STATE OF INDIANA		)	SS:	BEFORE THE INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF
		)
COUNTY OF MARION		)		ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
COMMISSIONER OF THE DEPARTMENT					)
OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,					)
					)
Complainant,					)
					)
	v.				)	Case No. 2019-26453-U
					)
2 SINGH INC./amandeep singh,					)
					)
Respondents.					)

AGREED ORDER

Complainant and Respondents desire to settle and compromise this action without hearing or adjudication of any issue of fact or law, and consent to the entry of the following Findings of Fact and Order. Pursuant to Indiana Code (“IC”) 13-30-3-3, entry into the terms of this Agreed Order does not constitute an admission of any violation contained herein. Respondents’ entry into this Agreed Order shall not constitute a waiver of any defense, legal or equitable, which Respondents may have in any future administrative or judicial proceeding, except a proceeding to enforce this order.

I. FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Complainant is the Commissioner (“Complainant”) of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (“IDEM”), a department of the State of Indiana created by IC 13-13-1-1.

2. Respondents are 2 Singh Inc. and Amandeep Singh (“Respondents”), which own and operate the gas/convenience store with Facility ID No. 11646, located at 4301 S Cleveland Avenue, parcel # 45-08-29-476-001.000-001 in Gary, Lake County, Indiana (“Site”).

3. Respondents own and operate three (3) active USTs:

1 x 8,000 gallon regular gasoline double walled fiberglass tank-installed 10/15/96

1 x 10,000 gallon premium gasoline double walled fiberglass tank-installed 10/15/96

1 x 1,000 gallon kerosene steel tank and piping, piping is suction-installed 8/31/88

4. IDEM has jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter of this action.

5. Pursuant to IC 13-30-3-3, IDEM issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) via Certified Mail to:

Amandeep Singh, President	Amandeep Singh, Registered Agent for
2 Singh Inc	2 Singh Inc.
1933 Somerset Drive	1933 Somerset Drive
Munster, Indiana 46321	Munster, Indiana 46321

6. Owner as defined in IC 13-11-2-150(a)(1)(A) means, for an UST that was in use on November 8, 1984 or brought into use after November 8, 1984 for the storage, use, or dispensing of regulated substances, a person who owns the UST or the real property that is the UST site, or both. According to the Lake County Assessor’s Office, Respondent is the owner of the Site. Respondents purchased the Site on April 8, 2002.

7. A Violation Letter was issued to Respondents on August 13, 2019 which required Respondents to submit a Notification form within seven (7) days of receipt of the Violation Letter. Respondents failed to respond to the Violation Letter.

8. During an investigation including a record review on August 13, 2019 conducted by a representative of IDEM, the following violations were found:

a. Pursuant to 329 Indiana Administrative Code (“IAC”) 9-3-1:

(a) The owner and operator of an UST system shall cooperate fully with inspections, monitoring, and testing conducted by the agency, as well as requests for document submission, testing, and monitoring by the owner or operator under Section 9005 (42 U.S.C. 6991d) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 6901, et seq., in effect on September 30, 1996.

(b) The owner and operator shall submit the following information to the agency:

(1) Notification for all UST systems under 329 IAC 9-2-2 that includes the following:

(A) Certification of installation for new UST systems under 40 CFR 280.20(e).

(B) Locational information within an accuracy of 1:24,000, plus or minus forty (40) feet, or plus or minus twelve and two-tenths (12.2) meters in any of the following formats, if known:

(i) Universal transverse mercator (UTM) coordinates.

(ii) Latitude and longitude coordinates.

(iii) UTM coordinates and latitude and longitude coordinates.

Based on the record review, a Violation Letter issued to Respondents on August 13, 2019 required Respondents to fill out and submit to IDEM, a Notification for Underground Storage Tank Form, within seven (7) days of receipt of the Violation Letter. To date, a notification signed by Respondents as UST owner and operator has not been submitted to IDEM

b. Pursuant to 329 IAC 9-2-2(c) an owner required to submit a notification under this section shall provide: (1) a notification for each UST owned; (2) complete information required on the form for each UST owned; and (3) if applicable, a separate notification form for each separate place of operation at which the USTs are located.

Based on the record review, the form provided did not include complete information for each UST. To date, a corrected notification signed by Respondents as UST owner and operator has not been submitted to IDEM.

9. Orders of the Commissioner are subject to administrative review by the Office of Environmental Adjudication under IC 4-21.5; however, in recognition of the settlement reached, Respondents acknowledge notice of this right and waives any right to administrative and judicial review of this Agreed Order.

II. ORDER

1. This Agreed Order shall be effective (“Effective Date”) when it is approved by Complainant or Complainant’s delegate, and has been received by Respondents. This Agreed Order shall have no force or effect until the Effective Date.

2. Respondents shall comply with the rules listed in the findings above.

3. Within fifteen (15) days of the Effective Date, Respondents shall download State Form 45223 (update owner/operator info) from IDEM webpage: https://www.in.gov/idem/5157.htm, under “Underground Storage Tank (UST) Program.” Once downloaded the form may be completed on-line or by hand and emailed to USTRegistration@idem.in.gov. The completed form will not be accepted by mail.

