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Home My WebLink AboutWQCSD0697_DV-2019-0153_20200803 '47 t •, ito I . --: }* ROY COOPER ,� q-r- ) Governor Ar ` , MICHAEL S.REGAN Secretary S.DANIEL SMITH NORTH CAROLINA Director Environmental Quality August 3, 2020 CERTIFIED MAIL #7018 1830 0001 8037 1585 RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED Austin Berk Parkwood Homes LLC 10221 River Road Potomac Maryland 20859 SUBJECT: CIVIL PENALTY REMISSION REQUEST Parkwood Mobile Home Estate Permit WQCSD0697 Case DV-2019-0153 Forsyth County Dear Mr. Berk: The Division has considered the information submitted in support of your request for remission in accordance with G.S. 143-215.6A(f) and has decided to modify the initial civil penalty assessment of$1,251.68 ($1,00.00 civil penalty plus $251.68 enforcement) to the total amount of$1,051.68 ($1,000.00civil penalty plus $251.68 enforcement). Should you choose to pay the modified penalty, payment should be tendered to me at the letterhead address within thirty (30) days of receipt of this letter. Please make checks payable to the Department of Environment Quality. You also have the option of presenting your request to the Committee on Civil Penalty Remissions, which is comprised of members of the Environmental Management Commission.The Committee may consider such requests and render final and binding decisions in these matters.You may argue your request before the Committee,and the Division staff will argue against any reduction of the assessment. Should you choose to present your request to the Committee, please notify me at the letterhead address within thirty (30) days of the receipt of this letter. Your request will be placed on the agenda of an upcoming Committee meeting, and you will be notified of the date and time. If the Division does not receive a response regarding this notice, Division staff will automatically place your case on the agenda of a future Committee meeting. D_E Q North512North Carolina Salisbury DepartmentStreet1 of1611 Environmental viceCenter QualityI I RaleighDivisionNorth of WaterCarolina Resources . 99-1611 oirr broirrurebt u+oN /''°4 919.707.9000 Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. If you have any questions, please contact Celeste Sugg at 919-707-3628 or Celeste. sugg@ncdenr.gov. Sincerely, S. Daniel Smith Director, Division of Water Resources Attachment: DWR Civil Assessment Remission Factor Sheet(copy) &Request for Oral Presentation Sheet cc: Enforcement File#: DV-2019-0153 Winston Salem Regional Office Central Files WQCSD0697 Remission Decision STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION COUNTY OF FORSYTH DWQ Case Number DV-2019-0153 IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT OF ) CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST: ) REQUEST FOR ORAL PRESENTATION Parkwood Homes LLC ) I hereby request to make an oral presentation before the Environmental Management Commission's Committee on Civil Penalty Remissions in the matter of the case noted above. In making this request, I assert that I understand all of the following statements: • This request will be reviewed by the Chairman of the Environmental Management Commission and may be either granted or denied. • Making a presentation will require the presence of myself and/or my representative during a Committee meeting held in Raleigh, North Carolina. • My presentation will be limited to discussion of issues and information submitted in my original remission request, and because no factual issues are in dispute, my presentation will be limited to five (5)minutes in length. The North Carolina State Bar's Authorized Practice of Law Committee has ruled that the appearance in a representative capacity at quasi-judicial hearings or proceedings is limited to lawyers who are active members of the bar. Proceedings before the Committee on Remissions are quasi-judicial.You should consider how you intend to present your case to the Committee in light of the State Bar's opinion and whether anyone will be speaking in a representative capacity for you or a business or governmental entity. If you or your representative would like to speak before the Committee,you must complete and return this form within thirty (30)days of receipt of this letter. Depending on your status as an individual,corporation,partnership or municipality,the State Bar's Opinion affects how you may proceed with your oral presentation. See www.ncbar.com/ethics,Authorized Practice Advisory Opinion 2006-1 and 2007 Formal Ethics Opinion 3. • If you are an individual or business owner and are granted an opportunity to make an oral presentation before the Committee,then you do not need legal representation before the Committee;however,if you intend on having another individual speak on your behalf regarding the factual situations, such as an expert,engineer or consultant, then you must also be present at the meeting in order to avoid violating the State Bar's Opinion on the unauthorized practice of law. • If you are a corporation,partnership or municipality and are granted an opportunity to make an oral presentation before the Committee,then your representative must consider the recent State Bar's Opinion and could be considered practicing law without a license if he or she is not a licensed attorney. Presentation of facts by non-lawyers is permissible. If you choose to request an oral presentation,please make sure that signatures on the previously submitted Remission Request form and this Oral Presentation Request form are: 1)for individuals and business owners,your own signature and 2)for corporations,partnerships and municipalities,signed by individuals who would not violate the State Bar's Opinion on the unauthorized practice of law. Also,be advised that the Committee on Civil Penalty Remissions may choose not to proceed with hearing your case if the Committee is informed that a violation of the State Bar occurs. This the day of , 20 SIGNATURE TITLE(President, Owner, etc.) ADDRESS TELEPHONE( ) 1 DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES CIVIL PENALTY REMISSION FACTORS Case Number: DV-2019-0153 Region: Winston Salem County: Forsyth Assessed Entity: Parkwood LLC Permit: WQCSD0697 ® (a) Whether one or more of the civil penalty assessment factors were wrongly applied to the detriment of the petitioner: Permittee States:The degree and extent of harm to the environment and human health was not severe.The LLC acted promptly in remedying the situation which prevented further overflows. DWR Response:The degree and extent of harm are unknown. However,the spill lasted for nearly 2 weeks and ended up with a volume of approximately 47,520 gallons. DWR assumes that some environmental damage did indeed occur due to the duration and volume. (b) Whether the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting from the violation: Permittee States: The LLC acted promptly to avoid prolonging the damage that was occurring due to the incident. DWR Response:DWR does not see that the LLC acted as promptly as they could have since the initial fix did not work, and it is unclear when the LLC inspected to determine that it actually had stopped. ® (c) Whether the violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident: Permitted States:This accident occurred through no act or omission by the LLC.Rather,it was an unavoidable accident in that until the leak began,the LLC would have had no way of knowing the issue was present DWR Response:DWR does not view this spill as completely unavoidable or an accident,since the cause was due to debris and grease. Sewer line maintenance is a necessary part of wastewater collection system ownership. ® (d) Whether the violator had been assessed civil penalties for any previous violations: Permittee States:The LLC has no prior violations or failure to comply. DWR Response:It is true that DWR knows of no prior violations for this entity, because the system was issued a"Deemed Permitted Collection System"number due to this spill. Nothing was reported prior. ❑ (e) Whether payment of the civil penalty will prevent payment for the remaining necessary remedial actions: Decision continued on page 2 DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES CIVIL PENALTY REMISSION FACTORS Case Number: DV-2019-0153 Region: Winston Salem County: Forsyth � tY Yt Assessed Entity: Parkwood LLC Permit: WQCSD0697 DECISION(Check One) Request Denied ❑ Full Remission ❑ Retain Enforcement Costs? Yes❑ No❑ Original Penalty(without Enforcement Costs) $ /0 00 (enter amount) Partial Remission El X % ZD or $ �f'9 4 (amount remitted) Subtotal $ Aro,00 Retaining Enforcement Costs Total Revised Assessment $ /05 I, DO `a Zo . Daniel Smith Date