NC0032867_PC20180004 Remission Request Ack_20180323

ROY COOPER
r,
Governor
MICHAEL S.REGAN
Secretary
Water Resources LINDA CULPEPPER
Environmental Quality Interim Director
March 23, 2018
Mr. Laeeq Khan, President
Maliks International, Inc.
400 Dixon School Rd
Kings Mountain,NC 28086
Subject: Remission Request of Civil Penalty Assessment
Kings Mountain Travel Plaza WWTP
NPDES Permit NC0032867
Case Number PC-2018-0004
Cleveland County
Dear Mr. Khan:
This letter is to acknowledge your request for remission of the civil penalty levied against the
subject facility. Your request will be scheduled for review by the Director and you will be
notified of the result.
If you have any questions about this matter,please contact me at(919) 807-6307 or via e-mail at
[e-mail].
Sincerely,
it;t1A-CitC;14.411/4--------
Derek C. Denard, Environmental Specialist
Compliance&Expedited P-iinitting Unit
Division of Water Resources
cc: Enforcement File w/originals
NPDES Program Files
Central Files w/attachments
Mooresville Regional Office w/attachments
State of North Carolina I Environmental Quality
1611 Mail Service Center I Raleigh,North Carolina 27699-1611
919-707-9000

1RECEIVED/NCDEN R/DWR
MAR 1 9 /018
WQROS
MOORESVILLE REGIONAL OFFICE
March 16,2018
Mr.W. Corey Basinger,Regional Supci.visor
Mooresville Regional Office
NC DEQ Division of Water Resources
610 East Center Avenue,Suite 301
Mooresville,NC 28115
Subject: Request for remission of civil penalty,Kings Mountain Travel Plaza,NPDES permit
NC0032867 Cleveland County
Dear Mr. Basinger:
This letter is to transmit our request for remission of the civil penalty. We request further discussion
on other issues that may arise and a consolidation of any deficiencies with this action in order to
resolve our status. Please find attached the following:
(1)Justification for Remission Request
(2) Waiver of Rights to an Administrative Hearing and Stipulation of Facts
' I look forward to contact with you and the resolution of this matter.
Sincerely,
(Lotic
Lacey Khan,President
Maliks International,Inc.
wrh
Cc. W.Ronald Haynes,PE

JUSTIFICATION FOR REMISSION REQUEST
DWR Case Number: PC-2018-0004 County: Cleveland
Assessed Party: Malik's International Inc.
Permit No.(if applicable): NC Amount Assessed: $3,209.77
32867
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 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 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. § 143B-282.1(c),
remission of a civil penalty may be granted only 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 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);
X (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);
X (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:
Malik's international was unaware of the condition of the wastewater treatment plant(WWTP)and the
disorganization that resulted from the unsatisfactory practices of the leasee operating the truck stop until September
Revived 8/2014

2017 when we made an extensive evaluation and terminated the contract with the leasee. We found that the leasee
was not managing the accounts payable well,the WWTP condition had detciiorated beyond our expectations and
that the previous operator had resigned. This was the first of two instances of the ORC resigning in the last months
of 2017 We were also confronted by the increased costs of opeiations rot the WWTP due to the need for
unexpected repait work,extra investigation,and additional time spent by the new operatois while the cash flow from
the truck stop was decreased due to the lack of attention of the leasee.
We weie forced to take time to restore the site's normal activities and completely reolganizc the stole employees in
order to continue in business while at the same time making the recommended repairs and changes to the WWTP.
Some progress was made in these areas although there were impacts on the company's liquidity and ability to
maintain inventory and meet sales demands. We were aware that the ORC at the time,Mi.Ron llaynes,was
considering taking a different role due to travel distance to our location but we did not think that the backup ORC
would also resign. The resignation of the backup ORC was not planned and unintended by Malik's and was in fact
an external act.
When confronted with the situation,we searched diligently for a replacement operator but-we were-ntrable—To Gnd�
one other than an organization from the Asheville area who we started to hire but were not sure that they could
handle the plant in transition. The negative aspects were travel distance and lack of experience with our situation.
We weie also aware that DEQ had the opinion that Dan Dougherty and Ron Haynes could best continue with the
changes and attention to operations that were needed as we had not finished some of the work that was started with
them. When we began to focus on making a decision about an ORC,we felt that it was best to attempt to negotiate
with Dougherty and Haynes to continue. We felt dismay that it took so long to get Dougherty and Haynes back in
an active role but were hampered by something of a lack of communication.
The unfortunate circumstances of insufficient cash flow and detrimental effects of the prior leasee who cotrupted
our standing with the certified wastewater operators made it too difficult to complete the needed negotiations to
obtain a satisfactory operator within the time frame allowed. 1 he delay in bringing in qualified persons to continue
the operations was unavoidable because the time allowed was not sufficient to meet expectations given the
complexity of out pat ticular situation
Our extra expenses associated with the necessary changes and repairs ate approximately four times the fixed costs
we had with the previous operator under the leasee's overall management. Our budget for the WWTP was exceeded
for 2017 and there was no leaf decrease in our total planned costs as a result of the several weeks while we did not
have a certified ORC. The fixed costs in treatment of ow wastewater are so high that they detrimentally affect our
competitive position. We are exploring other options with the City of Kings Mountain for wastewater treatment and
may soon have new alternatives
We ask for remission of$2,250 of the penalty for the inadvertent loss of the ORC for December 2017 We further
ask for a remission of the expenses of DEQ staff for investigation of the incident. We point out that some of the
extia time spent by the staff was to evaluate new information uhcbvered by Haynes and Dougherty as they located
equipment and discoveied missing operational details The time spent by staff to determine that a letter of intent
was not filed was a regular activity
We believe that the detailed attention over the past six months to the WWTP will result in better operations until
other beneficial changes may occur.
Rei i t& 8/2014

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
COUNTY OF CLEVELAND
IN THE MATTER OF ASSESSMENT ) WAIVER OF RIGHT TO AN
OF CIVIL PENALTIES AGAINST ) ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING AND
) STIPULATION OF FACTS
Malik's International,Inc. )
Kings Mountain Travel Plaza WWTP )
)
PERMIT NO.NC0032867 ) CASE NO. PC-2018-0004
Having been assessed civil penalties totaling$3,209.77 for violation(s)as set forth in the assessment
document of the Division of Water Resources dated February 16,2018,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.
This the \ C day of M AC--C_.k- ,20 fq
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SIGNATURE
ADDRESS
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TELEPHONE
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