820695_Remission (Request)_20231213

GREENWOOD LIVESTOCK, LLC
POST OFFICE BOX 2107 RECEIVED
ELIZABETHTOWN, NC 28337
December 6,2023 DEC 13 2023
Mr. Michael Pjetraj NC DEQ/DWRCentral Office
Mr.Miressa D. Garoma
Animal Feeding Operations Program
North Carolina Division of Water Resources
1636 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1636
Dear Mr. Pjetraj and Mr.Garoma,
In response to your Assessment of Civil Penalties for Violations (PC-2023-0029) of November 9, 2023, for
Greenwood Livestock, LLC,Nurseries(82-695) 1 submit the following:
1.Waiver of Right to an Administrative Hearing and Stipulation of Facts:
2.Justification of Remission Request:
This Justification of Remission Request is based on the following:
2.a. the civil penalty assessment factors were applied to the detriment of the petitioner. I feel the penalty for
the non-compliant lagoon level violation (V.2) is excessive due to the fact that the lagoon was well below the
structural level of the lagoon and that all the other lagoons on the farm had ample storage capacity for this lagoon.
This was an inadvertent error because the automatic transfer switch was not functioning properly and the farm worker
did not immediately transfer the waste manually.
2.b violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting from the violation: There was no
environmental damage as there was no release of waste to the environment. I saw the level on July 11t' and
assumed farm workers would transfer waste from lagoon 1 to lagoon 6, which is the way the farm is designed to
operate.To further complicate issues,waste from house 6 flows to the lagoon for house 1 and is then pumped to the
lagoon at house 6 which handles all waste from the farm to also include lagoons 2-5.At the time of the inspection, all
other lagoons were well within compliance and lagoon 6 was at 69". Our corrective action was to transfer the waste
from lagoon 1 to lagoon 6 on July 13. The lagoon levels have all been in compliance since the inspection. The
automatic transfer float has been replaced as well.
2.c the violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident. This was an inadvertent violation in that I assumed
the transfer would be made within the 24-hour notification period. I was not aware at the time that the automatic
transfer pump was not functioning properly. I also assumed they knew to not transfer waste from house 6 until they
had transferred waste from lagoon 1 to lagoon 6. In the future I will make certain to notify the Fayetteville Regional
office if any lagoons become non-compliant. I have trained staff to notify me immediately and to begin waste transfer
at first knowledge of non-compliant levels.A communication breakdown occurred and that will not happen again.
2.d the violator has been assessed civil penalties for any previous violations. This farm has never had a
violation since we have owned it.
The lagoon level during this incident was not an environmental hazard and I hope that there can be remission of the
fine associated with this incident. I would be happy to discuss this incident further and can be contacted at 910-385-
5617.
"tw cerely,
David Mixon
General Manager

JUSTIFICATION FOR REMISSION REQUEST RECEIVED
DEC 13 2023
Case Number: PC-2023-0029 County: Samson
Assessed Party: Greenwood Livestock.LLC NC DEQ!®We
Central Office
Permit No.: AWS820695 Amount assessed: $1,728.42
Please use this form when requesting remission of this civil penalty. You must also complete the
"Request For Remission Waiver ol-Right 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-2821(b) were
T wrongfully gpplied 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);
(b) the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resultin,,2, 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);
A the violator had not been assessed civil penalties for any previous violations;
T (e) payment of the civil penalty will prevent payment for the remaining necessai-y
remedial actions (i.e., explain how payment of the civil penalty will prevent you
from performing the activities necessary to achieve compliance).
EXPLANATION:

DEC 13 2023
NC DEQ/DWR
Central Office
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL
QUALITY
COUNTY OF SAMPSON
IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT ) WAIVER OF RIGHT TO AN
OF CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST ) ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING AND
STIPULATION OF FACTS
GREENWOOD LIVESTOCK,LLC )
)
PERMIT NO. AWS820695 ) FILE NO. PC-2023-0029
Having been assessed civil penalties totaling $1,728.42 for violation(s) as set forth in the
assessment document of the Division of Water Resources dated November 9, 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 thirty(30) days from the receipt of the notice
of assessment.
This the �9 day of , 2023
Signature
ADDRESS
a-P ESQ 113-a Shaw r� •
TELEPHONE