The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (“TDEC”) issued a July 2nd Director’s Order and Assessment (“Order”) to Hub Circle, LLC (“Hub”) addressing alleged violations of a General National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) Permit for Discharges of Storm water Discharges Associated with Construction Activities (“Permit”). See Case No. WPC25-0165.
The TDEC Division of Water Resources (“Division”) is stated to have issued on March 24, 2025, a Notice of Coverage under the Permit to Hub authorizing discharge of stormwater associated with construction activities, in accordance with effluent limitations, monitoring requirements, and other conditions set forth.
The Permit addresses a site in Putnam County, Tennessee.
Division personnel are stated to have conducted a routine inspection at the site on June 18, 2025, and identified the following alleged violations:
- Documentation for twice-weekly inspections was not found on-site.
- A Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (“SWPPP”) was not available on-site.
- Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control measures (“EPSCs”) needed maintenance and replacement.
- Sediment was observed entering Bear Creek from the site.
The Division issued a Notice of Vioaltion on July 15, 2025, requiring various corrective actions. Hub is stated to have not submitted any documentation in response to the Notice of Violation nor attend a requested Compliance Review Meeting.
The Division is stated to have conducted a follow-up inspection on July 30, 2025, and identified the following alleged violations:
- EPSCs were not installed.
- The Notice of Coverage ("NOC") was not on-site.
- The SWPPP was not available on-site.
- EPSCs were not functioning properly.
- The site was not stabilized.
- Twice-weekly inspection documentation was not available.
The Division is stated to have conducted an additional follow-up inspection on August 26, 2025. Division staff is stated to have noted that it appeared no work had been done to stabilize the site since the last inspection.
Additional inspections are stated to have been conducted on September 23, 2025, November 7, 2025, and January 29, 2026, in which additional violations are stated to have been identified.
A total civil penalty of $72,000 is proposed. Further, The Order requires that a variety of corrective actions be done pursuant to a schedule to address the alleged violations.
The Order contains certain appeal rights.
A copy of the Order can be found here.
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