Wisconsin Charges Firm with Stormwater Violations

The Wisconsin Attorney General's office has filed a lawsuit in Milwaukee County against James Cape & Sons Co., and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, for alleged violations of Wisconsin's stormwater management laws.

The lawsuit alleges that the company and MMSD violated the conditions of the permit that the state Department of Natural Resources issued them that allowed them to make changes to the bed and banks of Lincoln Creek, Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager said.

The maximum penalties are fines of $10,000 per day for a series of violations that allegedly occurred between May 1, 2001 and January 31, 2003.

Cape, 6422 N. Highway 31, Racine, is a road building and construction contractor. The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, Milwaukee, is a state-chartered, government agency providing wastewater services for 28 municipalities.

The complaint alleges that the MMSD was issued a permit by the state DNR to remove materials, place structures, and conduct waterway alterations on the bed and banks of Lincoln Creek in the city of Milwaukee. Cape was the MMSD's primary contractor in performing the permitted work.

During the work that was performed during the summer and fall of 2001, Cape and MMSD allegedly violated the permit by operating construction equipment in the active bed of the creek; by allowing sediment and silt to flow into the creek channel; by placing top soil and fill material in Butler's garter snake refuge area; by failing to maintain silt fences tracking pads; by constructing improper temporary dams; and by using inadequate erosion control measures.

"It is vital that construction firms and contractors obey DNR conditions and erosion control laws to assure protection of, and prevent harm to, water quality," Lautenschlager said.

Source: WDNR