2021.03.29_CCO_ChemoursCivilPenaltyAssessmentForSeepCWastewaterTreatmentPlant

March 29, 2021
CERTIFIED MAIL
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
7018 1830 0001 8032 1269
The Chemours Company FC, LLC
Attn: Mr. Stephen H. Shoemaker, Director, Corporate Remediation Group
22828 NC Hwy 87 W
Fayetteville, NC 28306
Re: Civil Penalty Assessment for Violations of the Sedimentation Pollution Control Act of
1973, N.C. General Statute 113A-50 et seq.
Bladen County
LQS-2021-003
Dear Sir or Madam:
Pursuant to North Carolina Administrative Code 15A 4A.0001 et seq. and the above-referenced
Act, this letter is notice of a civil penalty assessed by the Department of Environmental Quality
(DEQ), formerly Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The civil penalty
assessment document is attached.
Within thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of this letter, you must do one of the following:
(1)Pay the civil penalty assessment; or
(2)File a written petition for a contested case hearing in the Office of Administrative
Hearings (OAH).
Alternatively, if you choose to stipulate to the facts on which this assessment was based, but wish
to request remission of the civil penalty, then within sixty (60) days from the date of receipt of this
letter, you must do the following:
(3)File a written request for a remission of the civil penalty.
Pursuant to N.C. General Statute 150B-22, informal settlement negotiations may be initiated at
any time. To negotiate a settlement of this assessment, please contact Carolyn McLain, Assistant
CERTIFIED MAIL
Stephen H. Shoemaker
Page 2
March 29, 2021
Attorney General, who may be reached by telephone at [phone]. Settlement offers do not
extend the 30-day deadline for payment or filing of a contested case petition, nor the 60 days
deadline for request for remission.
Additional information about your options is provided below.
PAYMENT
To pay the penalty, send your payment by check or money order made payable to the North
Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (or NCDEQ) to Carolyn McLain, Assistant
Attorney General, North Carolina Department of Justice, Environmental Division, 9001 Mail
Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-9001. The Attorney General’s Office will
represent NCDEQ in the resolution of this civil penalty assessment.
APPEAL
If you file a contested case petition, it must be in writing and in the form prescribed by N.C.
General Statutes 150B-23. File the original petition and one copy with:
Office of Administrative Hearings
6714 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-6714
Any questions about filing a petition may be directed to the Clerk of OAH by telephoning (919)
431-3000.
You must serve DEQ by mailing a copy of the petition to:
Mr. Bill Lane
Registered Agent and General Counsel
1601 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1601
REMISSION
A request for remission is limited to consideration of the six factors listed below and is not the
proper procedure for contesting the accuracy of any of the statements contained in the assessment
document.
CERTIFIED MAIL
Stephen H. Shoemaker
Page 3
March 29, 2021
Because a remission request forecloses the option of an administrative hearing, such a request will
not proceed 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 of Remission Request” which
should provide additional information on the following factors which shall be considered in
determining whether a civil penalty remission request will be approved:
1)One or more of the civil penalty assessment factors in G.S. 113A-64(a)(3) were wrongly
applied to the detriment of the petitioner.
2)The petitioner promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting from the
violation.
3) The violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident.
4)The petitioner had been assessed civil penalties for any previous violations.
5)Payment of the civil penalty will prevent payment for necessary remedial actions or would
otherwise create a significant financial hardship.
6)The assessed property tax valuation of the petitioner's property upon which the
violation occurred, excluding the value of any structures located on the property.
You have the burden of providing information concerning the financial impact of a civil penalty and
the burden of showing any financial hardship.
If you file a request for remission of the civil penalties, you must submit the required information
within 60 days of receipt of this notice. Submit this information to the attention of:
If sending by First Class Mail via If sending via delivery service
the US Postal Service: (e.g. UPS, FedEx):
Julie Coco, PE, State Sediment Engineer Julie Coco, PE, State Sediment Engineer
DEMLR DEMLR
1612 Mail Service Center 512 N. Salisbury Street
Raleigh, NC 27699-1612 Raleigh, NC 27604
Payment of this penalty will not foreclose further enforcement action against you for any new
violation. If the violations which resulted in this penalty assessment are continuing in nature, DEQ
reserves the right to assess additional civil penalties in the future, or take other enforcement action
against you.
