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EPA ORDERS LAND OWNERS TO RESTORE WETLANDS IN LYME, CT, DEVELOPMENT

Release Date: 04/26/2000
Contact Information: Amy Miller, EPA Press Office (617-918-1042)

BOSTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the owners and contractors at a development in East Lyme, Conn., to restore 4.7 acres of wetlands destroyed in the process of creating a recreational pond.

In an administrative order issued last week, EPA New England ordered Wilson and Clara Scott, owners of Stones Ranch Fishing Farm, and Kobyluck Construction Co, of Waterford, Conn., to restore the wetlands.

According to the order, the Scotts hired Kobyluck to complete the excavation work for what became an eight-acre pond. This project led them to destroy 4.7 acres of wetlands. The Scotts were given permits from the town in the early '90s to construct two small ponds in a largely upland area. The Scotts and Kobyluck never obtained a required permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers, and they exceeded the area of wetland impact authorized by the town.

The conversion of the forested wetland into a pond resulted in the loss of land that stored flood waters, purified water, supported a diversity of wildlife and removed nutrients from the water.

"The destruction of wetlands robbed this area of important environmental benefits," said Mindy S. Lubber, Regional Administrator for EPA New England. "This order and the cooperation of the parties involved will ensure that the lost flood control, wildlife habitat and other wetland functions are restored."

The Scotts and Kobyluck cooperated with EPA during its investigation and have expressed their willingness to comply with the order and restore the wetlands.