The EPA reached settlements with 23 entities in the Southeastern United States (EPA Region 4) for depositing dredged and/or fill material without a permit into waters of the US or wetlands in violation of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The total settlements total an estimated $1.7 million. As part of the settlements, three developers in Kentucky were fined a combined $107,000. The settlement money will be spent by the EPA on wetland restoration and monitoring activities.  The penalties were handed out during the period between October 2012 and September 2013.

How can your site avoid a fine from the EPA? First, it is important to know what activities require a permit:

  • Any work done in jurisdictional waters of the US, including (but not limited to):
    •         Placing or dumping of dredged or fill material
    •         Road and utility crossings
    •         Dredging, excavation, channel widening or channel straightening
    •         Flooding, excavating, draining and/or filling a wetland
    •         Bank sloping or stabilization
    •         Stream channel relocation

If your site proposes to do any of these activities, Smith Management can help you contact and apply for a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 404 Permit and the Kentucky Division of Water in Frankfort for a 401 Water Quality Certification. If you have any questions about whether your site will impact a water of the US or a wetland, it’s better to ask before you start the activity. Contact William Shane if you have any questions about the permitting process and the applicability to your operation.

Sources:

EPA Settlements Restore Wetlands across Southeast $1.7M to be spent on restoration and penalties: http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/2ac652c59703a4738525735900400c2c/0a45ecd772384e1f85257c91006d64f4!OpenDocument

Kentucky Water Quality Certification Program: http://water.ky.gov/permitting/Pages/KYWaterQualityCertProg.aspx