NOTICE OF VIOLATION



 
 

Via Certified Mail# _______________ Via Certified Mail# _______________ To: John Vander Hoff Jonannes De Groot

Vreba-Hoff Dairy Development, L.L.C. Registered Agent 1290 N. Shoop Ave. De Groot Dairy, L.L.C.

Wauseon, OH 43567 8378 W. C. R. 200 S.

Andrews, IN 46702

Case No. 2002-11775-S and 2002-11860-S

Based on investigations by designated representatives of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) on April 18, 2002, July 23, 2002 and August 6, 2002, Vreba-Hoff Dairy Development, L.L.C. and De Groot Dairy, L.L.C., located at 8631 W. C. R. 200 S., in Andrews, Huntington County, Indiana (Site), were in violation of the following environmental statutes, rules and approval condition:

A. Pursuant to 327 IAC 2-1-6(a)(1), all waters at all times and at all places, including the mixing zone, shall meet the minimum conditions of being free from substances, materials, floating debris, oil, or scum attributable to municipal, industrial, agricultural, and other land use practices, or other discharges that will settle to form putrescent or otherwise objectionable deposits, that are in amounts sufficient to be unsightly or deleterious, that produce color, visible oil sheen, odor, or other conditions in such degree as to create a nuisance, which are in amounts sufficient to be acutely toxic to, or to otherwise severely injure or kill aquatic life, other animals, plants, or humans, and which are in concentrations or combinations that will cause or contribute to the growth of aquatic plants or algae to such a degree as to create a nuisance. Vreba-Hoff Dairy Development, L.L.C. and De Groot Dairy, L.L.C. caused and/or allowed the discharge of animal manure from the Site, on or about July 23, 2002, into an unnamed ditch, waters of the state, in an amount sufficient to be deleterious, in violation of 327 IAC 2-1-6(a)(1).
    1. Pursuant to 327 IAC 5-2-2, any discharge of pollutants into waters of the state as a point source discharge, except for exclusions made in 327 IAC 5-2-4, is prohibited unless in conformity with a valid NPDES permit obtained prior to the discharge. Vreba-Hoff Dairy Development, L.L.C. and De Groot Dairy, L.L.C. caused and/or allowed the discharge of animal manure, a pollutant, from the Site, on or about July 23, 2002, into an unnamed ditch, waters of the state, without a valid NPDES permit, in violation of 327 IAC 5-2-2.
    2. Pursuant to 327 IAC 2-6.1-7, any person who operates, controls or maintains any mode of transportation or facility from which a spill occurs shall, upon discovery of a reportable spill to the soil or surface waters of the state contain the spill, if possible, to prevent additional spilled material from entering the waters of the state; undertake or cause others to undertake activities needed to accomplish a spill response; and as soon as possible, but within two (2) hours of discovery, communicate a spill report to the Department of Environmental Management, Office of Environmental Response. A reportable spill of animal manure from the Site into an unnamed ditch, waters of the state, occurred on or about July 23, 2002, and was not properly contained and/or responded to and/or reported by Vreba-Hoff Dairy Development, L.L.C. and De Groot Dairy, L.L.C., in violation of 327 IAC 2-6.1-7.
    3. Pursuant to 327 IAC 16-3-1(a), a confined feeding operation shall be managed to avoid an unpermitted discharge into waters of the state. The confined feeding operation was not managed to avoid an unpermitted discharge into an unnamed ditch, waters of the state, as evidenced by the discharge of pollutants, in violation of 327 IAC 16-3-1(a).
    4. Pursuant to 327 IAC 16-3-1(c), a confined feeding operation shall immediately take all reasonable steps to prevent spills or the discharge of manure in violation of the approval or this article, including seepage and leakage. Vreba-Hoff Dairy Development, L.L.C. and De Groot Dairy, L.L.C. failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the spill or discharge of manure on or about July 23, 2002, from the Site, in violation of 327 IAC 16-3-1(c).
    5. Pursuant to 327 IAC 16-9-5, the following information must be added to the operating record in accordance with required time frames established in this article and IC 13-18-10, and must be maintained and updated in the operating record: all valid approvals, amendments and notifications relevant to the approvals, the current manure management plan and the current emergency spill response plan. During the above noted investigations, there was not an operating record at the Site, in violation of 327 IAC 16-9-5.
    6. Pursuant to 327 IAC 16-10-2(c), the following information must be added to the operating record as needed in accordance with required time frames established in this article and IC 13-18-10, and must be maintained and updated in the operating record: the type of manure applied, results of manure tests, soil tests for all manure application sites, the amount of manure applied, the of application method used, identification of locations and number of acres on which manure is applied, the dates on which the manure is applied, determination of the agronomic rates for potentially available nitrogen used to apply manure to each field. During the above noted investigations, there was not an operating record at the site, in violation of 327 IAC 16-10-2(c).
    7. Pursuant to Approval Condition one (1) of CFO approval # AW 5076 the confinement buildings and manure control facilities must be constructed and operated in accordance with conditions in the approval letter and the approved plans and specifications. The manure control facilities at the Site were not constructed in accordance with the plans and specifications submitted to IDEM on November 2, 2000 and approved by the agency on July 11, 2001.
    8. Pursuant to IC 13-30-2-1(1), a person may not discharge, emit, cause, allow, or threaten to discharge, emit, cause, or allow any contaminant or waste into the environment or any publicly owned treatment works in any form that causes or would cause pollution. Vreba-Hoff Dairy Development, L.L.C. and De Groot Dairy, L.L.C. caused and/or allowed the discharge of animal manure, a contaminant and/or waste, into the environment from the site on or about July 23, 2002, in violation of 327 IAC 2-1-6(a)(1), 327 IAC 5-2-2 and 327 IAC 2-6.1-7, rules adopted by the Indiana Water Pollution Control Board, and thus violated IC 13-30-2-1(1).
    9. Pursuant to IC 13-18-4-5, it is unlawful for any person to throw, run, drain, or otherwise dispose into any of the streams or waters of this state, or to cause, permit, or suffer to be thrown, run, drained, allowed to seep, or otherwise disposed into any waters, any organic or inorganic matter that causes or contributes to a polluted condition of any waters, as determined by a rule of the board adopted under Sections 1 and 3 of this chapter. Vreba-Hoff Dairy Development, L.L.C. and De Groot Dairy, L.L.C. caused and/or allowed the discharge of animal manure, an organic matter, from the Site on or about July 23, 2002, into an unnamed ditch, waters of the state, in violation of 327 IAC 2-6.1-7, 327 IAC 2-1-6(a)(1) and 327 IAC 5-2-2, rules adopted by the Water Pollution Control Board, and thus violated IC 13-18-4-5.
In accordance with IC 13-30-3-3, the Commissioner is required to notify an alleged violator in writing that a violation may exist and offer an opportunity to enter into an Agreed Order providing for the actions required to correct the violations and for the payment of a civil penalty. The Commissioner is not required to extend this offer for more than sixty (60) days.

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 sixty (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.

To discuss this matter further, please contact Craig Henry at 317-233-1136 within fifteen (15) days after receipt of this Notice to request a conference. If settlement is reached, an Agreed Order will be prepared and sent for review and signature.

For the Commissioner:
 
 

Date: _______________ Signed November 7, 2002

Felicia A. Robinson

Deputy Commissioner

for Legal Affairs
 
 

cc: Huntington County Health Dept.

Huntington County Public file, L file

www.ai.org/idem