NCS000466_Emails_20230929

Georgoulias, Bethany
From: Terry Hackett <[e-mail]>
Sent: Friday, September 29, 2023 2:51 PM
To: Reed, Isaiah L
Subject: [External] RE: Correspondence Relating to Past SWMP Submittals
Attachments: Hillsborough CSWMP 2014.pdf, TOH NPDES Stormwater Permit 2017.pdf
CAUTION: External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless verified. Report suspicious emails with the Report Message
button located on your Outlook menu bar on the Home tab.
Email 3 of 3
From:Terry Hackett
Sent: Friday, September 29, 2023 2:48 PM
To: 'Reed, Isaiah L' <isaiah.reed @deq.nc.gov>
Subject: Correspondence Relating to Past SWMP Submittals
Dear Isaiah,
Town staff has completed a search of paper files, electronic files, and email archives in response to your request for any
emails or correspondence related to the Town of Hillsborough's submittal of its stormwater management plan (SWMP).
That search has yielded only a few things that are pertinent. Clearly, the MS4 permit coordinator prior to you and
Jeanette Powell did not do a good job communicating with the Town of Hillsborough.
The Town's first MS4 permit was issued in September 2005. We have a copy of that permit and the SWMP developed by
Summitt Engineering on behalf of the town. We did not find correspondence indicating review or approval of that
SWMP.
At that time, the Town of Hillsborough contracted with Orange County to oversee and implement the town's MS4
program. I worked for Orange County from 2006-2012 and helped develop the town's program through that contract,
thus I was involved with the first permit renewal cycle.
The first permit renewal was in 2010. 1 found a copy of a letter sent to Mike Randall transmitting the SWMP. We were
unable to find any correspondence or emails that Mr. Randall received the SWMP and certainly nothing that said it had
been reviewed and approved. Nicole Ard was the Assistant Town Manager at the time and was responsible for
submitting the permit application.There was no correspondence from Mike Randall in those files, other than the
transmittal of the new MS4 permit. Since the new permit was issued on November 7, 2011, after the SWMP was
submitted, we assume that the SWMP was deemed approved.
The next permit renewal cycle is even less documented, despite me being a full-time employee with the town. In
anticipation of our permit renewal, we updated our SWMP in 2014. As I recall, there were various delays by the state
regarding Phase 11 MS4 permits, but I cannot find any documentation concerning permit renewal, transmittal of the
SWMP or any correspondence/emails from the state on the matter. I feel certain that we sent a copy of our 2014 SWMP
to Mr. Randall but have no record of it. However, I did find an email exchange with Mike Randall in 2017 that sheds
some light.
On January 12, 2017 1 sent Mr. Randall an email because I noticed that on the DEQwebsite that there was a notice for
Phase 11 MS4 permit renewals. I asked if some sort of notice of the permit renewal had been sent out to local
governments because we could not find any documentation. Mr. Randall responded he was not sure and indicated he
would check. We do not have any other emails regarding this matter.The next email we could find is one dated
1

February 21, 2017 transmitting our new MS4 permit. What is interesting is that the subject line is from an email where I
had transmitted our 2012 annual report to Mr. Randall. Clearly, he was not providing us with proper correspondence or
communication. Again, we assumed that since the state issued our new MS4 permit, our SWMP was deemed approved.
In support I am attaching the following documents:
• 2005 SWMP and 2005 MS4 Permit
• 2010 Transmittal letter, 2010 SWMP and subsequent 2011 MS4 Permit
• 2017 email exchange with Mike Randall, 2014 SWMP and 2017 MS4 Permit
The Town of Hillsborough's stance is that since the state issued the permits, our SWMP was deemed approved.
Fortunately, Mr. Randall's successor,Jeanette Powell did a much better job in communicating with the Town of
Hillsborough. I noted that DEQ's Laserfiche depository has a copy of the Town's 2019 SWMP as well as a copy of our
current our permit renewal application. I noted other documents as well, including some of what I'm attaching here.
You have done a commendable job working with all of the state's MS4s to ensure communication and documentation
are appropriate and complete. Hopefully, this will help fill additional gaps.
I will probably have to send the attachments in multiple emails,just to be sure you get them all. Please let me know if
you have any questions,
Terry
Terry Hackett
Stormwater and Environmental Services Manager
Town of Hillsborough
101 E. Orange St., Hillsborough, North Carolina
Office: 919-296-9621
HillsboroughGov
@ToHGovSW
Email correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina public records law and may be disclosed to third
parties.
2