LENEXA, Kan. — EPA Region 7 has reached an administrative consent agreement with a Patton, Mo., property owner to resolve Clean Water Act violations involving unpermitted discharges of pollutants into two tributaries of Baltimore Creek, according to a press release.
Brent McMinn agreed to pay a $20,000 civil penalty as part of the settlement filed by EPA Region 7 in Lenexa, Kan.
A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) inspection in December 2011 found that McMinn violated the Clean Water Act (CWA) when he, or others working on his behalf, used earth-moving equipment to discharge fill material into the tributaries, as a part of work associated with the construction of a dam and dam roadway, stated the release.
The tributaries are classified as waters of the U.S. by the CWA. The work was performed without a permit issued pursuant to Section 404 of the CWA. The USACE referred the case to EPA after discovering the violations.
Unauthorized fill activity degrades watershed health, results in habitat loss, impacts stream channel configuration, decreases biological diversity and limits the movement of fish, other aquatic organisms and organic material, noted the release.
