NCS000440_Woodfin Penalty Assessment Letter_20220131

ROY COOPER
Governor
ELIZABETH S. BISER
Secretary
BR1AN WRENN
Director
CERTIFIED MAIL
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
7019 1120 0002 0066 3293
Town of Woodfin
Attn: M. Jerry Vehaun, Mayor
90 Elk Mountain Road
Woodfin, NC 28804
NORTH CAROLINA
Environmental Quality
January 31, 2022
SUBJECT: Assessment of Civil Penalties
MS4 Permit No.: NCS000440
Town of Woodfin
Buncombe County
Case No. PC-2022-0002
Dear Mayor Vehaun:
This letter transmits notice of a civil penalty assessed against Town of Woodfin in the amount of
$13 095.00, which includes $810.00 in investigative costs. Attached is a copy of the assessment
document explaining this penalty.
This action was taken under the authority vested in me by delegation provided by the Secretary of the
Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Director of the Division of Energy, Mineral, and
Land Resources (DEMLR). Any continuing violation(s) may be the subject of a new enforcement action,
including an additional penalty.
Within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of this notice, you must do one of the following three
options:
1. Submit payment of the penalty, OR
2. File a request for remission of civil penalties, OR
3. File a written petition with the Office of Administrative Hearings.
Failure to exercise one of the above three options within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of this
notice will result in this matter being referred to the Attorney General's Office with a request to
initiate a civil action to collect the penalty.
These options are detailed below:
Option 1— Submit Payment of the Penalty:
Payment should be made to the order of the Department of Environmental Quali . Please include the
Case No. PC-2022-0002 on your check or money order. Payment of the penalty will not foreclose further
enforcement action for any continuing or new violation(s). Payment must be sent to the following:
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Energy. Mineral and Land Resources
512 North Sallsbury Street 1 1612 Mail Service Center I Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1612
919.707.9200

If sending via US Postal Service If sending via delivery service (UPS, FedEx, etc.)
DEMLR — Stormwater Program DEMLR — Stormwater Program
Attn: Alaina Morman Attn: Alaina Morman
1612 Mail Service Center 512 N. Salisbury Street
Raleigh, NC 27699-1612 Raleigh, NC 27604
Option 2 — File a Request for Remission of Civil Penalties:
A request for remission or mitigation is limited to consideration of the reasonableness of the amount of
the penalty and is not the proper procedure for contesting the accuracy of any of the statements contained
in the assessment letter.
Because a remission request forecloses the option of an administrative hearing, such a request will
not be processed without a waiver of your right to an administrative hearing and a stipulation that
there are no factual or legal issues in dispute.
You must execute and return to this office the attached "Waiver of Right to an Administrative Hearing
and Stipulation of Facts" and the attached "Justification for Remission Request" which should describe
why you believe:
(a) one or more of the civil penalty assessment factors in G.S. I43B-282.I(b) were wrongfully
applied to the detriment of the petitioner;
(b) the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting from the violation;
(c) the violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident;
(d) the violator had not been assessed civil penalties for any previous violations;
(e) payment of the civil penalty will prevent payment for the remaining necessary remedial actions.
Submit this information to the following:
If sending via US Postal Service Ifsending via delivery service (UPS, FedEx, etc)
DEMLR — Stormwater Program DEMLR — Stormwater Program
Attn: Alaina Morman Attn: Alaina Morman
1612 Mail Service Center 512 N. Salisbury Street
Raleigh, NC 27699-1612 Raleigh, NC 27604
Option 3 — File a Written Petition with the Office of Administrative Hearings:
This decision can be contested as provided in General Statute 150B by filing a written petition for an
administrative hearing to the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH).
A petition form may be obtained from the OAH at -http://www.ncoah.com/ or by calling the OAH Clerk's
Office at [phone] for information. A petition is considered filed when the original and one (1)
copy, along with any applicable OAH filing fee, is received in the OAH during normal office hours
(Monday through Friday between 8:00am and 5:00pm, excluding official state holidays). The petition
may be faxed to the OAH at [phone], provided the original and one copy of the petition, along
with any applicable OAH filing fee, is received by the OAH within five (5) business days following the
faxcd transmission.
Mailing address for the Office of Administrative Hearings:
D��� North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Energy. Mineral and Land Resources
+ 512 North Salisbury Street I IbI2 Mail Service Center I Raleigh. North Carolina 27699-1612
fJflFiH fA91H.iNA
nepwhwoaRMFORRM"ON" /� 919.707,9200

