20200588 Ver 1_NOV2019CV0009_20191121

DocuSign Envelope ID: 25E7CF9D-CD95-4A59-8B5A-56FC8295E553
ROY COOPER
Governor
MICHAEL S. REGAN
Secretary
LINDA CULPEPPER
Director
November 21, 2019
CERTIFIED MAIL
NORTH CAROLINA
Environmental Quality
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED 7017 2620 0000 9759 2922
John Meshad
1417 Kimlira Lane
Sarasota, FL 34231
SUBJECT: NOTICE OF VIOLATION and
RECOMMENDATION FOR ENFORCEMENT
John Meshad Property — Norton Ridge Road (PIN 7541753732)
NOV-2019-CV-0009
Failure to Secure 401 Water Quality Certification
Stream Standard Violation — Removal of Best Usage
Macon County
Response deadline: December 20, 2019
Dear Mr. Meshad:
On November 19, 2019, Andrew Moore from the Asheville Regional Office of the Division of
Water Resources (DWR) conducted a site inspection of your property on Norton Ridge Road in
Highlands, North Carolina. The site inspection was conducted after receiving notification from
Macon County that grading activities on the property may be impacting streams. Staff with
Macon County Planning, Permitting, and Development were present during the inspection. Your
property caretaker, Phillip Gates, was also present for a portion of the inspection.
During the site inspection, a recently constructed pond was observed to have been excavated
within the footprint of several unnamed tributaries of Norton Prong (WS-II; Trout; HQW). A
recently installed culvert was observed within Norton Prong. A review of DWR files indicates no
approval has been issued for the impacts. As a result of the site inspection and file review, the
following violations were identified:
VIOLATIONS
L Failure to Secure a 401 Water Quality Certification (WQC) — Title 15A NCAC 02H
.0500 requires water quality certifications pursuant to Section 401 of the Clean Water Act
whenever construction or operation of facilities will result in a discharge into
NORTH CARCLINA
oewronem a Envlmnmenbl Qwnb
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources
Asheville Regional Office 1 2090 U.S. Highway 70 1 Swannanoa, North Carolina 28778
828.296.4500

DocuSign Envelope ID: 25E7CF9D-CD95-4A59-8B5A-56FC8295E553
John Meshad
NOV-2019-CV-0009
Page 2 of 3
jurisdictional waters, including wetlands, as described in 33 CFR Part 323. A file review
confirmed that a Pre -Construction Notification has not been received by the DWR for
this project and that a 401 Water Quality Certification has not been issued.
II. Removal of Best Usage — Title 15A NCAC 02B .0211 (2) requires that "The waters shall
be suitable for aquatic propagation and maintenance of biological integrity, wildlife,
secondary recreation, and agriculture; sources of water pollution which preclude any of
these uses on either a short-term or long-term basis shall be considered to be violating a
water quality standard." The unauthorized impacts to the unnamed tributaries and Norton
Prong represent a removal of use.
REQUIRED RESPONSE
Accordingly, you are directed to respond to this letter in writing by December 20, 2019. Your
response should be sent to this office at the footer address or via email to
Andrew.W.Moore(&ncdenr.gov and include the following:
1. Please explain when construction (excavation, grubbing, and clearing) began at the site.
2. Please clearly explain why appropriate 401 WQC and 404 Permit were not secured.
3. Please provide a map that exactly details all waters on the site (including streams and
wetlands) and the areas that were impacted.
4. Please explain how you plan to resolve the 401 Water Quality Certification violation. Two
(2) options exist:
a. Apply to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USAGE) for and receive a 404 Permit
pertaining to the existing stream and wetland impacts. A 401 WQC will be required
if the activities are permitted by the USACE. The application process as described
does not guarantee the impacts will be approved.
b. Restore the streams to their pre-existing condition.
If pursuing Option 1:
a. Contact the USACE to determine the permitting needs of the activities you have
undertaken. The Asheville office phone number is [phone].
b. Provide a proposed schedule of when you expect to have the required permit
application (401 WQC application) submitted to the DWR.
If pursuing Option 2:

DocuSign Envelope ID: 25E7CF9D-CD95-4A59-8B5A-56FC8295E553
John Meshad
NOV-2019-CV-0009
Page 3 of 3
a. Submit a Stream Restoration Plan to this office for review and approval. The plan
must provide details regarding how the stream channels will be restored and how
the buffer along the streambanks will be restored. The Plan must be approved by
DWR before being implemented.
b. The plan must include the measures that will be used for temporary stabilization
and sediment control while this work is under way.
c. Once the restoration is complete, you must notify this office so that a follow-up
inspection may be conducted.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. This office requires that the violations, as detailed
above, be abated immediately and properly resolved. Environmental damage and/or failure to
secure proper authorizations have been documented on the subject tract as stated above. Your
efforts to undertake actions to bring the subject site back into compliance is not an admission,
rather it is an action that must be taken in order to begin to resolve ongoing environmental issues.
Pursuant to G.S. 143-215.6A, these violations and any future violations are subject to a civil
penalty assessment of up to a maximum $25,000.00 per day for each violation. Your above -
mentioned response to this correspondence, the degree and extent of harm to the environment,
and the duration and gravity of the violation(s) will be considered in any civil penalty assessment
process that may occur.
Should you have any questions regarding these matters, please contact Andrew Moore at (828)
296-4684 or Andrew.W.Moorekncdenr.gov.
Sincerely,
DocuSigned by:
N;�
627B1 D2775374D0...
Zan Price, P.E., Assistant Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations
Asheville Regional Office
cc: Mac Haupt — 401 & Buffer Permitting Unit
David Brown — US Army Corps of Engineers (via email)
Stan Aiken — DEMLR (email copy)
Andrea Leslie — NCWRC (email copy)
Joe Allen — Macon County (email copy)
ARO File Copy
G:\WR\WQ\Macon\Complaints\Meshad\20191121_JohnMeshadProperty_NOV2019CV0009.docx