Please also be aware that because you have never previously been assessed a civil penalty for
violations of the Sedimentation Pollution Control Act, should you abate continuing environmental
damage resulting from these violations within 180 days of the date of the receipt of the Notice of
Violation, then the maximum cumulative civil penalty assessed against you for these violations
cannot exceed $25,000.00.
CERTIFIED MAIL
Stephen H. Shoemaker
Page 4
March 29, 2021
Your attention to this matter is appreciated.
Sincerely,
William E. (Toby) Vinson, Jr., PE
Chief of Program Operations
DEMLR
cc: Julie Coco, PE, State Sedimentation Engineer & Carolyn McLain, Assistant Attorney General
Revised October 2017
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
COUNTY OF BLADEN LQS-2021-003
IN THE MATTER OF: )
)
THE CHEMOURS COMPANY FC, LLC ) CIVIL PENALTY ASSESSMENT
)
)
FOR VIOLATIONS OF: )
)
THE SEDIMENTATION POLLUTION )
CONTROL ACT OF 1973 )
Acting pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes (N.C.G.S.) 113A-64(a) and North
Carolina Sedimentation Control Commission (Commission) Rule Title 15A of the North Carolina
Administrative Code (NCAC) and delegated to me by the Secretary of the Department, I, William
E. Vinson, Jr., PE, Chief of Program Operations make the following:
I. FINDINGS OF FACT
A.The subject property is located on NC Highway 87 West in the Hollow Township, Bladen
County, North Carolina. The project is known as Chemours Seep C Wastewater Treatment
Plant.
B.The owner of record is The Chemours Company FC, LLC, a corporation duly registered to
do business and doing business in the State of North Carolina.
C.On 9/1/2020, Mr. Brian D. Long, Plant Manager listed as the “Financially Responsible
Person” signed a Financial Responsibility/Ownership form, stating under oath, that, The
Chemours Company FC, LLC (d/b/a The Chemours Company) was financially responsible
for the land disturbance.
D.An express review erosion control plan (hereinafter "Plan") for the project was received on
9/4/2020 and was approved on 9/4/2020.
E.On 12/1/2020, a duly authorized representative of the Division of Energy, Mineral, and
Land Resources (hereinafter "DEMLR"), North Carolina Department of Environmental
Quality (hereinafter "DEQ"), inspected the subject property and determined that a land-
disturbing activity had occurred on the site in violation of the Sedimentation Pollution
Control Act (hereinafter "SPCA") of 1973 (G.S. 113A-50, et seq.).
F.The land-disturbing activity was conducted for industrial purposes and covered
approximately 0.25 acres.
G.On 1/4/2021, DEMLR initiated delivery methods for the Notice of Violation (hereinafter
"Notice") which cited violations of the SPCA with The Chemours Company FC, LLC via
certified mail, with return receipt requested, along with hand-delivery options as required
for first-time violators under the SPCA. The NOV was emailed to appropriate Chemours
representatives on 1/4/2021.
First-time violators are provided the option of receiving the NOV in person within an initial
fifteen-day period. Facility representative(s) received the NOV in person on 1/13/2021.
Following the fifteen-day period or hand-delivery receipt date, the NOV is sent via certified
mail as described above, regardless of whether it was received in person. The NOV was
mailed certified on January 13, 2021. A copy of the Notice is attached hereto and
incorporated herein by reference. The Notice required that the corrective measures stated
therein be completed within 10 days of receipt of the Notice.
H.A follow-up compliance inspection was conducted on January 14, 2021 and the site was
determined to be in compliance with the SPCA and NPDES NCG010000 Construction
Stormwater General Permit.
II.CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
I.A civil penalty may be assessed against The Chemours Company FC, LLC, pursuant to
North Carolina General Statute 113A-64(a) for the violations committed on the subject
property.
