.C. 1311).
During the February 24, 1999 inspection, you agreed to cease
and desist from any further unauthorized activities within
jurisdictional waters on the property. You also agreed to
perform all necessary actions to resolve this matter, which will
require restoration of the impacted stream. Specifically, you
will remove the earthen plug that has diverted normal flows,
remove the four fill crossings, and stabilize the disturbed
streambanks (including revegetation). This restoration must be
completed within 30 days of your receipt of this letter.
We appreciate your willingness to resolve this matter.
However, you are cautioned that a failure to comply with your
commitment to cease all unauthorized work within jurisdictional
waters and to perform the agreed-upon restoration may result in
referral to the United States Attorney with a recommendation for
appropriate action. To assist my staff in following the status
of your restoration efforts, please provide notification to the
Raleigh Regulatory Field Office staff upon initiation and
completion of the required remedial actions.
Should you have questions, please contact Mr. Thomas,
Raleigh Regulatory Field Office, at telephone [phone]
ext.25.
Sincerely,
S. Kenneth Jolly
Manager, Raleigh Regulatory
Field Office
Copies Furnished:

U.S. Attorney Mr. John Dorney V
Middle District of NC Water Quality Section
Post Office Box 1858 Division of Water Quality
Greensboro, North Carolina North Carolina Department
27402 Environment and Natural
Resources
Mr. Ron Linville 4401 Reedy Creek
North Carolina Department of Raleigh, North Carolina
Environment and Natural
Resources
585 Waughton Street
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
27107
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27607
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