Alabama regulator orders corrective actions, penalty for construction stormwater violations

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) has entered into an administrative order with Wilkes Construction Company, Inc. (WCC) to address alleged violations of a Stormwater Construction Clean Water Act General Permit at a residential development in Baldwin County, Alabama.

According to the Nov. 7 order, WCC is constructing the Preserve Moccasin Bayou development, where stormwater runoff containing sediment and other pollutants was observed with the potential to discharge, or having discharged, to Moccasin Bayou, a water of the state. ADEM inspections found that construction activities had begun and were ongoing without proper implementation and maintenance of best management practices, resulting in offsite pollutant deposits and a “substantial visible contrast with the natural appearance of the receiving water” in violation of the permit.

ADEM’s inspection followed WCC’s submission of a Noncompliance Notification Report on Aug. 11, 2025, during a period of prolonged heavy rainfall. After issuance of an administrative order on Aug. 14, WCC implemented corrective actions. The company’s qualified credentialed professional certified to ADEM that the identified deficiencies had been repaired, fixed, or enhanced.

Under the November order, WCC neither admits nor denies the alleged violations. The order requires additional actions to prevent, to the maximum extent practicable, sediment and other pollutants from leaving the site and to prevent noncompliant discharges to state waters. ADEM assessed a civil penalty of $78,000.