20051501 Ver 1_Notice of Violation_20081030

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Michael F. Easley, Governor
William G. Ross Jr., Secretary
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Coleen H. Sullins, Director
Division of Water Quality
October 30, 2008
CERTIFIED MAIL #7007 0220 0000 8216 7749
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Mr. Eric A. Litvak
Castle Ventures LLC
611 Hughes Rd.
Hampstead, NC 28443
Subject: The Manor at Mill Creek
NOTICE OF VIOLATION
NOV-2008-PC-0747
401 Water Quality Certification Inspections DWQ # 2005-1501
Castle Ventures, LLC
Construction Stormwater Permit NCGO10000 & NCR001239
Pender County
Dear Mr. Litvak:
On October 27, 2008, Joanne Steenhuis and Jean Conway from the Wilmington Regional
Office of the Division of Water Quality (DWQ) met you while conducting a site
inspection for the tract/project known as The Manor at Mill Creek Subdivision, located
off of Overlook Drive in Hampstead, North Carolina. The site visit and file review
revealed that the subject project has an approved Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan
and is covered by Stormwater General Permit NCGO10000.
A Construction Stormwater General Permit (NCGO10000) is issued upon the approval of
an Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan. This permit applies to projects that receive a
Division of Land Resources (DLR) Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan for land
disturbance of 1 acre or greater. Specifically, the General Permit (NCGO10000)
authorizes the discharge of stormwater under the National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) in accordance with Title 15A North Carolina
Administrative Code 2H.0100.
In addition, this project was also inspected for compliance with the 401 Water Quality
Certification with Additional Conditions covered by certification numbers 3402 for the
construction of a residential subdivision known as Manor at Mill Creek (previously called
Springview Estates). However, there are conditions of your 401 Permit that need
verification at this time. The approval letter specifies that the activities must follow the
conditions listed in the General Water Quality Certifications. It was also noted that not
all of your permitted wetland impacts had been put in (Impacts # 1,3,5 and 6) and on
impact # 5 additional impacts to the stream and wetlands had occurred.
North Carolina Division of Water Quality 127 Cardinal Drive Extension Phone [phone] Customer Service 1 -877-623-6748
Wilmington Regional Office Wilmington, NC 28405-3845 FAX [phone] Internet: h2o.enr.state.nc.us
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Page 2 of 3
Mr. Eric A. Litvak
Castle Ventures LLC
Pender County
As a result of the site inspection and file review, the following violations, detailed
below, are noted:
1. NCG 010000 permit condition Violations
2. 401 Water Quality Certification conditions violations
Item 1. General Stormwater Permit NCGO10000 Condition Violations
Approved Plan (Part I, Section A: No. 2.)
During the inspection, a copy of the approved Erosion and Sediment Control Plan
was not observed on site or available for review.
Part I, Section A: No. 2 - Failing to Follow the Approved Plan
According to the Sedimentation Inspection Report from NC Division of Land
Quality dated July 30, 2008.
Part I, Section C: No. 2 - Failing to Maintain the Erosion Control Measures
According to the Sedimentation Inspection Report from NC Division of Land
Quality dated July 30, 2008.
Part 1 Section B (1) - Failing to Maintain a Rain Gauge Onsite
Rain gauge was not visible onsite during DWQ inspection October 27, 2008.
Part 1 Section B (1) - Failing to Record and Provide DWQ Rain Gauge Data
Rain gauge data was not visible or available onsite during DWQ inspection
October 27, 2008.
Part I. Section B. No. 3 -Minimum Monitoring and Record Keeping
It appeared that no written records are being kept. It also appears that visual
inspections have not been performed and corrective action has not been taken to
control the discharge of sediments during DWQ inspection October 27, 2008.
Item 2. 401 Water Ouality Certification conditions violations
Condition #16 of the General Certification 3402 states:
Deed notifications or similar mechanisms shall be placed on all lots with
remaining wetlands and waters or areas within 50 feet of all streams and ponds.
These mechanisms shall be put in place within 30 days of the date of issuance of
the 401 Certification letter or the issuance of the 404 Permit (whichever is later).
A sample deed notification format can be downloaded from the 401 /Wetlands Unit
website at http://enr.state.nc.us?ncwetlands. DWQ shall be sent copies of all deed
restrictions applied to these lots. As of the date of this letter, this Office has not
received a recorded copy of the deed notification.
Impacts to wetlands beyond what was originally proposed for the project area and
permitted on the 401 Water Quality Certification (issued on January 3, 2007) was
noted during DWQ inspection October 27, 2008. The stream segment below the
drainage easement (impact # 5) has sediment in approximately 20 linear feet
section due to the erosion of the drainage easement. The adjacent wetland also has
accumulated sediments and may have some 57 stone washed into it.
Page 3 of 3
Mr. Eric A. Litvak
Castle Ventures LLC
Pender County
This Office requests that you respond to this letter in writing within 30 days of receipt
of this Notice. Your response in writing should address the following items:
1. Send a copy of the recorded Deed notifications on all the remaining
wetlands on the subject property (please remember to omit the sections
for the proposed driveways), to the Wilmington Regional Office within 30
calendar days of receipt of this letter.
2. A description of your restoration plan that must include how you plan to
remove the fill material from the wetland and stream segment and how
you will keep additional impacts from occurring to the remaining
wetlands on site. It is recommended that you use hand labor (buckets,
shovels and wheelbarrows) to remove deposited sediment from the
wetlands and stream channel.
3. Your efforts to come in full compliance with the NPDES Stormwater
permit No NCG0100000 and maintain a rain gauge on site and keep
records of the rain fall in addition to maintaining written records of
inspections of all erosion control measures and stormwater discharges
once a week and after each 0.5 inches of rain in a 24 hour period.
In addition, please note that due to the expiration of your 404/401 permits, when
you want to fill the wetlands for the proposed driveways, you will have to resubmit a 404
application to the US Army Corps of Engineers and a 401 application to DWQ. You will
need a new permit prior to impacting the wetlands for these driveways.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. Please note, these violations and any
future violations are subject to civil penalty assessment of up to $25,000.00 per day for
each violation. This Office is considering sending a recommendation for enforcement to
the Director of the Division of Water Quality regarding these issues and any continued
violations that may be encountered. Your response to this correspondence will be
considered in this process. Should you have any questions regarding these matters,
please contact Jean Conway or Joanne Steenhuis at 910 -796-7215.
Si eiely,
Ed Beck
Regional Supervisor
Surface Water Protection Section
cc: John Hennessey - NPS-ACO Unit, Archdale Building
Cyndi Karoly - 401 Oversight/Express Review Permitting Unit
Ronnie Smith, USACE Wilmington
Luke Menius, Stroud Engineering
Land Quality Section WiRO, Trent James
DWQ Central Files
WiRO