NOTICE OF VIOLATION
| Mr. Donato Diamente, President and
Registered Agent Donatello Development and Building Corp. 5780 S. 800 E. 92 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. 2002-11160-W & 2002-11480-W
Designated representatives of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) have conducted a record review of the Donatello Development and Building Corp., (Donatello), owner of the sanitary sewer construction project at Bel Sogno Subdivision, (the "Site"), and Utility Center, Inc., d/b/a AquaSource, (AquaSource) owner and operator of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and sanitary sewer collection system which services the Site. The Site is located at County Road 800 E. and 1/4 mile north of State Road 14, south of Dunfee, Whitley County, Indiana. AquaSource is located at 2200 West Cook Road, Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana. Based on the record review conducted on December 26, 2001, Donatello and AquaSource have violated 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 Donatello, 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 19, 2001, IDEM sent a notice of deficiency to Donatello, with a copy to AquaSource, for the construction permit application received by IDEM on July 9, 2001. IDEM required the deficiencies be addressed within 60 days of the date of the July 19, 2001 correspondence.
On October 15, 2001, IDEM sent a permit denial letter to Donatello, with a copy to AquaSource, for the construction permit application. The denial letter specified that the construction permit application was denied on the basis of incompleteness.
On November 2, 2001, IDEM received the resubmitted construction permit application from AquaSource, on behalf of Donatello, including the information for Donatello's sanitary sewer construction project that was deficient in the original construction permit application submitted to IDEM on July 9, 2001.
On December 10, 2001, IDEM approved the construction permit application for the Site, Approval No. 14950.
On December 26, 2001, Mr. Donato Diamente, President and Registered Agent of Donatello, told a representative of IDEM that construction started on or before June 2001.
On March 20, 2002, IDEM sent a letter to Donatello, with a copy to AquaSource, indicating that a permit could not be issued for the Site because construction started prior to the issuance of the construction permit. Cursory review of the "as built" plans indicated that the plans appeared to be acceptable.
Donatello 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 Donatello for the sanitary sewer construction at the Site. AquaSource caused or allowed the construction 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