NEWS FROM THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
Oct. 8, 2008
Vol. 38, No. 462
For further information, contact Jamie Rutherford, Division of Soil and Water Conservation, 302-739-9921, or Melanie Rapp, Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.
DNREC Issues Penalty and Secretary’s Order for Sediment and Stormwater Violations to Owner of Cheswold’s Stonington Subdivision
DOVER, Del. – Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary John A. Hughes has issued a Notice of Administrative Penalty Assessment and Secretary’s Order to Stonington Associates, LLC, owner of the Stonington Subdivision in Cheswold, for violations related to their approved sediment and stormwater plan and their National Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The Order includes a cash penalty of $25,000 and an additional $3,750 in cost recovery reimbursement to DNREC for expenses associated with its investigation.
Stonington Associates, LLC of Wilmington, Del. received approval from the Kent Conservation District on May 17, 2005 for its sediment and stormwater plan for Stonington Subdivision, a 125-acre residential community of 388 homes in Cheswold.
After repeated attempts by Kent Conservation District failed to bring the site into compliance with the approved sediment and stormwater plan, the site was referred to DNREC for enforcement. On November 30, 2006, DNREC issued a Notice of Violation identifying three specific measures – install two sediment traps, complete the stormsewer system to provide drainage, and close the unapproved construction entrance.
DNREC completed site inspections and issued a return to compliance letter to Stonington Associates on Dec. 13, 2006. However, the department put the company on notice that as site worked progressed, additional measures would be required to control erosion and sedimentation.
Subsequent DNREC inspections of the site revealed continuing out-of-compliance issues. Some of these issues dealt with the stabilized construction entrance, inlet protection, vegetative stabilization, silt fence and sediment basin maintenance.
Stonington Associates, LLC, has 30 days to request a public hearing.
