20181597 Ver 2_Email_20200601

Carpenter,Kristi
From:Stewart, Alex D
Sent:Monday, June 01, 2020 9:29 AM
To:Steenhuis, Joanne
Cc:Herndon, T. Mason; [e-mail]; Harrelson, Gary L; Jetton, Joseph C
Subject:RE: Bridge 47 in Brunswick County
Good Morning Joanne:

Sorry for the delay in response. I agree, it is the Departments responsibility to comply with all contractual obligations,
environmental permits, requirements, and to establish a chain of responsibility for completing inspections and NPDES
records between the Contractor and the Department’s team.

As you stated below, my office had separated with nineteen staff in August of 2019 and an additional seven last month
which results in its own challenges; however, this challenge does not alter any of the Departments responsibilities or
requirements. I attempted to make adjustments to staff to cover as many operations and projects in a timely manner
and felt that I was overall successful, with the exception of this project. This oversight is mine, apologies.

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Since being notified of my oversight on May 6, I had additional NCDOT inspectors recertified Level II ESC/SW and
reminded the contractor of their contractual obligations, roles, and responsibilities with an emphasis on erosion and
sediment control. Between the Department and the Contractor, the following staff now their Level II ESC/SW
certification for this project:
 Gary Harrelson: Cert 5669
 John Pigg: Cert 2787
 Arien Branch: Cert 3520
 Vashon Locklear: Cert 435
 Clint Roberson: Cert 604

Gary and John are on site, whereas the remaining S&C staff depend on project operations. Our team will strive to
comply with all environmental permits, requirements, and to establish a chain of responsibility for completing
inspections and NPDES records as we do elsewhere on other projects that my office oversees.

I will do my best to avoid having to have this conversation again in the future. Contact me with any questions otherwise
I will see you Wednesday.

Thank you,

Alex D. Stewart, PE
Resident Engineer
Resident Engineer’s Office - Wilmington
[phone] office

From: Steenhuis, Joanne <[e-mail]>
Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2020 09:39 AM
To: Stewart, Alex D <[e-mail]>
Cc: Herndon, T. Mason <[e-mail]>; [e-mail]
Subject: Bridge 47 in Brunswick County

Alex,
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I went out with Mason on May 6 to the Bridge #47 site in Brunswick County.

I inspected the NPDES records and found that the week of 4/20 thru 4/26, had not been signed. Please note, that this
particular issue has been considered a major violation by EPA in the past and NCDOT has been given a violation by EPA
for this lack of detail on their NPDES self-inspection records.

I also found that, the week of 4/27 thru 5/1 was missing as well as the week of 5/4 (which had not even been started). I
understand that the contract NC DOT Level II inspector had been let go, but DOT has the responsibility to make sure that
there was a certified level II inspector for the project.

During the inspection, I also found out that the DOT level II inspector (on-site) was not certified, nor was there any
NPDES level II inspector on-site from the contractor. The contractor Level II inspector (whose responsibility it is to do
the initial inspection and write it on the NPDES inspection sheets) had not filled out the form for the previous week or
started one for the week of May 4th. I understand that a level II inspector doesn’t have to be on-site all the time, but
the lack of records indicated that one had not been on-site for at least 10 days. This is concerning, considering that the
previous week there was significant rain. What concerns me here is that the DOT inspector had not reported (the lack of
site inspections occurring daily and weekly) to anyone (supervisor). Is this not a function of their job?

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On Monday May 11, I received e-mails from Mason with the missing weeks of records. This does not alleviate the issue
of lack of records at the site.

I am not used to seeing such lack of detail on an NC DOT site and I am woefully disappointed. I do understand that there
has been high duress in DOT due to the ‘funding issues’, but I hope that this will not undermine the quality of the job
DOT expects of itself and its contractors.

Joanne Steenhuis
Environmental Specialist II
401 & Buffer Transportation Permitting Branch
Department of Environmental Quality

[phone] (office)
[phone] (mobile)
[e-mail]

Based on the current guidance to minimize the spread of COVID-19, the Department of Environmental Quality has
adjusted operations to protect the health and safety of the staff and public. Many employees are working remotely or
are on staggered shifts. To accommodate these staffing changes, all DEQ office locations are limiting public access to
appointments only. Please check with the appropriate staff before visiting our offices, as we may be able to handle your
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Wilmington, NC 28405

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