Public Notice: Proposed penalty of $280,000 against Patuxent MHC, LLC and Horizon Land Management, LLC
Summary
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 3 is hereby giving notice that it proposes to enter into a Consent Agreement and Final Order (“CAFO”), which commences and concludes an administrative action against Patuxent MHC, LLC (“Patuxent”), located in Lothian, Maryland and Horizon Land Management, LLC (“Horizon”) located in Crofton, Maryland. Patuxent is a manufactured home community located at 5380 Sands Road, Lothian, Anne Arundel County, MD 20711. Patuxent has National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) Permit No.MD0024694 to operate its Wastewater Treatment Plant (“WWTP”). Horizon is the property management company that serves as the managing agent for Patuxent and manages the service contract with a third party to operate and manage WWTP at Patuxent. This CAFO alleges that Patuxent and Horizon allegedly violated its NPDES Permit as follows:
- Count I – Effluent Exceedances: From October 2019 through October 2023, the WWTP recorded 38 effluent exceedances for BOD, pH, TSS, DO, and E. coli.
- Count II – Insufficient or Missing Flow Reporting: Failure to submit an annual total cumulative flow report for 2019 and failure to timely submit annual total cumulative flow reports for 2020 and 2021. Count III – Non-Operational and Malfunctioning Equipment and Infrastructure: Failure to operate the WWTP efficiently to minimize upsets and discharges of excessive pollutants by fixing non-operational or malfunctioning equipment and infrastructure from January 23, 2022 to present.
The CAFO assesses an administrative penalty under the Clean Water Act of Two-Hundred and Eighty Thousand Dollars ($280,000) for the alleged violations under Section 309(g) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. § 1319(g). The penalty is in accordance with EPA’s Interim Clean Water Act Settlement Penalty Policy (1995) and the statutory factors set forth in Section 309(g) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. § 1319(g). This matter has an associated Administrative Order on Consent, EPA Docket No. CWA-03-2024-0009DN which addresses injunctive relief to improve performance of the WWTP.
There are concurrent proposed CAFOs for three other manufactured communities also managed by Horizon Land Management, LLC: Boone’s Estates MHC, LLC (Dkt. No. CWA-03-2024-0010); Lyons Creek MHC, LLC (Dkt. No. CWA-03-2024-0011); Maryland Manor MHC, LLC (Dkt. No. CWA-03-2024-0012).
Notice of this proposed administrative penalty and CAFO was previously posted to EPA’s website from January 23, 2024 to March 4, 2024, but the public notice was missing EPA’s full mailing address. The administrative penalty and CAFO are being re-noticed to cure this error. Any comments received during the previous comment period will be considered in conjunction with any comments received during this current comment period.
Applicants or Respondents
Patuxent, MHC, LLC5380 Sands Road
Lothian, MD 20711
United States
2151 Priest Bridge Drive, Suite 7
Crofton, MD 21114
United States
Docket Numbers
- CWA-03-2024-0013