A construction firm based in northern California recently agreed to pay a $170,000 penalty for illegally dumping to federally protected wetlands during the construction of a strip mall. The company dumped the equivalent of 200 large dump truck loads of material into protected wetlands crucial to neighboring salmon populations.In addition to the penalty, the construction company will spend $150,000 to repair and restore 9 acres of wetlands crucial to these populations.
The federal Clean Water Act (CWA) protects the nation’s coasts, rivers, lakes, streams, and wetlands, which are vital to the protection of human health and the environment.
Section 404 of the CWA requires anyone who proposes to fill and alter protected waterways, including wetlands, to first obtain permit authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
