AG Van Hollen: Announces judgment requiring Waukesha County contractor to pay $7,500 and $38,426.22 in outstanding judgments for violations of state wetland protection and storm water management laws

For More Information Contact:

Dana Brueck 608/266-1221

MADISON — Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has announced that Eagle contractor Lee Cresca and his business, Eagle Spring Environmental, Ltd., have been ordered to pay $7,500 in forfeitures, assessments, costs and fees for illegally filling wetlands and removing material from grading on the banks of a pond without any permits from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

The violations occurred at a construction site in New Berlin in Waukesha County in September and October of 2009.

Wisconsin law prohibits the discharging of pollutants to wetlands without a certification from the DNR that the discharges comply with state water quality standards. Wisconsin law also prohibits the removal of material from navigable waters and the grading of more than 10,000 square feet on the banks of navigable waters without permits.

According to the complaint, Cresca and Eagle Spring Environmental began work on a construction project in New Berlin, which involved the deepening of an artificial navigable pond that is connected to a navigable tributary of Poplar Creek, by dredging and grading the pond’s banks and outlet. Cresca and Eagle Spring Environmental began the work as a contractor retained by the property owner and removed material from the pond, discharged sediments into nearby wetlands, and disturbed .83 acres of land on the banks of the pond and its outlet stream, without having first obtained a water quality certification or permit for the work.

“Wisconsin law requires that contractors obtain and follow permits designed to prevent pollution and to protect public rights in the state’s wetlands and navigable waters,” Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said. “The Wisconsin Department of Justice will continue to work with the DNR to ensure that Wisconsin’s water resources are safeguarded through compliance with the law.”

This is the State’s sixth prosecution since 2005 against Cresca and/or Eagle Spring Environmental pertaining to illegal waterway and wetland disturbance activities. In addition to paying the $7,500 judgment, Cresca and Eagle Spring Environmental also must pay $38,426.22 in outstanding judgments in the other five cases.

Assistant Attorney General JoAnne F. Kloppenburg prosecuted the case for the State.

Copies of the Judgment and the Stipulation and Order for Judgment are available at the following links:

http://www.doj.state.wi.us/news/files/judgment-eagle-spring-20110920.pdf

http://www.doj.state.wi.us/news/files/stipulation-order-eagle-spring-20110920.pdf