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PA FIRST WEST VIRGINIA WETLANDS PROSECUTION

Release Date: 5/7/96
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PA FIRST WEST VIRGINIA WETLANDS PROSECUTION

FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, MAY 3, 1996

FORMER STATE LEGISLATOR PLEADS GUILTY TO CLEAN WATER ACT VIOLATION IN FIRST WEST VIRGINIA WETLANDS PROSECUTION

James D. Brackenrich, a professional engineer and former West Virginia state senator, pleaded guilty May 1, in Beckley, W.V., to one count of negligently filling wetlands without a Clean Water Act permit. During his tenure in the West Virginia Senate, Brackenrich chaired the committee which oversees environmental and natural resource legislation. He was familiar with wetlands issues through his legislative role and professional work. Sentencing is scheduled for June 10. Brackenrich, now employed by the West Virginia Department of Transportation, admitted that in December 1992, he used bulldozers to dump dredged and landfill material in wetlands without a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. The wetlands were on property owned by a family trust. The harm to the wetlands occurred during the construction of a 10-acre pond which he and his father had begun in 1988. The wetlands are part of the Meadow River complex in southern W.V., the state's second largest wetlands area. While the actual charge concerns work done in 1992, Brackenrich has stipulated as part of his plea agreement that he and his now-deceased father also discharged dredged and landfill material into wetlands in 1988 without obtaining a permit. After the violations were discovered, EPA issued Brackenrich a Clean Water Act administrative order to restore the wetlands. Negotiations proved unsuccessful, and restoration will now be dealt with as part of sentencing which will occur in 60 to 75 days. Brackenrich faces up to a year in jail and a maximum fine of $100,000 pursuant to federal sentencing guidelines. This case was investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division and the FBI in Charleston, W.V., with technical support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

R-60 ###