20131200 Ver 6_NOV2020SS0014_20200804

DocuSign Envelope ID: B58C5A1A-2FFD-4881-96C9-BC01E717D953
ROY COOPER
Governor
MICHAEL 5. REGAN
Secretary
S. DANIEL SMITH
Director
August 4, 2020
NORTH CAROL.INA
Environmental duality
CERTIFIED MAIL 70191640 00001354 4351
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Tryon Equestrian Partners, LLC
Attn: Mr. Jeff Brown
4066 Pea Ridge Road
Mill Spring, NC 28756
Subject: NOTICE OF VIOLATION
and RECOMMENDATION FOR ENFORCEMENT
Tryon International Equestrian Center
NOV-2020-SS-0014
Stream Standard Violation —Other Waste (In -stream sediment)
Stream Standard Violation —Removal of Best Usage
Stream Standard Violation —Turbidity
401 Water Quality Certification (WQC) Conditions
Polk County
Required Response Date: September 4, 2020
Dear Mr. Brown:
On July 29, 2020, Andrew Moore from the Asheville Regional Office of the Division of Water
Resources (DWR) conducted a site inspection of the Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC)
in Polk County. The site inspection was initiated in response to photographs and video provided
to this office reportedly depicting a turbid stream draining from TIEC and its confluence with
White Oak Creek. Wayne Watkins with Odom Engineering was present during the inspection.
During the site inspection, the unnamed tributary (UT) of White Oak Creek running between the
office and the covered arena (Labelled as Stream KB on previous correspondence) was turbid. Site
contractors were observed to be flushing sediment, which had accumulated on the road in front of
the office from erosion associated with backfilling a retaining wall, into the stormwater drainage
system. The stormwater system discharges to Stream KB. Water samples were collected from
stream KB above and below the stormwater discharge.
The stream below the covered arena project near the 60-inch bypass outfall (Stream KA) was also
evaluated. The outfall and boulder toe were observed to have failed releasing sediment and gravel
into stream KA. Please note that this is an area that DWR expressed concern about in a Request
for Additional Information dated August 27, 2018. The response to the request included a
D E Q�� North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality � Division of Water Resources
Asheville Regional Office 2090 U.S. Highway 70 � Swannanoa, North Carolina 28778
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DocuSign Envelope ID: B58C5A1A-2FFD-4881-96C9-BC01E717D953
Tryon Equestrian Partners, LLC
August 4, 2020
Page 2 of 4
streambank stabilization plan consisting of a rock toe and athree-year monitoring plan. DWR
received the as -built report as part of the monitoring plan on May 29, 2020.
As a result of the site inspection, file review, and laboratory analysis of water samples, the
following violations were identified:
VIOLATIONS
L Other Waste (In -Stream Sediment) — 15A NCAC 02B .0211 (12) —Title 15A NCAC 02B
.0211 (12) requires that "Oils, deleterious substances, colored, or other wastes: only such
amounts as shall not render the waters injurious to public health, secondary recreation, or
to aquatic life and wildlife, or adversely affect the palatability of fish, aesthetic quality, or
impair the waters for any designated uses." Approximately 50 feet of an unnamed
tributary of White Oak Creek (Class C) was impacted by sediment and gravel deposition
from the 60-inch bypass outfall failure.
II. Removal of Best Usage — 15A NCAC 02B .0211 (2) —Title 15A NCAC 02B .0211 (2)
requires that "The waters shall be suitable for aquatic life propagation and maintenance
of biological integrity, wildlife, secondary recreation, and agriculture. Sources of water
pollution that preclude any of these uses on either ashort-term or long-term basis shall be
considered to be violating a water quality standard." The sediment and gravel deposition
within the stream channel results in a removal of use.
III. Turbidity — 15A NCAC 02B .0211 (21) —Title 15A NCAC 02B .0211 (21) requires that
"Turbidity: the turbidity in the receiving water shall not exceed 50 Nephelometric
Turbidity Units (NTU) in streams not designated as trout waters and 10 NTU in streams,
lakes, or reservoirs designated as trout waters; for lakes and reservoirs not designated as
trout waters, the turbidity shall not exceed 25 NTU; if turbidity exceeds these levels due
to natural background conditions, the existing turbidity level shall not be increased." The
water sample collected from KB (Class C) upstream of the stormwater discharge was 45
NTUs. The water sample collected from KB downstream of the stormwater discharge
was 190 NTUs.
IV. Individua1401 WQC Condition Violations —Tryon Equestrian Partners, LLC submitted a
North Carolina Individua1401 WQC modification request dated Apri127, 2018. DWR
issued an approval letter for the modifications on November 16, 2018. The WQC issued
for the project impacts specifies the activities must follow all conditions listed therein.
The following condition violations were noted:
Conditions # 5—No waste spoil, solids, or fill waters, or riparian areas beyond the
footprint of the impacts depicted in the application for this project. All construction
activities, including the design, installation, operation, and maintenance of sediment
and erosion control Best Management Practices shall be performed so that no
violations of state water quality standards, statutes, or rules occur.

