Here’s a release from the EPA via The Greeley Tribune:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached an agreement with Bucklen Equipment Company to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act in Weld County. Under the agreement, the company will pay a penalty of $16,000 and remove any remaining gravel piles from wetlands along the Cache la Poudre River within the city of Greeley.
The EPA, in a release Tuesday, said Bucklen Equipment introduced sediment and altered the condition of the river and nearby wetlands. The investigation began in August 2008 when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers received information that the company was doing excavation along the river, including the removal of islands and grading the river’s floodplain, according to the EPA release.
The EPA will inspect the area next summer to determine if it has properly recovered.
Clean Water Act permits are required before performing any work that results in material being placed into rivers, lakes, streams and wetlands. Any person planning work affecting waters and wetlands should contact the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Office at 9307 S. Wadsworth Ave., Littleton, CO, 80128-6901 or call (303) 979-4120 to determine if they need a permit.
More Cache la Poudre coverage here.