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RICHARD WAITE AND GARY SANDS

Administrative - Formal · FY1998 · — · Final Order No Penalty · 30726

Penalty
Cost recovery
$0
Compliance action

Case

Case Number
05-1998-0052
Type
Administrative - Formal
Lead
EPA
Outcome
Final Order No Penalty
Multimedia
N
Self-disclosure
N

Defendants (3)

Summary

UNDER THE PRESENT CAUSE OF ACTION, WAITE AND SANDS PLACED DREDGED MATERIAL (I.E. A POLLUTANT) INTO A WATER OF THE U.D. WITH A FEDERAL PERMIT IN VIOLATION OF SECTIONS 301 AND 404 OF THE CLEAN WATER ACT. THE 6.8 ACRE WETLAND AREA HAS BEEN STRIPPED OF ITS TOPSOIL AND SOME SUBSOIL HAS BEEN EXCAVATED AND REMOVED FROM THE WETLAND TO CREATE TWO BERMS ALONGSIDE NEARBY ROADWAYS TO BEGIN CONSTRUCTION OF THREE WATER IMPOUNDMENT DIKES. THE WETLAND AREA IS RINGED WITH LARGE PILES OF THE STOCKPILED TOPPSOIL WHICH ARE ACTIVELY ERODING. DOWNSTREM WATERS ARE THREATENED BY SLUGS OF SEDIMENTATION AFTER STORM EVENTS AND SNOW MELT. ANY WILDLIFE NESTING, RESTING OR FORAGING HABITAT HAS BEEN DESTROYED WITHIN THE WETLAND AREA. THE STRIPPED AREAS NOW SUPPORT RAGWEED WHICH CONTRIBUTESS TO THE POLLEN LOAD IN THE AIR AND WHICH CAN NEGATIVELY EFFECT HUMANS SUSPECTABLE TO ALLERGIES. THE ABILITY OF THE SITE TO ABSORB PRECIPITATION HAS BEEN GREATLY DIMINISHED WITH THE DESTRUCTION OF THE VEGETATION AND THE REMOVAL OF THE MORE PERMEABLE SOIL LAYERS THAT WOULD OTHEWISE ACT AS SPONGES. CONSEQUENTLY, DOWNSTREAM AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING ARE NOW EVEN MORE PRONE TO INUDATION. RELATED TO THIS PHENOMENON, DOWNSTREAM WATER QUALITY, PARTICULARLY IN THE LARGE SWAMP WHICH RECEIVES THE IMMEDIATE DRAINAGE FROM THIS AREA, IS MORE VULNERABLE TO DEGRADATION FROM SEDIMENTATION AND THE LOSS OF THE WETLAND'S ABILIT

Source

Authoritative
EPA ECHO
Machine
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