Large Fine for Filling Wetlands

The EPA released this press release about a recent fine for filling in wetlands.

Robert and Gayle Greenhill, owners of more than 3,200 acres of land on the western shore of Moosehead Lake, will pay an EPA fine of $115,000 for filling 1.5 acres of freshwater wetlands on their property between 2001 and 2005.The filling of wetlands without a permit, which occurred during the expansion of a private airstrip and the development of a rock quarry, is a violation of the federal Clean Water Act and other federal requirements designed to protect wetlands.

This is the second violation of wetlands protections in the federal Clean Water Act by the Greenhills. In 1997, the Greenhills constructed a trout pond on the property, altering approximately 0.4 of an acre without first seeking a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers, as required by the federal Clean Water Act. The Greenhills also did not apply for the necessary permit for the more recent violation. The recent work included the clearing, grubbing, grading, and filling of several segments of forested evergreen and deciduous wetlands – totaling 1.5 acres – on the site.