For More Information Contact:
Dana Brueck 608/266-1221
MADISON — Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has announced today that the Platteville Golf and Country Club will pay $12,000 for violations of Wisconsin’s water and wetland protection laws. It addition, it has restored the site and must maintain site stability. The country club committed the violations in its efforts to expand the golf course by grading and filling in a streambed and filling in wetlands, all done without a permit.
Wisconsin law prohibits anyone from grading and filling a stream, and from discharging pollutants into wetlands, without a permit from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) ensuring that the activities comply with provisions to protect water quality. The complaint filed in this case alleges that the country club illegally filled in a stream that is a tributary to the Little Platte River, that it graded more than 10,000 square feet of the bed and banks of the stream, and that it illegally filled adjacent wetlands.
In addition to paying a judgment of $12,000 for the violations, the Platteville Golf and Country Club has removed the fill and restored the site. It must now monitor the site for stability and take corrective action if necessary. The stipulation has been approved by Grant County Circuit Court Judge Robert VanDeHey.
“Wisconsin law requires that property owners may not disturb streams and wetlands unless they have been granted a permit to do so,” Attorney General Van Hollen said. “The Wisconsin Department of Justice will continue to work with the DNR to protect the public rights in the state’s wetlands and navigable waters by requiring compliance with the law.”
Copies of the Stipulation and Order for Judgment, and Judgment, are available at the following links:
Stipulation and Order: http://www.doj.state.wi.us/news/files/stipulation-order-platteville-golf-20120608.pdf
Judgment: http://www.doj.state.wi.us/news/files/judgment-platteville-golf-20120608.pdf
Assistant Attorney General Lorraine Stoltzfus represented the State in this case.
