EPA Orders Hawk’s Beach Tidelands to be restored

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a Compliance Order to Charles Brown to address violations of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). The violations occurred at Mr. Brown’s property at the Hawk’s Beach Subdivision on the Kenai Peninsula, located near Ninilchik, Alaska.

EPA alleges that Mr. Brown failed to obtain a permit under Section 404 of the CWA prior to using heavy equipment to deposit boulders and other fill materials below the high tide line at the Hawk’s Beach Subdivision.

Under the Compliance Order, EPA has directed Mr. Brown to complete a Restoration and Mitigation Work Plan (“Plan”). The Order requires Mr. Brown to restore the site to its original condition or to the maximum extent possible. Restoration activities include:

* removing fill from intertidal waters;
* replacing boulders into the tidal flats;
* restoring habitat functions to adjacent tidal flats; and
* providing specified monitoring information to EPA.


All restoration and mitigation activities must be completed no later than June 15, 2008, or pay fines as high as $32,500 per day.

According to Marcia Combes, Alaska Operations Office Director for EPA, this action shows the importance of obtaining proper permits before working in tidelands.

“The intertidal ecosystem is vital to the fish and wildlife in Cook Inlet,” said Combes. “Property owners need to obtain the right permits before they start work or, like Mr. Brown, they may face possible fines. EPA takes protecting Alaska waters very seriously.”