If sending via U.S. Postal Service If sending via delivery service (UPS, FedEx, etc)
Office of Administrative Hearings Office of Administrative Hearings
6714 Mail Service Center 1711 New Hope Church Road
Raleigh, NC 27699-6714 Raleigh, NC 27609-6285
One (1) copy of the petition must also be served to the Department of Environmental Quality:
William F. Lane, General Counsel
Department of Environmental Quality
1601 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1601
The violations addressed by this assessment and any impacts to waters must be abated and properly
resolved. You are encouraged to contact Jeanette Powell, MS4 Program Coordinator, at
[e-mail] if you need assistance in achieving compliance.
Please be advised that additional assessments may be levied for future, continuing, or other
violations beyond the scope of this specific assessment.
If you have questions regarding this assessment, contact Alaina Morman at [phone].
Sincerely,
Digitally signed by William E.
�]/`jl Vinson Jr.
Date: 2022.01.31 14:57:46-05'00'
William E. (Toby) Vinson, Jr., PE, CPESC, CPM
Chief of Programs Operations
Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources
ATTACHMENTS
cc: Sheri Powers — Interim Town Manager — Emailed
Stan Aiken — Asheville Regional Office -- Emailed
Stormwater Program — File Copy
D QNorth Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Dtvislon of Energy. Mineral and Land Resources
512 North Salisbury Street 11612 Mail Service Center I Raleigh. North Carolina 27699-1612
wru�n, Grua �n�
919.707.9200

JUSTIFICATION FOR REMISSION REQUEST
DEMLR Case Number: PC-2022-0002 County: Buncombe
Assessed Party: Town of Woodfin
Permit No.: NCS000440 Amount Assessed: $13,095.00
Please use this form when requesting remission of this civil penalty. You must also complete the
"Request For Remission, Waiver ofRieht to an Administrative Hearing, and Stipulation of
Facts" form to request remission of this civil penalty. You should attach any documents that
you believe support your request and are necessary for the Director to consider in evaluating
your request for remission. Please be aware that a request for remission is limited to
consideration of the five factors listed below as they may relate to the reasonableness of the
amount of the civil penalty assessed. Requesting remission is not the proper procedure for
contesting whether the violation(s) occurred or the accuracy of any of the factual statements
contained in the civil penalty assessment document. Pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 143B-282.1(c),
remission of a civil penalty may be granted only when one or more of the following five factors
applies. Please check each factor that you believe applies to your case and provide a detailed
explanation, including copies of supporting documents, as to why the factor applies (attach
additional pages as needed).
(a) one or more of the civil penalty assessment factors in N C.G.S 143B-282.1(b)
were wrongfully applied to the detriment of the petitioner
(the assessment factors are listed in the civil penalty assessment document);
(b) the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting from the
violation
(i.e., explain the steps that you took to correct the violation andprevent,future
occurrences);
(c) the violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident
(i.e., explain why the violation was unavoidable or something you could not
prevent or prepare for);
(d) the violator had not been assessed civil penalties for any previous violations
(i.e., explain ifprevious violations have resulted in you being assessed civil
penalties);
(e) payment of the civil penalty will prevent payment for the remaining necessary
remedial actions
(i.e., explain how payment of the civil penalty will prevent you from performing
the activities necessary to achieve compliance).
EXPLANATION (attach additional pages as necessary):

