New Mexico resident fights Army Corps over arroyo cleanup

Los Angeles Times ^ | Dec 30 2012 | Michael Haederle

[WilliamIII]

A New Mexico man who was told he violated the Clean Water Act when he cleared out an arroyo on his land sues the Army Corps of Engineers.

SANTA FE, N.M. — Peter Smith steered his silver Chevy TrailBlazer down a rough dirt road, rolling to a stop at the edge of a dry, sandy wash called the Gallina Arroyo. "Here's the scene of the crime," he said.

Two years ago, Smith cleaned out and graded a few hundred yards of the arroyo that winds through the 20-acre tract he and his wife, Francoise, own in the hills south of Santa Fe, not suspecting that he might be committing a federal offense.

But in June 2011, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sent a letter informing him that by failing to obtain a permit before blading the bed of the arroyo with his tractor, he had violated the Clean Water Act. The corps issued a warning but did not impose fines or penalties.

Although the arroyo only runs a few times a year, it is considered, in the formal language of the Clean Water Act, a "water of the United States" because it ultimately drains into the Rio Grande, about 25 miles away, the corps ruled.

[HiTech RedNeck]

if even they slapped him on the wrist, they knew it was a silly little thing.

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

There are some people in the COE who are conscientious and operate with common sense. Then there are those who are power mad and out of control. This is especially true in the western parts of the country.

They are trying to expand the “navigable waters” and related “water bodies” definitions to overcome the court decision in Rapanos which restricted their power grabs.

Hope they get their asses handed to them in a basket over this case.

[exnavy]

We need to eliminate these oppressive federal agencies.

[tbpiper]

The corps decided to investigate when a neighbor complained...

I'm not sure the term "neighbor" would apply in this case.

[boomop1]

These morons as the EPA make up sh** to screw over people.

[knife6375]

What government agency is not out of control and power mad?

[Right Wing Assault]

I can picture the day when filling in a puddle in my yard without a permit will get me a $10,000 fine. “It’s a wetland” or “That water eventually flows into the Great Lakes.”

[DaveA37]

Just claim he was creating a cranberry marsh. The cranberry growers are the ONLY people who can divert, hold and use the water we other tax payers cannot. Don’t believe me, look it iup.

[SgtHooper]

On the flip side, the COE was simply making a statement. As much as this seems to be over-regulation, individuals tend to eff things up if laws are not in place to manage them. The next landowner might landscape the arroyo on his/her property if the regs were not there. We see the same in neighborhoods where invariably, some person will break the covenants to put up 10 foot walls, and so on. There is alway some asshole who cannot abide by the rules. And ignorance is no defense.