Submitted by the US Army Corps of Engineers
The City of Redmond has paid an administrative penalty for failure to comply with the terms and conditions of a Department of the Army permit issued pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.
The Corps recently issued a penalty in the amount of $32,500 after the permit holder failed to comply with the terms and conditions of Nationwide Permit (NWP) No. 27 for a Bear Creek restoration project.
In June 2013, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, Regulatory Office verified the use of NWP No. 27 for creek restoration work including reshaping an old creek channel and filling wetlands. The terms and conditions of the NWP authorization included requirements for adhering to the approved construction plans as well as working within construction boundaries.
Upon notification from the City of Redmond, a Corps’ compliance review confirmed the permit holder, the City of Redmond, failed to adhere to the approved construction plans and permit conditions. The city’s contractor excavated beyond the allowed areas, and that work took place in sensitive, protected areas resulting in additional adverse effects to historic properties. Upon notification of their noncompliance, the City of Redmond immediately stopped work in the unauthorized area, and is working with the Corps, State of Washington, and Tribes to modify the existing permit conditions to mitigate for the adverse effects to historic properties.
“Permit holders must understand that permit conditions must be taken seriously to minimize impacts to waters of the United States and protect cultural resources that are important to the public,” said Muffy Walker, Seattle District regulatory branch chief.
“The City of Redmond has taken this unfortunate incident very seriously by immediately protecting the disturbed materials and working very closely with resource agencies and the Tribes to determine the correct way to make reparations,” said Redmond’s Public Works Director Linda De Boldt. “This includes screening and curation of cultural resource materials and development of a cultural resource management plan for the City of Redmond to guide work on future projects.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the administrator of the congressionally enacted Clean Water Act, which was established in 1972 to protect the Nation’s waterbodies, including sensitive and important wetland environments. Section 404 of the Clean Water Act established a program to regulate the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States, including wetlands. The Corps’ regulatory program also maintains an enforcement program to deter unauthorized activities and noncompliance with the issued permits. In this case, the Corps’ program enforcement efforts included issuing a fine.
