DV-2020-0111_Remission (denial)_20210409

ROY COOPER.
Governor
DIONNE DELLI-GATTI
Secretary
S. DANIEL SMITH
Director
NORTH CAROL! NA
Environmental Quality
April 7, 2021
CERTIFIED MAIL ITEM 7018 1830 0001 8037 1127 - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Mr. Thomas L. Finger
Asheville Metal Finishing, Inc.
P.O. Box 16237
Asheville, NC 28816
SUBJECT: CIVIL PENALTY REMISSION REQUEST
Case DV-2020-0111
Buncombe County
Dear Mr. Finger:
I have considered the information you submitted in support of a request for remission in the subject case.
While your firm did work to abate the impact of the chemical spill, the spill itself was entirely avoidable.
Therefore, in accordance with NCGS 143-215.6A (f), the civil penalty will not be reduced. Your
organization is responsible is responsible for the entire penalty and enforcement costs, which total
$11,014.44.
If you choose to pay the penalties, send payment to the letterhead address within thirty (30) days of
receipt of this letter. Please make the check payable to NC DEQ.
If payment is not received within thirty (30) days of receipt of this letter, in accordance with NCGS §
143-215.6A (f), your requests for remission of the civil penalties (with supporting documents) and my
recommendation to deny the requests will be delivered to the North Carolina Environmental
Management Commission's (EMC) Committee On Civil Penalty Remissions (Committee) for final
agency decision.
If you desire to make an oral presentation to the Committee on why your requests for remission meet
one or more of the five statutory factors you were asked to address, you must complete and return the
attached forms within thirty (30) days of receipt of this letter. Please mail the completed forms to:
Mr. Charles H. Weaver
NC DEQ / DWR / NPDES
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1617
Your request for an oral presentation and the documents in this matter will be reviewed by the EMC
Chairman and, if it is determined that there is a compelling reason to require an oral presentation from
you, you will be notified by certified mail of the date, time, and place that your oral presentation can be
made. Otherwise, the final decision on your request for remission will be made by the Committee based
on the written record.
NORTH DE
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Department of&nlronme�l Ouellty�
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality 1 Division of Water Resources
512 North Salisbury Street 11617 Mail Service Center I Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1617
North Carolina
919.707.9000

AMF Remission Decision
Page 2 of 3
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. If you have any questions about this letter, please contact
Mr. Weaver at [e-mail].
Sincerely,
ii 11.4
for S. Daniel Smith
Director, Division of Water Resources
cc: NPDES file

AMF Remission Decision
Page 3 of 3
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION
COUNTY OF Buncombe DWQ Case Number DV-2020-0111
IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT OF
CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST:
Asheville Metal Finishing, Inc.
)
)
)
REQUEST FOR ORAL PRESENTATION
I hereby request to make an oral presentation before the Environmental Management Commission's
Committee on Civil Penalty Remissions in the matter of the case noted above. In making this request, I
assert that I understand all of the following statements:
• This request will be reviewed by the Chairman of the Environmental Management Commission and
may be either granted or denied.
• Making a presentation will require the presence of myself and/or my representative during a
Committee meeting held in Raleigh, North Carolina.
• My presentation will be limited to discussion of issues and information submitted in my original
remission request, and because no factual issues are in dispute, my presentation will be limited to five
(5) minutes in length.
The North Carolina State Bar's Authorized Practice of Law Committee has ruled that the appearance in a
representative capacity at quasi-judicial hearings or proceedings is limited to lawyers who are active
members of the bar. Proceedings before the Committee on Remissions are quasi-judicial. You should
consider how you intend to present your case to the Committee in light of the State Bar's opinion and
whether anyone will be speaking in a representative capacity for you or a business or governmental entity.
If you or your representative would like to speak before the Committee, you must complete and return this
form within thirty (30) days of receipt of this letter.
Depending on your status as an individual, corporation, partnership or municipality, the State Bar's Opinion affects how
you may proceed with your oral presentation. See www.ncbar.com/ethics, Authorized Practice Advisory Opinion 2006-1
and 2007 Formal Ethics Opinion 3.
• If you are an individual or business owner and are granted an opportunity to make an oral presentation before
the Committee, then you do not need legal representation before the Committee; however, if you intend on
having another individual speak on your behalf regarding the factual situations, such as an expert, engineer or
consultant, then you must also be present at the meeting in order to avoid violating the State Bar's Opinion on
the unauthorized practice of law.
• If you are a corporation, partnership or municipality and are granted an opportunity to make an oral
presentation before the Committee, then your representative must consider the recent State Bar's Opinion and
could be considered practicing law without a license if he or she is not a licensed attorney. Presentation of facts
by non -lawyers is permissible.
If you choose to request an oral presentation, please make sure that signatures on the previously submitted Remission
Request form and this Oral Presentation Request form are: 1) for individuals and business owners, your own signature
and 2) for corporations, partnerships and municipalities, signed by individuals who would not violate the State Bar's
Opinion on the unauthorized practice of law.
Also, be advised that the Committee on Civil Penalty Remissions may choose not to proceed with hearing your case if the
Committee is informed that a violation of the State Bar occurs.
This the
day of , 20
SIGNATURE TITLE (President, Owner, etc.)
MAILING ADDRESS
eMail TELEPHONE ( )

DocuSign Envelope ID: E1318CFC-3884-43E0-95C0-A527DC4BBC44
DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES
CIVIL PENALTY REMISSION FACTORS
Case Number: DV-2020-0111 Region: Asheville County: Buncombe
Assessed Entity: Asheville Metal Finishing, Inc. Permit: N/A
(a) Whether one or more of the civil penalty assessment factors were wrongly applied to the
detriment of the petitioner:
(b) Whether the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting from the
violation:
Permittee States: Due to an employee error, a tin bath tank was rinsed outside the building, causing the spill.
Asheville Metal Finishing (AMF) immediately shut down production upon becoming aware of the erroneous
action by the employee, and "moved all personnel to the spill area to begin" cleanup. AMF spent over
$11,000 on chemical drum disposal to reduce chances for any future spills.
DWR Response: This was an avoidable spill. The company did respond promptly but the spill should not
have occurred.
(c) Whether the violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident:
(d) Whether the violator had been assessed civil penalties for any previous violations:
(e) Whether payment of the civil penalty will prevent payment for the remaining necessary remedial
actions:
Permittee States: AMF has "not had a civil penalty in the 35+ years Tom Finger has owned" the company.
The chemical drum disposal was not required but done "for the greater good".
DWR Response: The spill was to class B waters and was entirely preventable. The money spent afterward
does not change or mitigate the impact of the spill.
DECISION
Original Penalty (without Enforcement Costs)
NO Remission •
Subtotal
Retaining Enforcement Costs
$10,000.00
0% or $0.00 (amount remitted)
$10,000.00
$1014.44
Total Assessment $11,014.44
DocuSigned by:
4/9/2021
8FB196649DD2478...
for S. Daniel Smith Date