EPA v. HANCOCK COUNTY LAND ACQUISITIONS, LLC, HANCOCK COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI

Case summary

OCTOBER 6, 2021 - ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLIANCE ORDER ON CONSENT ISSUED: For the purposes of this proceeding and AOC, Hancock County Land Acquisitions, LLC, (Respondent), admits the jurisdictional allegations set out below and neither admits nor denies the factual allegations or dete1minations of law regarding alleged violations of the CWA as set out below. The EPA asserts that the following facts are true and substantiated: This AOC pertains to the discharge of dredged and/or fill material into jurisdictional wetlands and waters of the United States, including approximately 1.58 acres of forested wetlands (Discharge Area), located southwest of Highway 607, in Hancock County, MS On or after June 15, 2016, Respondent was the owner and/or operator of the Site, which contains the Discharge Area.The unauthorized activities impacted approximately 1.58 acres of forested wetlands. The wetlands on the Site are part of a contiguous wetland system and are hydrologically connected to Turtleskin Creek, a relatively permanent water. Turtleskin Creek flows into Mikes River, and then into the Pearl River, a navigable water of the United States. The discharged dredged and/or fill material, including earthen material deposited at the Discharge Area, are pollutants as defined under Section 502(6) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C.? 1362(6). The earth-moving machinery employed by the WMAH to deposit the dredged and/or fill material at the Discharge Area are point sources as defined in Section 502(14) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ? 1362(14). A discharge of a pollutant as defined in Section 502(12)(A) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ? 1362(12)(A), is any addition of any pollutant to navigable waters from any point source.WMAH' s placement of the dredged and/or fill material into the Discharge Area constitutes a discharge of pollutants as defined in Section 502(12) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ? 1362(12). At no time during the discharge of dredged and/or fill material into the Discharge Area from 2015 to the present did Respondent or WMAH possess a valid permit underSection 404 of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ? 1344, authorizing the discharge of such dredged and/or fill material at Respondent's property. Each discharge by the Respondent or WMAH 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. ? 131 l(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, constitutes a day of violation of Section 301 of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ? 1311.Therefore, Respondent has violated Section 301 of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ? 1311, by discharging pollutants into navigable waters without a permit.

Defendants (1)

• HANCOCK COUNTY LAND ACQUISITIONS, LLC,Named in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• HANCOCK COUNTY LAND ACQUISITIONS, LLC

  105 STREET A, PICAYUNE, MS, 39466

  Registry ID: 110070890703

Statutes cited

• CWA 404 — Permits for Dredge and Fill Material

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• HANCOCK COUNTY LAND ACQUISITIONS, LLC, HANCOCK COUNTY, MISSISSIPPIentered 2021-10-06

  Primary law: CWA

Timeline (3 milestones)

• 2021-10-06Final Order Issued
• 2021-10-06Complaint Filed/Proposed Order
• 2021-10-27Enforcement Action Data Entered