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Home My WebLink About20201445 Ver 1_NOV-2022-SS-0006_20220405DocuSign Envelope ID: DA907374-3222-40E0-84AE-BC9F59125C3C ROY COOPER Governor ELIZABETH S. BISER Secretary RICHARD E. ROGERS, JR. Director April 5, 2022 NORTH CAROLINA Environmental Quality CERTIFIED MAIL 7021 2720 0000 1259 4125 RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED Torino Ltd. Attn: Edward McCammon 110 Edney Street Hendersonville, NC 28792 Subject: NOTICE OF VIOLATION and RECOMMENDATION FOR ENFORCEMENT Agriculture Vertical Farm (DWR #20201445) NOV-2022-SS-0006 Stream Standard Violation —Turbidity 401 Water Quality Certification (WQC) Conditions Henderson County Required Response Date: May 4, 2022 Dear Mr. McCammon: On March 31, 2022, Andrew Moore from the Asheville Regional Office of the Division of Water Resources (DWR) conducted a site inspection of your property located at 58 Pot Shoals Road in Saluda, North Carolina (Parcel Identification Number 9586607295). The inspection was conducted in response to reports of turbidity in the Green River as a result of land disturbance on your property. You were present during the inspection. During the site inspection, turbid stormwater originating from disturbed areas on the property was observed to be entering an unnamed tributary (UT) to the Green River (Classified C; Trout). Water samples were collected from the tributary above and below the stormwater discharge point. The water samples were analyzed for turbidity. As a result of the site inspection, file review, and laboratory analysis of water samples the following violations were identified: VIOLATIONS I. Stream Standard Violation - Turbidity 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 NORTH CAROLINgD_ E ow..lm.m or Environmental ou.i� 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: DA907374-3222-40E0-84AE-BC9F59125C3C Torino, Ltd. April 5, 2022 Page 2 of 3 existing turbidity level shall not be increased." The water sample results for turbidity were as follows: Above stormwater discharge: 90 NTU Below stormwater discharge: 700 NTU II. 401 Water Quality Certification (WQC) Conditions —A Pre -Construction Notification (PCN) was submitted on December 24, 2020 per Required Response #3 of a Notice of Violation issued by DWR on August 25, 2020 (NOV-2020-CV-0009). The PCN requested after -the -fact approval of 58 linear feet of stream impact under a non -notifying U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit 14, and the corresponding General Water Quality Certification. DWR issued an after -the - fact approval letter for the impacts on January 7, 2021. The approval letter specifies that the activities must follow the conditions listed in the General Water Quality Certification, as well as additional conditions listed in the letter. Accordingly, the following observations and/or permit condition violations were noted during the DWR inspection and file review: Additional Condition 4; General Certification Number 4135, Conditions 11.5 and 11.25. REQUIRED RESPONSE Accordingly, you are directed to respond to this letter in writing by May 4, 2022. Your response should be sent to this office at the footer address or via email to Andrew.W.Moore@ncdenr.gov and include the following: 1. The project must incorporate Best Management Practices (BMPs) for the control of sediment and erosion so that no violations of state water quality standards occur. Design, installation, operation, and maintenance of all sediment and erosion control measures shall be equal to or exceed the requirements specified in the most recent version of the North Carolina Erosion and Sediment Control Planning and Design Manual. Please describe the erosion control BMPs that will be installed and any other actions taken to address the turbid stormwater discharge. 2. DWR understands that significant additional grading is planned on the project site. Please describe the sequence of construction and measures that will be implemented to control turbidity during future grading phases. 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 violation(s) will be considered in any civil penalty assessment process that may occur. DocuSign Envelope ID: DA907374-3222-40E0-84AE-BC9F59125C3C Torino, Ltd. April 5, 2022 Page 3 of 3 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 — USACE Andrea Leslie — WRC Natalie Berry — Henderson County Deb Johnston — Henderson County DWR 401 & Buffer Permitting Unit file