NCS000447_Landis MS4 Permit Enforcement_20220516

From:Powell, Jeanette
To:"Diane Seaford"
Cc:Joe Halyburton; Chris Ritchie; Terry Benfield
Subject:RE: [External] RE: NCS000447: Landis MS4 Permit Compliance & Enforcement
Date:Monday, May 16, 2022 7:31:00 AM
Importance:High
Hi Diane,

Thank you for the status update. In order to put the Town in the best position under the
circumstances, I suggest the following course of action:

1. Submit the 2 page permit renewal application form and a signed statement that there is no
Stormwater Management Plan (SWMP) at this time, and submit both documents via email by
close of business this Wednesday (05/18/22). This will alleviate the failure to reapply and
operating without a permit issues, which are also enforceable by EPA as federal violations.

2. Submit a signed letter outlining the Town’s plan to develop and submit a self-audit and Draft
SWMP, and include a specific submittal deadline that the Town can meet. This will help
alleviate the “willful non-compliance” component of the enforcement proceedings and
penalty assessment.

These two actions will not take long to execute and will greatly improve the Town’s position. Please
let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Regards,
J
Jeanette Powell
MS4 Program Coordinator
919-707-3620
[e-mail]

North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
Division of Energy, Mineral & Land Resources Stormwater Program
512 N. Salisbury Street, 6th Floor
1612 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1612

Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be
disclosed to third parties.

https://deq.nc.gov/sw

From: Diane Seaford <[e-mail]>
Sent: Friday, May 13, 2022 4:09 PM
To: Powell, Jeanette <[e-mail]>
Cc: Joe Halyburton <[e-mail]>; Chris Ritchie <[e-mail]>; Terry
Benfield <[e-mail]>
Subject: [External] RE: NCS000447: Landis MS4 Permit Compliance & Enforcement

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Good afternoon Ms. Powell,

Thank you for your call and this email. As I mentioned in my voicemail, I just found out about these
issues last week. Our staff and contracted engineers have been working over the last week to
develop a game plan to bring us in compliance. I should be able to provide an update by end of day
next Wednesday. As I also mentioned in my voicemail, the Town of Landis is coming out of a time of
significant mismanagement and embezzlement. These activities came to a head in 2019. Our
administration is completely new and trying to correct past actions and move forward in the correct
manner. We have a new Public Works Director that started in November of 2021. He along with our
outside engineers are working to get our stormwater program back on the right track. I ask for your
patience as we do that.

My current plan is to have an engineering firm complete the MS4 application before the end of June,
2022. We will work to complete the Self-Audit that was due in 2020 over the next 30 days. The Draft
Stormwater Management Plan is very detailed and extensive. That will be a top priority for our team.
However, I do not know if it can be completed in 30 days. I can commit to giving you a detailed plan
of action with an anticipated completion date in the next 2 weeks.

Please know that we are committed to making this right. I’ll be back in touch next week with an
update. If you would like to talk directly, please send an invite for anytime Mon – Thurs. of next
week and I will make it work. You are also welcome to call my cell phone. That will be the easiest
way to reach me.

Thank you,
Diane

Diane Seaford
Town Manager – Town of Landis
704-857-2411 – office
704-785-1014 – cell phone

From: Powell, Jeanette <[e-mail]>
Sent: Friday, May 13, 2022 2:19 PM
To: Diane Seaford <[e-mail]>
Subject: NCS000447: Landis MS4 Permit Compliance & Enforcement
Importance: High

H Diane,
This is a follow up to the voice mail that I left for you today. DEQ is in the process of preparing the
list of MS4s subject to enforcement and penalties. In order to avoid taking enforcement action, I am
reaching out one last time to try and obtain the necessary documents from the Town of Landis:
1. The MS4 Permit Renewal Application form and Stormwater Management Plan (SWMP) were
due on August 23, 2021 and the permit has expired. For the permit renewal application, you
may submit any SWMP currently in use or a statement that there is no SWMP. An electronic
copy of both documents should be emailed to me ASAP, and an original “wet” signature
application form should be mailed to the address below. Failure to submit a permit renewal
application package immediately will result in a Notice of Violation and issuance of penalties
for failure to reapply and operating without a permit.

2. Landis was issued a Notice of Recommendation for Enforcement on 01/08/21 for failure to
comply with the conditions of Notice of Violation # NOV-2019-PC-0744. This NOV resulted
from a permit compliance audit, which found the Town’s stormwater program to be
significantly deficient. The Town Council passed a Resolution regarding permit compliance on
12/09/2019. Per the NOV, the required Draft Stormwater Management Plan (prepared in the
mandatory template format) and the required Self-Audit were due on 07/27/2020. Failure to
submit these two documents within thirty (30) days will result in penalty assessments, which
will include cumulative daily penalties for each of the two violations starting on 07/27/2020
through the date that the submittals are received by DEQ.
You can access the Town’s complete permit file via the Stormwater Program Laserfiche Repository.
Please contact me immediately if you have any questions. I am best reached via email.
Regards,
J
Jeanette Powell
MS4 Program Coordinator
919-707-3620
[e-mail]

North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
Division of Energy, Mineral & Land Resources Stormwater Program
512 N. Salisbury Street, 6th Floor
1612 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1612

Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be
disclosed to third parties.

https://deq.nc.gov/sw