Construction Company Ordered to Restore Wetlands in California
11/5/2008 -
The Environmental Protection Agency has ordered a Northern California construction company to restore damaged wetlands.
EPA alleged that Dennis Wendt and Wendt Construction illegally graded and filled wetlands near the Eel River in Fortuna, Calif.
The order requires the company to remove to remove soil and other fill, restore wetland habitat, including vegetation with native species, and implement measures to control sedimentation and erosion of bank areas.
The company also must create a five year monitoring program and submit annual reports to the EPA.
The company’s activities were discovered by an Army Corps of Engineers inspection in 2007. The Corps ordered cessation of the illegal gradation, but Wendt failed to comply.
Further investigations by the Corps and EPA found significant disturbances in vegetation and soil along Strongs Creek, which feeds into the Eel River.
“Strongs Creek supports a critical habitat for a very diverse fish population, including rare and threatened species, such as Coho salmon and steelhead trout,” EPA director Alexis Strauss said.
Contact: Wendy Chavez, EPA, (415) 947-4248, chavez.wendy@epa.gov.
EPA alleged that Dennis Wendt and Wendt Construction illegally graded and filled wetlands near the Eel River in Fortuna, Calif.
The order requires the company to remove to remove soil and other fill, restore wetland habitat, including vegetation with native species, and implement measures to control sedimentation and erosion of bank areas.
The company also must create a five year monitoring program and submit annual reports to the EPA.
The company’s activities were discovered by an Army Corps of Engineers inspection in 2007. The Corps ordered cessation of the illegal gradation, but Wendt failed to comply.
Further investigations by the Corps and EPA found significant disturbances in vegetation and soil along Strongs Creek, which feeds into the Eel River.
“Strongs Creek supports a critical habitat for a very diverse fish population, including rare and threatened species, such as Coho salmon and steelhead trout,” EPA director Alexis Strauss said.
Contact: Wendy Chavez, EPA, (415) 947-4248, chavez.wendy@epa.gov.
