NC0068705_Remission (Request)_20231109

November 9, 2023
Wastewater Branch
Division of Water Resources
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1617
Subject: Remission of Case No. LV-2023-0275
July 2023 in the amount of $845.53
Dear Director of the Division of Water Resources,
This letter is in response to a notice of violation and assessment of civil penalty in regard to the Mariners
Watch Homeowners Association wastewater treatment plant. The Homeowners Association is
requesting remission of the civil assessment on the basis that the payment of the civil penalty will
prevent payment for the remaining necessary remedial actions. We have recently been assessed civil
penalties for violations which we have requested remission and await your response.
With regards to the basis that the payment of the civil penalty will prevent payment for the remaining
necessary remedial actions, our costs dramatically increased for operation of the wastewater treatment
plant in September 2021. Our previous operator abandoned our plant without proper written
notification. We searched for a new operator and retained our current operator at the cost of 2.5 times
the amount we paid our previous operator. We have been able to maintain numbers within discharge
limitations for several months without issue. We instigated construction of city sewer with the city of
Charlotte approximately 17 months ago. We currently wait what should hopefully be our last approval
by the NCDEQ. Once the city reaches a certain point in construction, every member of our Homeowners
Association will join the sewer line and pay the high cost to do so. This does not include the additional
cost that each household will incur to connect the septic pumps and pipes on our property to the city
sewer line. We are doing our best to be compliant while facing exorbitant price increases and high cost
of connection to the city of Charlotte sewer lines. Once Charlotte Water has approval from NCDEQ, the
city of Charlotte will bid out our project then begin construction of the sewer lines. Any assistance with
expediting approval from NCDEQ would be appreciated and would rid us of the WWTP.
We have had several meaningful conversations with our plant operator in regard to getting our
wastewater treatment plant into compliance. Our previous operator had zero months of non-
compliance resulting in zero fines. Our current operator initially had challenges in getting our plant
compliant even with only four out of five households in our community living here full-time. Our current
operator has reached out to the manufacturer of our plants operating panel for assistance and has
made what they believe to be the correct adjustments to get our plant into compliance. This includes
changing our pump settings in our tanks. We have a long history of state compliance with our operating
plant. Our operator had gotten the plant in compliance but it appears they are non -compliant for July
and August of this year. We are diligently working with them to correct these issues.

We request remission of this assessment and would appreciate assistance in the form of a meeting with
personnel from the division of water resources. We would like to meet with the personnel from the
division of water resources, along with our operator, and members of our five person Homeowners
Association. Given the high cost of the plant operation and the high cost of joining the Charlotte sewer
system, we request remission of this assessment. Any assistance from your department in pushing along
the Charlotte sewer system to our Homeowners Association and community would be greatly
appreciated. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Dwayne Reed
President — Mariners Watch Homeowners Association
Cc: Wes Bell — NCDEQ (email)
Brandon Long —Tri-County Wastewater (email)

JUSTIFICATION FOR REMISSION REQUEST
Case Number: LV-2023-0275 County: Mecklenburg
Assessed Party: Mariners Watch Homeowners Association
Permit No.: NCO068705 Amount Assessed: $845.53
Please use this form when requesting remission of this civil penalty. You must also complete the 'Request For Remission,
Waiver of Right to an Administrative Nearing, 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
evaluating 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. Pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 14313-282. 1 (c), remission of civil
penalty may be granted only when one or more of the following five factors apply. 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 N.C.G.S. 14313-282.1(b) were wrongfully applied to the
detriment of the petitioner (the assessment factors are listed in the civil penalty assessment document);
(b) 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 (i.e., explain why the violation was unavoidable or
something you could not prevent or prepare for);
(d) the violator had not been assessed civil penalties 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).
EXPLANATION:

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
COUNTY OF MECKLENBURG
IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT ) WAIVER OF RIGHT TO AN
OF CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST ) ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING AND
STIPULATION OF FACTS
Mariners Watch Homeowners Association )
Mariners Watch WWTP 1
PERMIT NO. NCO068705 } CASE NO. L,V-2023-0275
Having been assessed civil penalties totaling $84S.S3 for violation(s) as set forth in the assessment document of the Division
of Water Resources dated October 16 2023, 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 (30) days from the receipt of the
notice of assessment. ' , l
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