4. All submittals required by this Agreed Order, unless Respondents are notified otherwise in writing by IDEM, shall be sent to:

Jodi Pisula, Enforcement Case Manager

Office of Land Quality

Indiana Department of Environmental Management

100 North Senate Avenue

Indianapolis, IN 46204-2251

5. Pursuant to IC 13-30-4-1, Respondents are assessed and agree to pay a civil penalty of Eight Hundred Dollars ($800.00). Respondents are jointly and severally liable for all civil penalty assessments, including stipulated penalties. Said penalty amount shall be due and payable to the “Underground Petroleum Storage Tank Trust Fund” within thirty (30) days of the Effective Date; the thirtieth day being the “Due Date.”

6. In the event the terms and conditions of the following paragraphs are violated, Complainant may assess and Respondents shall pay a stipulated penalty in the following amount:

Paragraph	Penalty
Order paragraph #3	$100 per week late

7. Stipulated penalties shall be due and payable no later than the thirtieth day after Respondents receive written notice that Complainant has determined a stipulated penalty is due; the thirtieth day being the “Due Date.” Complainant may notify Respondents at any time that a stipulated penalty is due. Failure to notify Respondents in writing in a timely manner of a stipulated penalty assessment shall not waive Complainant’s right to collect such stipulated penalty or preclude Complainant from seeking additional relief against Respondents for violation of this Agreed Order. Neither assessment nor payment of stipulated penalties shall preclude Complainant from seeking additional relief against Respondents for a violation of this Agreed Order; such additional relief includes any remedies or sanctions available pursuant to Indiana law, including, but not limited to, civil penalties pursuant to IC 13-30-4.

8. Civil and stipulated penalties are payable by check to the “Underground Petroleum Storage Tank Trust Fund.” Checks shall include the Case Number of this action and shall be mailed to:

Indiana Department of Environmental Management

Accounts Receivable

IGCN, Room 1340

100 North Senate Avenue

Indianapolis, IN 46204

9. In the event that the monies due to IDEM pursuant to this Agreed Order are not paid on or before their Due Date, Respondents shall pay interest on the unpaid balance at the rate established by IC 24-4.6-1. The interest shall be computed as having accrued from the Due Date until the date that Respondents pay any unpaid balance. Such interest shall be payable to the “Underground Petroleum Storage Tank Trust Fund,” and shall be payable to IDEM in the manner specified in Paragraph 8, above.

10. Signatories to this Agreed Order certify that they are fully authorized to execute this Agreed Order and legally bind the party they represent.

11. This Agreed Order shall apply to and be binding upon Respondents and all successors and assigns. Respondents shall provide a copy of this Agreed Order, if in force, to any subsequent owners, successors, or assigns before ownership rights are transferred.

12. No change in ownership, corporate, or partnership status of Respondents shall in any way alter the Respondents’ status or responsibilities under this Agreed Order.

13. Respondents shall ensure that all contractors, firms, and other persons performing work under this Agreed Order comply with the terms of this Agreed Order.

14. In the event that any terms of this Agreed Order are found to be invalid, the remaining terms shall remain in full force and effect and shall be construed and enforced as if this Agreed Order did not contain the invalid terms.

15. This Agreed Order is not and shall not be interpreted to be a permit or a modification of an existing permit. This Agreed Order, and IDEM’s review or approval of any submittal made by Respondents pursuant to this Agreed Order, shall not in any way relieve Respondents of the obligation to comply with the requirements of any applicable permits or any applicable Federal or State laws or regulations.

16. Complainant does not, by its approval of this Agreed Order, warrant or aver in any manner that Respondents’ compliance with any aspect of this Agreed Order will result in compliance with the provisions of any permit, order, or any applicable Federal or State law or regulation. Additionally, IDEM or anyone acting on its behalf shall not be held liable for any costs or penalties Respondents may incur as a result of Respondents’ efforts to comply with this Agreed Order.

17. Nothing in this Agreed Order shall prevent or limit IDEM’s rights to obtain penalties or injunctive relief under any applicable Federal or State law or regulation, except that IDEM may not, and hereby waives its right to, seek additional civil penalties for the violation specified in the NOV.

18. Nothing in this Agreed Order shall prevent IDEM or anyone acting on its behalf from communicating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) or any other agency or entity about any matters relating to this enforcement action. IDEM or anyone acting on its behalf shall not be held liable for any costs or penalties Respondents may incur as a result of such communications with the U.S. EPA or any other agency or entity.

19. This Agreed Order shall remain in effect until IDEM issues a Resolution of Case letter to Respondents.

TECHNICAL RECOMMENDATION:				RESPONDENT
Department of Environmental Management
By: _________________________				By: _________________________
	Jennifer Reno, Section Chief
	Land Enforcement Section			Printed: ______________________
Office of Land Quality
				Title: ________________________
Date: __________________				Date: _______________________
				COUNSEL FOR RESPONDENT:
				By: ________________________
				Date: ______________________
APPROVED AND ADOPTED BY THE INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL
MANAGEMENT THIS		______	DAY OF	________________________, 20_____.
				For the Commissioner:
				Signed 8/14/2020
				Peggy Dorsey, Assistant Commissioner
				Office of Land Quality