310350_nov-2020-pc-0496_20201130

DocuSign Envelope ID: C372EFC4-5B3B-47FF-B2CD-909568C0649C
ROY COOPER
Governor
MICHAEL S. REGAN
Secretary
S. DANIEL SMITH
Director
NORTH CAROLINA
Environmental Quality
November 30, 2020
Certified Mail #7018 2290 00018296 1253
Return Receipt Requested
Michael Knowles
638 Bull Tail Road
Wallace, NC 28466-8018
Subject: Notice of Violation
Mears Branch Farm #31-350
AWS310350
Duplin County
NOV-2020-PC-0496
Dear Mr. Knowles,
On November 10, 2020, staff of the NC Division of Water Resources (DWR), Water Quality
Regional Operations Section (WQROS) visited the subject farm for a routine inspection and
found required recordkeeping to be insufficient.
As a result of this deficiency, you are hereby notified that, having been permitted to have a
non -discharge permit for the subject animal waste management system pursuant to 15A NCAC
2T .1304, you have been found to be in violation of your CAWMP and the Swine Waste System
General Permit No. AWG100000 as follows:
Violation 1:
Failure to have the following records available:
II(16) Documentation of certified animal waste management system operator (OIC);
II(26) Irrigation equipment calibration (no record);
III(4) Soil sample (no record);
III(22) Annual sludge survey (most recent record 2013);
As a reminder, permit condition III(15) requires records be maintained and available for review
for a minimum of five (5) years.
D E Qbi�� North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources
Wilmington Regional Office 1 127 Cardinal Drive Extension I Wilmington, North Carolina 28405
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DocuSign Envelope ID: C372EFC4-5B3B-47FF-B2CD-909568C0649C
Required Corrective Action for Violation 1:
You are required to provide a written response within 30 days of receipt of this Notice.
Please include in your response all corrective actions already taken and a schedule for
completion of any corrective actions not addressed.
Be advised that this office is considering recommending assessment of civil penalties to the
Director of the Division of Water Resources for the above noted violations.
If you wish to provide additional information regarding the noted violations or discuss overall
compliance, please respond in writing within thirty (30) business days after receipt of this
Notice. DWR will review your response and you will then be notified of any civil penalties that
may be assessed regarding the violations. If no response is received in this Office within the
30-day period, a civil penalty assessment may be prepared.
If you have any questions concerning this Notice, please contact me at [phone] or Steve
West at [phone].
Sincerely,
Signed by:
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Tom Tharrington, Assistant Regional Supervisor
Water Quality Regional Operations Section
Wilmington Regional Office
Division of Water Resources, NCDEQ
cc: Duplin County Soil & Water
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