20131200 Ver 5_SAW-2013-02262 TIEC NOV_20200515

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
WILMINGTON DISTRICT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS
151 PATTON AVENUE
ROOM 208
ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA 28801-5006
May 15, 2020
Regulatory Division
Action ID No.: SAW-2013-02262
Mr. Jeff Brown
Tryon Equestrian Partners, LLC
Post Office Box 2141
Rutherfordton, North Carolina 28139
Dear Mr. Brown:
Please reference the September 14, 2017, Department of the Army permit that
authorizes permanent impacts to 10,281 linear feet of jurisdictional stream and 0.09
acres of jurisdictional wetlands associated with the ongoing development of the Tryon
International Equestrian Center (TIEC) in the Mill Spring community of Polk County,
North Carolina.
As stated in special condition 21 of the authorization for this project, "Activities
prescribed by this plan [Harmon Dairy Mitigation Plan dated August 3, 2017] shall be
initiated prior to, or concurrently with, commencement of any construction activities
within jurisdictional areas authorized by this permit." This permit requirement was also
referenced to you in multiple communications, including U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(Corps) emails dated February 23, 2018, and December 19, 2019, and in a non-
compliance letter issued to you March 30, 2018.
The Harmon Dairy Mitigation Plan and the February 28, 2018, email response from
your consultant, Clearwater Environmental, included performance criteria and timelines
for achieving success with your off -site, permittee-responsible compensatory mitigation.
In the March 30, 2018, noncompliance letter, the Corps requested that you notify us if
there were to be changes to the Harmon Dairy Mitigation Project timeline. We also
requested that you include explanations of how and when mitigation requirements
would be resolved.
After construction of the mitigation site was complete, the as -built report was the
next performance step of the mitigation process. The as -built report was to be provided
to the Corps within 90 days of completion of physical and biological improvements in
accordance with your approved plan and the October 24, 2016, "Guidance For
Compensatory Stream and Wetland Mitigation Conducted for Wilmington District." The
Corps notified the TIEC and its agents via email on December 19, 2019, regarding the
overdue as -built report and lack of notification of a change to the project status/timeline.

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The January 8, 2020, email response from TIEC's consultant, detailed that the
mitigation site construction and planting was completed in May 2019 and although the
required as -built information was collected by June 2019 it would not be submitted until
March 7, 2020. The email also committed to completing other corrective actions related
to the mitigation project by April 7, 2020. The Corps notified TIEC by email on January
15, 2020, that their proposed timeline not acceptable based on the information provided.
During a conversation with TIEC representative Ms. Sharon Decker on January 24,
2020, TIEC committed to providing the requested as -built plans within three weeks or
personally communicating updates with the Corps. After the three weeks passed with
no communication from TIEC, the Corps attempted to reach Ms. Decker by phone on
February 18, 2020, and March 6, 2020. These calls were unanswered and voicemail
messages were left. To date, no one from TIEC has returned these calls. Likewise, the
as -built plans have not been submitted to the Corps, one year after project completion.
TIEC has not met the mitigation construction schedule as submitted in the 2017
mitigation plan, they have not performed the sequential steps laid out in their approved
mitigation plan to meet monitoring and performance criteria, they have not met their
modified February 28, 2018, mitigation timeline resulting from previous non-compliance
or even the unapproved steps provided in their January 8, 2020, response. TIEC is
therefore in violation of Section 301 of the Clean Water Act (33 USC 1311).
In order to remediate this matter, provide the as -built report, details for completion of
any required corrective actions on the site, an explanation for TIEC's permit non-
compliance and how non-compliance will be prevented during the remaining phases of
the mitigation project, an updated timeline for the completion of the remaining
components of the mitigation plan, details regarding the current project stability to
include whether adaptive management is needed to ensure its success and provide the
documentation of financial assurances as committed to in your approved mitigation
plan.
Please submit your response on or before June 1, 2020. You are cautioned that
failure to comply may result in suspension of your permit, referral of this matter to the
United States Attorney with a recommendation for civil prosecution, and/or a civil
penalty for a violation of permit conditions pursuant to 33 USCA Section 1319 (g) (1)
(b). Also, please be aware that compliance with these directives does not prevent the
Department of the Army's option to initiate additional appropriate legal action including
pursuing a Class I Administrative Penalty under the authority of 33 U.S.C. § 1319(g)
and 33 CFR Part 326.6.
If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact Mr. Steve Kichefski
at [phone] ext. 4234 with the Asheville Regulatory Field Office.

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FOR THE COMMANDER
Digitally signed by
JON ES.M ICHAEL.SCOTT.12583140
'54�— 73
Date: 2020.05.15 14:54:14-04'00'
Scott Jones, PWS
Chief
Asheville/Charlotte Regulatory Field Offices
cc:
ClearWater Environmental Consultants, Inc.
Mr. Clement Riddle
32 Clayton Road
Asheville, North Carolina 28801
NC Division of Water Resources
Asheville Regional Office
Mr. Andrew Moore
2090 U.S. 70 Highway
Swannanoa, North Carolina 28778-8211
NC Division of Wildlife Resources
Ms. Andrea Leslie
645 Fish Hatchery Rd.
Building B
Marion, North Carolina 28752
U.S. EPA - Region 4
Mr. Todd Bowers
Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center
61 Forsyth Street, SW
Atlanta, GA 30303-8960