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Home My WebLink AboutBB Response to DEQ Issued NOV_SIGNED.pdfJuly 1, 2024 NCDEQ, Division of Water Resources Attn: Ms. Amy Chapman 1617 MSC Raleigh, INC 27699-1617 NCDWR Project No. 20201194 Tip No. U-5713 R-5777AB Location U.S. 70 from the eastern one (1) mile east of S.R. County Craven County the Subject: Notice of Violation NOV-2024-PC-0386 Dear Ms. Chapman, Balfour Beatty US-70 James City 3314 Jaeckle Drive, Unit 140 Wilmington NC 28403 910-452-1145 k-nixon@,balfourbeattN-Lls.com Sent via US Mail & E-mail approach of the Neuse River Bridge to approximately 1116 (Thurman Road) Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, Inc. (BBII) is in receipt of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) letter dated June 13, 2024 for unauthorized fill in a jurisdictional stream at the above referenced project. BBII has conducted a thorough investigation and offers the following information in response to the letter with details organized under the same headings as the NOV letter: HOW THE VIOLATION OCCURRED As part of constructing Culvert #5 (Site 18) near 16+50RT Y22RPC, BBII provided excavation and installation of a slide rail shoring system in support of subcontractor, Mountain Creek (MC). Mountain Creek's scope is to form, reinforce, and pour cast -in -place box culverts at various locations on the project. MC mobilized on Monday 6/3/24 and on Tuesday 6/4/24 during a routine agency review with BBII personnel it was determined that there had been impacts to the stream channel outside of the area permitted for the construction of Culvert #5. Both BBII and MC had a heavy equipment operator utilizing a large excavator in the bottom of the excavation removing earth and placing it on the slope above them. The BBII scope of work was completed and the area was handed off to MC to begin work constructing the base slab and walls of the permanent culvert on 6/3/24. Although BBII performed most of the excavation scope, MC mobilized an excavator to handle formwork and concrete and to perform minimal excavation as their work progressed. It is believed that due to the limited visibility of the operator from his vantage point that it was not apparent that the angle of www.baIfourbeattyus.com Balfour Beatty repose from the stockpile caused the material to overtop the silt fence and go beyond acceptable boundaries. WHY THE VIOLATION WAS NOT REPORTED WITHIN 24 HOURS Initially during discussions on -site during the agency review one of the BBII team members had stated that the material loss may have potentially occurred on May 30th because that was when BBII had an excavator reworking the slope in the area. However, that has been ruled out through the investigation. There were BBII superintendents and inspection staff on site at that time who verified that stockpiled material was removed from the area at that time to help with access. The initial statement about the violation potentially taking place on the 30"' was not intended to mislead but was simply caused by confusion regarding the timeline at a stressful point in the discussion with the agencies. BBII superintendent Jake Gainey arrived early for night shift operations on the evening of June 2nd and stopped to inspect the culvert #5 location prior to going to work. At that time there was no material in the JS. BBII erosion control supervisor Tony Mitchell performed his weekly erosion control inspection on Monday June 3'd and did not notice any issues at the culvert site. Sometime between noon on Monday and noon on Tuesday during the agency review, the excavator operator deposited material on the stockpile that overtopped the silt fence and impacted the jurisditional stream. Due to the tight work area and limited visibility from the excavation it was not known at the time that the material had overtopped the silt fence and gone beyond acceptable boundaries. Please refer to Attachment A for an aerial view of the Culvert #5 location taken on 6/17/24. BBII found the JS had been impacted when reviewing the site with the agencies on 6/4/24. Although it is impossible to know the exact time that the impact took place it is reasonable to believe it happened sometime from late Monday afternoon to midday on Tuesday. Immediately upon discovery of the issue BBII took action to recover material and repair the area. ACTIONS NECESSARY TO REMEDIATE AND PREVENT IN THE FUTURE After the loss was found during the Agency Review, BBII immediately mobilized crews to address the loss of material beyond the silt fence into the JS. The fact that the stream was dry did certainly aid in quick recovery and the material was removed from the JS within hours. The team worked late that day and had the rest of the area cleaned up just after nightfall with seeding and mulching ongoing throughout the next day. To make sure that a similar issue doesn't happen again BBII held a stand -down with every worker on the project to discuss the incident and review procedures, protocol, and discuss Page 2 of 4 Balfour Beatty personal accountability. Subcontractors were also briefed in the same fashion. In the future a spotter will be used when visibility is limited for operators working adjacent to environmentally sensitive areas and BBII will intensify efforts to closely monitor subcontractor work. The attached aerial photograph with plan overlay (Attachment A) shows the culvert 5 work area. The area highlighted in fluorescent green is where the impact took place. The purple circle represents the approximate stockpile location. We apologize for the oversight that caused the impact and recognize that we are only as good as the weakest link within the organization. I assure you that this was an isolated incident and does not speak to the BBII culture regarding environmental stewardship or compliance. The team will continue to look for ways to improve our operations regarding environmental compliance and we welcome input from DEQ and NCDOT regarding our path forward. This lesson is being shared throughout our operations in the Southeast as a teaching moment for a lesson learned the hard way. We ask for DEQ to please review the information provided in this response and consider rescinding the notice of violation considering the following factors: • New information providing an adjusted timeline for reporting within the 24 hours period • The team's quick response and remediation of impacts. • The fact that this was an isolated event caused by a single heavy equipment operator • BBII's self -directed mandatory stand -down and retraining of staff and subcontractors • The project team's environmental record on the site to date • BBII's culture related to environmental awareness and performance within the state resulting in no NOVs issued in more than two decades. In summary, BBII reiterates a commitment to Zero Harm not only to the safety of our workers and the community but also Zero Harm to the environment as we continue to deliver infrastructure improvements in the communities where we work and live. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 910-452-1145. Sincerely, Jay Vice President of Operations Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, Inc. Pige 3 of 4 Attachments: Attachment A EC Jeremy Stroud, PE R. Cadmus Capehart, PE Jordan Scott Wendi Johnson, PE Mark Johnnie Josh Sommer, PE Keith Nixon Project Files Balfour Beatty -- -AIL)DI I ION I F AC .- - - � = FC�R CONST. PHASINC� _ Q 0.001 AC �I v U7— — 00 mor 01 F n u I low.,7. a -r A 1 --46 -T ch i72 CN CN F r A -Ln 4 HW - c g� ��880o po a • SITE 118 4 - r � lu plu h J . . x a- 4. t ' q�,ilJilf —w� 1 l_-TrA k kzr! in n A n S . 2 ITOE3,XRI PRA,P -- /