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LANDOWNERS IN WESTERN NEBRASKA CITED FOR CLEAN WATER ACT VIOLATIONS

Release Date: 03/23/2005
Contact Information:

Environmental News
Martin Kessler
(913) 551-7236
[email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 23, 2005

LANDOWNERS IN WESTERN NEBRASKA CITED FOR CLEAN WATER ACT VIOLATIONS

EPA Region 7 has cited two landowners in western Nebraska for violating the wetlands provisions of the Clean Water Act, stemming from illegal dumping of fill material into a stream or river without first obtaining the necessary permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. EPA and the Corps of Engineers share responsibility for protection of our nation’s wetlands resources, and worked together closely on both cases. EPA ordered both landowners to undertake restoration projects to address the environmental harm caused by their illegal activities.

EPA cited Wayne Hansmeier and the Kingsley Cattle Company in Keystone, northeast of Ogallala (Keith County), for the unauthorized diversion of Whitetail Creek, a tributary of the North Platte River. Hansmeier and the Kingsley Cattle Company dug a new channel for the creek and filled about 1,200 feet of the creek and one acre of wetlands to expand their cattle grazing area in the spring of 2003.

EPA ordered Hansmeier and the Kingsley Cattle Company to recreate the lost wetland area and replace the lost stream channel length, and assessed a penalty of $20,000. The case was finalized Feb. 14.

Whitetail Creek is part of the Sandhills ecosystem, which is a unique, fragile and valuable natural resource area in Nebraska. The creek also provides habitat for the Northern Redbelly Dace, a Nebraska-listed sensitive fish species.

EPA also cited Jim Jessen of Lisco for the unauthorized construction of a culvert crossing and three sand dikes in channels of the North Platte River in Morrill County during August and September 2003. (Lisco is about 50 miles northwest of Ogallala.)

Jessen’s construction restricted the normal flows of the river, creating a flood hazard and damaging aquatic habitat. EPA ordered Jessen to remove the culvert crossing and sand dikes.

Jessen agreed to perform two environmental projects for wetland enhancement and conservation in Morrill County at an estimated cost of $52,000, as part of a settlement agreement. Jessen will also pay a penalty of $4,200. The case was finalized March 18.

The channelizing and filling of streams and their adjacent wetlands destroys critical habitat for fish and wildlife, causes damaging erosion and stream sedimentation, and increases the risk of flooding. The Corps of Engineers’ permitting process is designed to protect and preserve the nation’s waters by ensuring that before wetlands or streams are filled for agricultural use or development, all practicable alternatives are evaluated and lost wetland and stream resources are recreated elsewhere within the watershed.