EPA v. PEAT FUEL COMPANY LONG COUNTY, GEORGIA

Case summary

MAY 12, 2023 - ADMINISTATIVE COMPLIANCE ON CONSENT This AOC pertains to the discharge of dredged and/or fill material into approximately 16.63 acres of jurisdictional wetlands and waters of the United States, ( Discharge Area ) (See Exhibit A). The Discharge Area is located within an approximate 200 acre freshwater Carolina bay east of Ludowici, Long County, Georgia ( Site ) where Respondent conducts peat mining operations. The Site, known as Goose Pond, is located at latitude 31.727993? N and longitude -81.644658? W (See Exhibit B). Respondent's dredging and/or filling activities within the Discharge Area are related to its peat mining operations and include ditching with side-cast, mechanized land clearing with windrows, and peat material storage in wetlands. Section 30l(a) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ? 131l(a), prohibits the discharge of pollutants by any person into waters of the United States except in compliance with a permit issued under, interalia, Section 404 of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ? 1344. Commencing on or about 1999, to present, Respondent, and/or those acting on behalf of the Respondent, discharged dredged and/or fill material into jurisdictional waters within the Discharge Area using earth moving machinery including, but not limited to, excavators and bulldozers, during unauthorized activities associated with peat mining. Currently, the unauthorized dredged and/or fill material remains in waters of the United States. Respondent's unauthorized activities in the Discharge Area impacted approximately 16.63 acres of wetlands that have a relatively permanent, continuous surface connectIon and a significant nexus to an unnamed perennial tributary to Bull Town Swamp, a large wetland complex with a continuous channel that flows into the South Newport River, a traditionally 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 in Section 502(6) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ? 1362(6). 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 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. Respondent's placement of the dredged and/or fill material into the Discharge Area is a discharge of pollutants as defined in Section 502(12) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ? 1362(12). The term navigable waters as defined in Section 502(7) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C.? 1362(7), means the waters of the United States, including the territorial seas. The Discharge Area includes navigable waters as that term is defined in Section 502(7) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ? 1362(7). At no time during the discharge of dredged and/or fill material into the Discharge Area from 1999 to present did the Respondent possess a permit under Section 404 of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ? 1344, authorizing such discharge of dredged and/or fill material by Respondent. Each discharge by the Respondent of pollutants into navigable waters without the required permit issued by the Corps 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, constitutes a day of violation of Section 301(a) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ? 1311(a). Therefore, Respondent has violated Section 30l(a) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ?1311(a), by discharging pollutants into navigable waters without a permit.

Defendants (1)

• PEAT FUEL COMPANY LONG COUNTY, GEORGIANamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• GOOSE POND

  PEARL DAVIS ROAD, LUDOWICI, GA, 31316

  Registry ID: 110070681903

Statutes cited

• CWA 404 — Permits for Dredge and Fill Material

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• PEAT FUEL COMPANY LONG COUNTY, GEORGIAentered 2023-05-12

  Primary law: CWA

Timeline (3 milestones)

• 2023-05-12Final Order Issued
• 2023-05-12Complaint Filed/Proposed Order
• 2023-07-07Enforcement Action Data Entered