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Home My WebLink About20211440 Ver 1_Notice of Violation (NOV)_20210804DocuSign Envelope ID: 6908E5EC-C674-4610-8BB7-527A5676EAA9 ROY COOPER Governor ELIZABETH S. BISER Secretary S. DANIEL SMITH Director August 4, 2021 NORTH CAROLINA Environmental Quality CERTIFIED MAIL 7021 0350 0000 1637 6391 RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED Istvan Paulik 11 Black Bear Trail Robbinsville, NC 28771 Subject: NOTICE OF VIOLATION and RECOMMENDATION FOR ENFORCEMENT 854 Meadow Branch Road (PINs 5635428778 and 5635428664) NOV-2021-CV-0021 Failure to Secure 401 Water Quality Certification Stream Standard Violation — Removal of Best Usage Graham County Required Response Date: August 31, 2021 Dear Mr. Paulik: The Asheville Regional Office of the Division of Water Resources (DWR) is in receipt of a letter from the Asheville Regulatory Field Office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), dated July 23, 2021, regarding the subject property. According to the letter, on July 20, 2021, the Corps inspected your property at the subject address and determined that 900-950 feet of Meadow Branch (Classified C) and unnamed tributaries thereto, and 0.5-0.7 acres of wetland have been impacted by unauthorized fill. The stream and wetland fill impacts occurred without prior approval from the Corps in the form of a Department of the Army (DA) permit. As a result of the Corps site inspection and subsequent DWR file review, the following violations were identified: VIOLATIONS I. 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 jurisdictional waters, including wetlands, as described in 33 CFR Part 323. A file review confirmed that a 401 WQC has not been issued for the fill material placed in Meadow Branch, UTs thereto, or adjacent wetlands. NORTH o.aemmNm eni or En,aenv! 0.1:4 CAROLINA North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality I Division of Water Resources Asheville Regional Office 12090 U.S. Highway 70 I Swannanoa, North Carolina 28778 828.296.4500 DocuSign Envelope ID: 6908E5EC-C674-4610-8BB7-527A5676EAA9 Istvan Paulik August 4, 2021 Page 2 of 3 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 propagation, survival, and maintenance of biological integrity. The unauthorized fill material placed in Meadow Branch and UTs thereto without a 401 WQC is a removal of best use. REQUIRED RESPONSE Accordingly, you are directed to respond to this letter by August 31, 2021. Your response should be sent to the attention of Andrew Moore at the footer address or Andrew.W.Moore@ncdenr.gov and should 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 explain how you plan to resolve the violations. Two (2) options exist: a. Obtain an after -the -fact 401 WQC from DWR. A complete permit application is to be submitted by September 30, 2021. If pursuing this option, you must submit a Pre - Filing Meeting Request Form to DWR by August 31, 2021. The form may be completed electronically at this web address https://edocs.deq.nc.gov/Forms/DWR- Pre-Filing-Meeting-Request. b. Develop a corrective action plan (CAP) addressing the unauthorized activities. The CAP shall be submitted to DWR by September 30, 2021, and shall include those items listed in the Corps' July 23, 2021 Notification of Unauthorized Activity letter. 4. Copy DWR on any written or electronic correspondence with the Corps. 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. DocuSign Envelope ID: 6908E5EC-C674-4610-8BB7-527A5676EAA9 Istvan Paulik August 4, 2021 Page 3 of 3 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.Moore@ncdenr.gov. Sincerely, DocuSigned by: 7E617A38285848C... G. Landon Davidson, P.G, Regional Supervisor Water Quality Regional Operations Asheville Regional Office ec: David Brown — US Army Corps of Engineers Andrea Leslie — North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Jason Marino — Graham County DWR 401 & Buffer Permitting Unit file