NOTICE OF VIOLATION
| Mr. Jeffrey A. Gilmore, President
and
Registered Agent St. Joe Development Corp 7505 Westfield Drive Fort Wayne, Indiana 46818 |
Mr. Frank A. Hoffman, President
Utility Center, Inc. d/b/a AquaSource Cherrington Corporate Center 200 Corporate Center Drive Suite 300 Coraopolis, Pennsylvania 15108 |
CT Corporation, Registered Agent
Utility Center, Inc. d/b/a AquaSource 1 N. Capitol Avenue Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 |
Case Nos. 2002-11157-W & 2002-11485-W
Designated representatives of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) have conducted a record review of St. Joe Development Corp, ("St. Joe"), Case No. 2002-11157-W, which owns the sanitary sewer construction project at Jonathan's Landing Subdivision, Section III, (the "Site"), and Utility Center, Inc., d/b/a AquaSource ("AquaSource"), Case No. 2002-11485-W, which owns and operates the semipublic wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and collection system, which services the Site. The Site is located at Covington and West County Roads. AquaSource is located at 2200 West Cook Road. Both the WWTP and the sanitary sewer construction project are located in Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana. St. Joe and AquaSource have been found in violation the following environmental rules:
Pursuant to 327 IAC 3-2-2(d), construction shall not commence until all necessary state approvals and permits are obtained.
On July 9, 2001, AquaSource on behalf of St. Joe submitted a construction permit application, including plans and specifications, to IDEM for review and approval of the Site's sanitary sewer system project to connect to AquaSource's WWTP.
On July 20, 2001, IDEM sent a notice of deficiency to St. Joe, with a copy to AquaSource, for the construction permit application. The notice specified that certain items were needed to complete the application and advised that the deficiencies needed to be addressed within 60 days of the date of the July 20, 2001 correspondence or the application would be denied on the basis of incompleteness.
On August 20, 2001, IDEM received a request from AquaSource for a waiver of the sewer connection ban, which was then in effect on AquaSource's Bittersweet lift station. The request contained a list of 10 development projects that would contribute wastewater flow through the Bittersweet lift station to AquaSource's WWTP. Included in the sewer ban waiver request was St. Joe's sewer project for the Site.
On August 22, 2001, IDEM sent a sewer ban waiver to AquaSource to allow construction of sanitary sewers of 10 development projects, including the Site, that would contribute wastewater flow to the Bittersweet lift station and AquaSource's WWTP.
On October 15, 2001, IDEM issued a denial of permit application letter to St. Joe, with a copy to AquaSource, for the reason that the application was incomplete.
On November 15, 2001, IDEM received the resubmitted construction permit application and the information for St. Joe's sanitary sewer construction project that was deficient in the original construction permit application submitted to IDEM on July 9, 2001. The information included a "Certification of Registered Professional Engineer or Land Surveyor Letter" signed by Richard Slayback, Professional Engineer representing St. Joe, dated November 14, 2001, and a "Capacity Certification/Allocation Letter" signed by William Etzler, General Manager of AquaSource, dated November 4, 2001.
On December 14, 2001, IDEM issued the sanitary sewer construction permit for the Site, Approval No. 14963.
On January 8, 2002, Jeffrey Gilmore, President and Registered Agent for St. Joe told a representative of IDEM that the construction for the sewer project began on or before February 2001.
St. Joe commenced construction of the sanitary sewer project for the Site prior to obtaining a valid construction permit, in violation of 327 IAC 3-2-1 and 327 IAC 3-2-2(d).
AquaSource was aware that the construction began and was completed prior
to IDEM issuing a valid construction permit to St. Joe for the sanitary
sewer construction at the Site. AquaSource caused or allowed the construction/installation
of a sanitary sewer, without a valid construction permit issued by the
commissioner, in violation of 327 IAC 3-2-1 and 327 IAC 3-2-2(d).
Entering into an Agreed Order will prevent the issuance of a Notice and Order of the Commissioner under IC 13-30-3-4, or the filing of a civil court action under IC 13-14-2-6. IDEM encourages settlement by Agreed Order, thereby saving time and resources. Timely settlement by Agreed Order may result in a reduced civil penalty. Settlement discussions will also allow the opportunity to present any mitigating factors that may be relevant to the violations. In addition, as provided in IC 13-30-3-3, an alleged violator may enter into an Agreed Order without admitting that the violation occurred.
If settlement is not reached within 60 days of receipt of this Notice of Violation, the Commissioner may issue a Notice and Order containing the actions that must be taken to achieve compliance, the required time frames, and an appropriate civil penalty. Pursuant to IC 13-30-4-1, the Commissioner may assess penalties of up to $25,000 per day for each violation.
Please contact Ms. Aletha Lenahan, Enforcement Case Manager, at (317)
232-8407 within 15 days after receipt of this Notice regarding your intent
to settle this matter.
For the Commissioner:
Date: August 22, 2002
Felicia A. Robinson
Deputy Commissioner
for Legal Affairs