820352_DV-2021-0111 Remission (Request)_20211110

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL
QUALITY
COUNTY OF SAMPSON
IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT
OF CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST
MARY J. ROBINSON
PERMIT NO. AWS820352
WAIVER OF RIGHT TO AN
ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING AND
STIPULATION OF FACTS
FILE NO. DV-2021-0111
Having been assessed civil penalties totaling $8,956.06 for violation(s) as set forth in the
assessment document of the Division of Water Resources dated September 29, 2021, the
undersigned, desiring to seek remission of the civil penalty, does hereby waive the right to an
administrative hearing in the above -stated matter and does stipulate that the facts are as alleged in
the assessment document. The undersigned further understands that all evidence presented in
support of remission of this civil penalty must be submitted to the Director of the Division of Water
Resources within thirty (30) days of receipt of the notice of assessment. No new evidence in
support of a remission request will be allowed after thirty (30) days from the receipt of the notice
of assessment.
This the -k- day of N V o v t �� , 2021
igna,
ADDRESS
TELEPHONE
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JUSTIFICATION FOR REMISSION REQUEST
Case Number: DV-2021-0111
Assessed Party: Mary J. Robinson
Permit No.: AWS820352
County: Sampson
Amount assessed: $8.956.06
Please use this form when requesting remission of this civil penalty. You must also complete the
"Request For Remission. Waiver ofRight to an Administrative Hearing, and Stipulation of Facts"
form to request remission of this civil penalty. You should attach any documents that you believe
support your request and are necessary for the Director to consider in determining your request for
remission. Please be aware that a request for remission is limited to consideration of the five
factors listed below as they may relate to the reasonableness of the amount of the civil penalty
assessed. Requesting remission is not the proper procedure for contesting whether the violation(s)
occurred or the accuracy of any of the factual statements contained in the civil penalty assessment
document. By law [NCGS 133-215.6A(f)] remission of a civil penalty may be granted when one
or more of the following five factors applies. Please check each factor that you believe applies to
your case and provide a detailed explanation, including copies of supporting documents, as to why
the factor applies (attach additional pages as needed).
(a) one or more of the civil penalty assessment factors in NCGS 143B-282.1fb) were
wrongfully applied to the detriment of the petitioner (the assessment factors are
included in the attached penalty matrix and/or listed in the civil penalty assessment
document);
the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting= from the
violation (i.e., explain the steps that you took to correct the violation and prevent
future occurrences);
(c) the violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident (Le., explain why the
violation was unavoidable or something you could not prevent or prepare for);
(d) the violator had not been assessed civilpenalties for any previous violations;
(e) payment of the civil_penalty will prevent payment for the remaining necessary
remedial actions (i.e., explain how payment of the civil penalty will prevent you
from performing the activities necessary to achieve compliance).
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(b)
EXPLANATION:
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Mary Jo Robinson
JDT Farming LLC
PO Box 965
Wallace NC, 28466
RECEIVED
NOV 10 2021
NC DEQ/DWF;
Central Office
In regard to the civil penalties that have been presented to me I am asking for a remission if at all
possible for the violations of our swine waste management system.
Violation 1: Failure to prevent discharge of waste to surface waters or wetlands.
Due to the high lagoon levels, caused by the extraordinarily high amounts of rainfall that we had in 2020
the waste discharge pipes going to the lagoon backed up into the hog house. The waste levels being
abnormally high caused waste to seep out of the foundation of the house and into the surface water
diversion behind the hog house and into a drainage ditch. My farm manager stated that he had seen
some water around the back of the house and assumed this was stagnant rainwater being we had just
had 5" rain a few days prior which pushed us to such critically high lagoon levels. Within 4 hours of DEQ
employees coming to the farm we had this issue alleviated. We spent approximately $2,000 hauling in
fill dirt, rock, a backhoe rental, and patching the foundation of the barns. This was a matter we took very
seriously and immediately fixed.
Violation 2: Failure to report to the Division Regional Office within 24 hours following first knowledge
of the failure of the waste management system resulting in discharge.
This was an oversite on our part. Initially as stated in your letter, my staff did not realize this was
wastewater. If we had known it, we would have immediately notified your office. Not filing the 5-day
written report was an oversite on my staff and technical specialist's part. We were so concerned with
the high lagoon levels and lining up waste hauling services that this was unintentionally neglected.
Violation 3: Failure to maintain a vegetative cover as specified in the facilities CAWMP on all land
application fields.
Due to the high rainfall amounts this winter we were not able to harvest our sorghum sudan grass in a
timely fashion. We originally intended on removing this crop in late September or Early October last
year but due to the rain we were unable to do this. We did remove the crop in March which was way
after our intended harvest date and we were unable to utilize it for our cows. We normally have a more
diverse cropping plan but the weather in 2020 kept us from doing this. We originally started by planting

corn and soybeans but a 7" rain in the 2"d-3`d week of May did away with both crops. That alone was a
$60,000 gross financial hit to our operation on top of the $11,000 we had spent on seed, fertilizer,
chemicals, and planting. In 2021 we had both crops planted in a timely manner and better utilized our
PAN.
Violation 4: Failure of the OIC or a person under his supervision to inspect the waste collection,
treatment, and storage structure to insure proper operation.
My staff will make certain to follow the permit requirements for checking all structures at least monthly
and after every 1" or greater rainfall event and to make sure that inspections are documented.
Violation 5: In no case shall land application result in excessive ponding or any runoff during any given
application event.
As mentioned early the tremendous rainfall we had in 2020 and early 2021 made it almost impossible to
manage our lagoons. I spent $130,000 hauling wastewater from our farm due to the continuous rainfall.
We utilized every opportunity and waking moment to pump and inadvertently we had ponding.
As of now we are better managing our lagoons. We are truly committed to managing our wastewater
responsibly. Up until this incident we had never had these sorts of issues and have in total spent more
than $230,000 hauling water since 2018 after Hurricane Florence.
All in all, rainfall in 2020 costs my operation more than $225,000. This $225,000 was part of my budget
for updating and getting my spray fields in better shape. We are extremely regretful that all this
happened, and by no means would we ever have done any of this intentionally, and considering how
much we spent dealing with the problems from 2020 we would greatly appreciate any remission of
fines.