20201223 - CONSENT AGREEMENT AND FINAL ORDER ISSUED, ASSESSING A TOTAL PENALTY OF $17,000. RESPONDENT SHALL MAKE PAYMENT WITH 30 DAYS.
ALLEGED VIOLATIONS
Respondent?s unauthorized activities impacted approximately 4.99 acres of forested wetlands adjacent to the Tallapoosa River, a Rivers and Harbors Act (RHA) section 10, 33 U.S.C. ? 403, traditional navigable water (TNW). On October 10, 2017, the EPA and US Army Corps of Engineers performed a Compliance Evaluation Inspection (CEI) to evaluate Respondent?s discharge of dredged/fill material at the Site to assess compliance with the CWA, and the regulations promulgated thereunder at 40 C.F.R. ? 232.
The earth moving machinery employed by the Respondent to deposit the dredged and/or fill material at the Discharge Area are ?point sources? as defined under the CWA ? 502(14), 33 U.S.C. ? 1362(14).
At no time during the discharge of dredged and/or fill material at the Discharge Area from June 2016 to present, did the Respondent possess a permit under Section 404 of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ? 1344, authorizing the activities performed by Respondent.
Each discharge by the Respondent of pollutants into navigable waters without the required permit issued under Section 404 of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ? 1344, is a violation of Section 301(a) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ? 1311(a). Each day the material discharged by the Respondent remains in waters of the United States without the required permit under Section 404 of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ? 1344