NC0049662_LV20170300_20180202

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Water Resources
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY T
February 2, 2018
CERTIFIED MAIL 7015 0640 0007 9833 7442
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Mr. Shannon V. Becker
202 MacKenan Court
Cary, NC 27511
Dear Mr. Becker:
ROY COOPER
Govemot
MICHAEL S REGAN
Secretary
LINDA CULPEPPER
Interim Director
SUBJECT: CIVIL PENALTY REMISSION REQUEST
Hawthorne Subdivision WWTP
Permit NCO049662
Case LV -2017-0300
Wake County
The Division has considered the information submitted in support of your request for remission in the
subject cases. In accordance with NCGS 143-215.6A (f), the Division has found no cause to remit the
original civil penalty assessment of $1,039.27.
If you choose to pay the penalty, send payment to the letterhead address within thirty (30) days of
receipt of this letter. Please make the check payable to NC DEQ.
If payment is not received within thirty (30) days of receipt of this letter, in accordance with NCGS §
143-215.6A (f), your request for remission of the civil penalty (with supporting documents) and my
recommendation to deny the request will be delivered to the North Carolina Environmental Management
Commission's (EMC) Committee On Civil Penalty Remissions (Committee) for final agency decision.
If you desire to make an oral presentation to the Committee on why your request for remission meets
one or more of the five statutory factors you were asked to address, you must complete and return the
attached form within thirty (30) days of receipt of this letter. Please mail the completed form to:
Ms. Brianna Young
NC DEQ / DWR / NPDES
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1617
Your request for an oral presentation and the documents in this matter will be reviewed by the EMC
Chairman and, if it is determined that there is a compelling reason to require an oral presentation from
you, you will be notified by certified mail of the date, time, and place that your oral presentation can be
State ofNorth Carolina I Environmental Quality I Water Resources
1617 Mail service Center I Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1617
919 707 9000

NCO049662 Remission Decision
Page 2 of 3
made. Otherwise, the final decision on your request for remission will be made by the Committee based
on the written record.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. If you have any questions about this letter, please contact
Ms. Young at [phone] or [e-mail].
S' y,
Linda Culpepper
Interim Director, Division of Water Resources
cc: Enforcement File
Raleigh Regional Office
Central, Files

NCO049662 Remission Decision
Page 3 of 3
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION
COUNTY OF Wake DWR Case Number LV -2017-0300
IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT OF )
CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST: ) REQUEST FOR ORAL PRESENTATION
Aqua North Carolina, Inc. )
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
SIGNATURE
ADDRESS
day of
20
TITLE (President, Owner, etc)
TELEPHONE

1. .
DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES
CIVIL PENALTY REMISSION FACTORS
Case Number: LV -2017-0300 Region: Raleigh County: Wake
Assessed Entity: Hawthorne Subdivision WWTP Permit: NCO049662
❑ (a) Whether one or more of the civil penalty assessment factors were wrongly applied to
the detriment of the petitioner:
❑ (b) Whether the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting
from the violation:
Permittee States: AQUA has been completing facility upgrades to meet total nitrogen limits.
Construction of these upgrades has been diligent but has been impacted by challenges associated with
Hurricane Matthew in October 2016, maintaining operating parameters during construction activities
associated with the upgrades, and stabilizing the operation to control sludge inventory and meet total
nitrogen (TN) limits. AQUA is working collaboratively with NCDEQ to develop and execute an
Environmental Compliance Agreement that will require AQUA to complete proposed milestones
within a specified time frame. At the end of this time frame, NCDEQ will determine a final penalty
assessment associated with any Notices of Violation and/or Notices of Deficiency.
DWR Response: CPA LV -2017-0300 is one of SIXTEEN civil penalty assessments for Hawthorne
WWTP since January 2016. This not in keeping with expectations to properly abate violations, rather
it illustrates this is ongoing and chronic. Aqua did not address/detail how they abated the fecal lurut
violation in their remissions request.
❑ (c) Whether the violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident:
❑ (d) Whether the violator had been assessed civil penalties for any previous violations:
❑ (e) Whether payment of the civil penalty will prevent payment for the remaining
necessary remedial actions:
DECISION (Check One)
Request Denied P
Full Remission ❑ Retain Enforcement Costs? Yes ❑ No ❑
Partial Remission ❑ $ (Enter Amount)
Linda Culpepper Date
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