Merced County Almond Farmer Settles With EPA Over Clean Water Act Violations
MERCED COUNTY (CBS SF) – An almond farmer in Merced County has been ordered to pay $212,000 in fines and to restore and preserve wetland habitat for violating the Clean Water Act, Environmental Protection Agency officials said.
Officials with the agency's Pacific Southwest Office in San Francisco announced the settlement with farmer Edmund Lynn Brown on Tuesday.
According to court documents, Brown operates the 850 acre Bird Ranch north of Merced.
EPA investigators said Brown performed earth-moving activities that had discharged fill material into waters that flowed into the San Joaquin River and had not received a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Investigators said between 2016 and 2020, Brown built a retention basin, access roads and planted a new almond orchard. The work resulted in the degradation of two acres of vernal pool wetlands adjacent to Parkinson Creek, a tributary of the San Joaquin River that runs through his farm.
Officials also said the work violated a 2014 order against Brown, which required him to notify the Army Corps of Engineers of any activity that may impact water systems.
"Grading and filling wetlands of the San Joaquin River Valley without proper permitting impacts water resources and endangers California's unique native plants and animals," regional administrator Martha Guzman said in a statement. "In a time of drought and climate change, it is essential to protect these rare and vital water resources and habitats from destruction."
As part of the settlement, EPA officials said Brown agreed to develop a plan for removing 1.9 acres of fill material, "restoring and enhancing" 2.44 acres and preserving 12.66 acres within the orchard.