DocuSign Envelope ID: B58C5A1A-2FFD-4881-96C9-BC01E717D953
Tryon Equestrian Partners, LLC
August 4, 2020
Page 3 of 4
Condition #6 —Sediment and Erosion Control. Erosion and sediment control
practices must be in full compliance with all specifications governing the proper
design, installation, and operation and maintenance of such Best Management
Practices.
Condition #8 —Construction Stormwater Permit NCGO 10000. An NPDES
Construction Stormwater Permit is required for construction projects that disturb
one (1) or more acres of land. This Permit allows stormwater to be discharged
during land disturbing activities as stipulated in the conditions of the permit. If your
project is covered by the permit, full compliance with permit conditions including
the erosion and sedimentation control plan, inspections and maintenance, self -
monitoring, record keeping and reporting requirements is required.
REQUIRED RESPONSE
Accordingly, you are directed to respond to this letter by September 4, 2020. Your response
should be sent to the attention of Andrew Moore at the footer address or
Andrew.W.Moore(a�ncdenr.gov and should include the following:
Stream Standard —Other Waste (In -Stream Sediment)
a. Please provide a Sediment Removal and Stabilization Plan for review and approval. The
plan must address the removal of accumulated sediment and gravel below the 60-inch
bypass outfall structure. The sediment removal plan should include:
• A narrative explaining how sediment and gravel will be removed including
techniques, manpower and tools to be used.
• A proposed schedule with dates that indicate when you expect to begin and
complete the removal of sediment and gravel.
• A narrative explaining how and where the removed sediment and gravel will be
disposed and stabilized.
• Please explain how turbidity standards will not be exceeded during sediment
removal activities.
The Stabilization Plan should include:
• A narrative and construction details explaining how the outfall will be re-
constructed to withstand expected storm events and prevent additional
sedimentation to the stream.
b. Following sediment removal and stabilization, the cross sections described in the October
16, 2018 Request for Additional Information response shall be re -surveyed and overlayed
on the as -built data. The cross -sections shall be provided to DWR.

DocuSign Envelope ID: B58C5A1A-2FFD-4881-96C9-BC01E717D953
Tryon Equestrian Partners, LLC
August 4, 2020
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401 Water Quality Certification Condition and Turbidity Violations:
a. Inspect all stormwater retention structures (Isolator Row and ADS Stormtech) on the
property for sediment accumulation in accordance with the approved stormwater
management plans and provide photo and/or video documentation of the evaluation.
Particular attention should be paid to Area #4.
b. If any structures require sediment removal provide documentation of the removal. Any
removal of sediment must be conducted in accordance with the approved stormwater
management plans for all WQC issued for the project.
c. Provide inspection and maintenance logs for the last three years for all approved
stormwater BMPs in the project area.
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 violations) 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 [phone] or Andrew.W.Moore(a�ncdenr.gov.
Sincerely,
DocuSig ned by:
p�� ��
7E617A38285848C...
G. Landon Davidson, P.G, Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations
Asheville Regional Office
cc: David Odom —Odom Engineering, PLLC (via email)
Wayne Watkins —Odom Engineering, PLLC (via email)
Clement Riddle — C1earWater Environmental Consultants, Inc. (via email)
Steve Kickefski — US Army Corps of Engineers (via email)
Stan Aiken —Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources (via email)
DWR ARO file
DWR 401 &Buffer Permitting Branch file
G:\WR\WQ\Polk\401s\Non-DOT\TryonEquestrianCenter\2020 NOV\2,0200804_TIEC NOV2020SS0014.docx