J.From 12/1/2020 through 12/2/2020, violations of one or more of the requirements of the
SPCA or the rules adopted thereunder existed on the subject property as follows:
1.N.C.G.S. 113A-57(5) was violated for failure to conduct a land-disturbing activity
in accordance with the approved erosion and sedimentation control plan.
2.N.C.G.S. 133A-54.1(b) and 15A N.C.A.C 4B.0118(a) were violated for failure to
submit a revised plan.
3.N.C.G.S. 113A-57(3) was violated for failure when land disturbing activity that
will disturb more than one acre is undertaken on a tract, to install such
sedimentation and erosion control devices and practices that are sufficient to
retain sediment generated by land-disturbing activity within the boundaries of
the tract during construction.
4.15A NCAC 04B .0105 was violated for failure to take measures to protect all public
and private property from sedimentation and erosion damage caused by land-
disturbing activity.
5.N.C.G.S. 133A-57(1) was violated for failure to retain a buffer zone of
sufficient width along a lake, trout water or natural watercourse (25-foot
minimum for trout waters) in which to confine visible siltation by natural or
artificial means within the 25 percent of that portion of the buffer zone nearest
the land-disturbing activity.
III. DECISIONS
A.Pursuant to N.C.G.S. 113A-64(a) and the authority delegated to me by the Secretary of the
Department, I, William E. (Toby) Vinson, Jr., PE, Chief of Program Operations, DEMLR,
do hereby assess a civil penalty against The Chemours Company FC, LLC in the
amount of $5,000 per day for the one (1) day period beginning 12/1/2020, the day the
violation was discovered and ending on 12/2/2020. The total penalty amount is
calculated at $5,000.
B.In determining the amount of this penalty, I have considered the criteria in N.C.G.S.
113A-64(a)(3).
C.I hereby put The Chemours Company FC, LLC on notice that I reserve the right to initiate
further enforcement action for any violations occurring after 12/2/2020.
3/29/2021 __________________________________
Date William (Toby) Vinson, PE
Chief of Program Operations
Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources
JUSTIFICATION FOR REMISSION REQUEST
County: Bladen DEMLR Case Number: LQS-2021-003
Assessed Party: The Chemours Company FC, LLC
Project No. (If applicable): BLADE-2021-003 Amount Assessed: $5,000.00
Please use this form when requesting remission of this civil penalty. You must also complete the “Waiver of
Right 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 Commission to
consider in evaluating your request for remission. Please be aware that a request for remission is limited to
consideration of the factors listed below. 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. § 113A-64.2(b), the following factors shall be considered in determining whether
a civil penalty remission request will be approved. 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. 113A-64(a)(3) were wrongfully
applied to the detriment of the petitioner (please refer to the “Assessment Factors” summary
attached);
☐(b) the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting from the violation (i.e.,
explain the steps that you took to correct the violation and prevent 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; proof is recommended);
☐(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 or
would otherwise create a significant financial hardship (i.e., explain how payment of the civil penalty
will prevent you from performing the activities necessary to achieve compliance);
☐(f) the assessed property tax valuation of the violator’s property upon which the violation occurred,
excluding the value of any structures located on the property.
Please note that you have the burden of providing information concerning the financial impact of a
civil penalty and the burden of showing any financial hardship.
EXPLANATION (attach additional pages as necessary):
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA SEDIMENTATION POLLUTION
CONTROL COMMISSION
COUNTY OF BLADEN
IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT ) WAIVER OF RIGHT TO AN
OF CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST ) ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING AND
THE CHEMOURS COMPANY FC, LLC ) STIPULATION OF FACTS
CASE NO. LQS-2021-003
Having been assessed civil penalties totaling $5,000.00 for violation(s) as set forth in the assessment
document of the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources dated Click or tap to enter a date. 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 Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources within sixty (60) calendar days
of receipt of the civil penalty assessment. No new evidence in support of a remission request will be allowed
after sixty (60) calendar days from the receipt of the civil penalty assessment.
This the ____________ day of __________________________,20___________
____________________________________
NAME (printed)
SIGNATURE
ADDRESS
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
TELEPHONE
____________________________________