Private property owners in WA State have protection by State law - BUT..... We have no protection from the EPA and the EPA is after private property owners again
August 24, 2011
To Whom it may concern
Private property owners in WA State have protection by State law
RCW 90.58.030
regarding the unintentional creation of wetlands.
BUT..... We have no protection from the EPA and the EPA is after private property owners again.
Pearl Rains Hewett As
Trustee of the George C. Rains Sr. Trust
Private property owner
Advisory Committee member
PLF still has to teach some regulators the limits of the Clean Water Act
Smith Farm v. Environmental Protection Agency
Contact: Damien M. Schiff
Status: Petition for review filed in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on April, 2011. Undergoing mediation.
Summary:
The Smith farm, in Chesapeake, Virginia, has been used for farming and tree harvesting for many years. The construction of Interstate 664 had a damming effect on the adjacent property, such that water began backing up on the farm. This and other factors resulted in the creation of seasonal wetlands on the property which hampered the historical uses of the farm.
To remove excess water from the site, the owners proposed excavating some drainage ditches. After some land clearing, but before the ditching began, the owners asked the Army Corps of Engineers to inspect the site, which the corps did. At no time did the Corps raise any objections to the project. However, when the project was completed, the EPA informed the owners that it was assuming jurisdiction over the project. EPA officials, along with Department of Justice representatives, chose to inspect the site two days after Hurricane Dennis had inundated the area. Months later, EPA issued a notice alleging multiple violations of the Clean Water Act, including filling wetlands without a permit (i.e., distributing wood chips on the site) and discharging a pollutant into navigable waters when rain caused silt to collect in the bottom of the ditches.
The administrative law judge ultimately ruled against the farm and the EPA Appeals Board affirmed. PLF attorneys represent the owners on the appeal to the Fourth Circuit to challenge federal jurisdiction over the project.
WA State PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION
Unintentionally created "Wetlands"
RCW 90.58.030
Definitions and concepts.
(h) "Wetlands" means areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas. Wetlands do not include those artificial wetlands intentionally created from nonwetland sites, including, but not limited to, irrigation and drainage ditches, grass-lined swales, canals, detention facilities, wastewater treatment facilities, farm ponds, and landscape amenities, or those wetlands created after July 1, 1990, that were unintentionally created as a result of the construction of a road, street, or highway. Wetlands may include those artificial wetlands intentionally created from nonwetland areas to mitigate the conversion of wetlands.