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
COUNTY OF BUNCOMBE
IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT
OF CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST
Town of Woodfin
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
COMMISSION
WAIVER OF RIGHT TO AN
ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING AND
STIPULATION OF FACTS
CASE NO. PC-2022-0002
Having been assessed civil penalties totaling $13, 995.00 for violations) as set forth in
the assessment document of the Director of the Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources
dated January 31, 2022, the undersigned, desiring to seek remission of the civil penalties, does
hereby waive the right to an administrative hearing in the above -stated matter and does stipulate
that the facts are as alleged in the assessment document.
The undersigned further understands that all evidence presented in support of remission
of this civil penalty must be submitted to the Director of the Division of Energy, Mineral, and
Land Resources within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of the civil penalty assessment. No
new evidence in support of a remission request will be allowed after thirty (30) calendar days
from the receipt of the civil penalty assessment.
This day of 20
NAME (printed)
SIGNATURE
ADDRESS
TELEPHONE
EMAIL

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
COUNTY OF BUMCOMBE
IN THE MATTER OF ) CASE NO. PC-2022-0002
TOWN OF WOODFIN )
FINDINGS AND DECISION
FOR VIOLATIONS OF ) AND ASSESSMENT OF
NPDES MS4 PERMIT NCS000440 ) CIVIL PENALTIES
Acting pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes (hereby known as G.S.) 143-215.6A, I,
William E. Vinson, Jr., of the Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources (hereby known
as DEMLR), make the following:
I. FINDING OF FACT
A. Town of Woodfin is a municipal corporation organized and existing according to
the Charter of the Town of Woodfin as adopted by the North Carolina General
Assembly on April 30, 1971.
B. Town of Woodfin received NPDES Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System
(MS4) Permit coverage on July 1, 2005. The Town's NPDES MS4 Permit
number is NCS000440. NCS000440 was most recently renewed on February 20,
2017.
C. An NPDES permit is required to discharge stormwater from MS4s in urbanized
areas to waters of the state in accordance with G.S. 143-215.1(a) and Title 15A
North Carolina Administrative Code (hereby known as NCAC) 02H .0126.
D. On August 28, 2019, DEMLR Asheville Regional Office staff conducted a
compliance audit of NCS000440. The audit revealed serious deficiencies with
certain components of NCS000440.
E. DEMLR issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) with the resulting audit report on
September 17, 2019. An informal response to the NOV was received on October
14, 2019.
F. Per requirement number (2) of the NOV, the Town submitted a council resolution,
which DEMLR received on October 28, 2019. Upon review, the resolution had
many errors and was not signed by all council members.
G. Per requirement number (1) of the NOV, the Town submitted a formal written
response to the NOV acknowledging the requirements therein and its intent to
comply. DEMLR received the formal response on November 26, 2019.

Town of Wooden
Buncombe County
Page 3 of 4
Based upon the above Finding of Fact, I make the following:
II. CONCLUSION OF LAW
A. Town of Woodfin is a "person" within the meaning of G.S. 143-215.6A pursuant
to G.S. 143-212 (4).
B. Town of Woodfin violated Part III, Item C of NCS000440 by failing to submit a
Draft Stormwater Management Plan when requested by the Director via the
Notice of Violation issued on September 17, 2019.
C. Town of Woodfin violated Part V, Section A, Item 7 of NCS000440 by failing to
submit a self -audit when requested by the Director via the Notice of Violation
issued on September 17, 2019.
D. Town of Woodfin violated Part IV, Item E of NCS000440 by failing to submit a
corrected council resolution.
E. Town of Woodfin may be assessed civil penalties in this matter pursuant to G.S.
143-215.6A (a)(2), which provides that a civil penalty of not more than twenty-
five thousand dollars ($25,000) per violation per day may be assessed against a
person who is required but fails to apply for or to secure a permit required by G.S.
143-215.1, or who violates or fails to act in accordance with the terms, conditions,
or requirements of such permit or any other permit or certification issued pursuant
to authority conferred by this Part.
F. The State's enforcement cost in this matter may be assessed against Town of
Woodfin pursuant to G.S. 143-215.3 (a)(9) and G.S. 14313-282.1 (b)(8).
G. William E. Vinson, JR., Section Chief of Program Operations for DEMLR,
pursuant to delegation provided by the Secretary of the Department of
Environmental Quality and the Director of DEMLR, has the authority to assess
civil penalties in this matter.
Based upon the above Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, I make the following:
III. DECISION
Accordingly, the Town of Woodfin is hereby assessed a civil penalty of:
$ 7,145.00 for violation of Part III, Item C of NCS000440