A Missouri limestone quarry operator has agreed to pay a $210,000 fine and conduct rehabilitation of a watershed as part of a settlement of alleged Clean Water Act violations, the Environmental Protection Agency said in a news release.
“The placement of illegal fill material into streams and rivers degrades watershed health, creates loss of wildlife habitat and deprives downstream landowners and the public from the use and enjoyment of public waters,” Meg McCollister, EPA Region 7 administrator, said in a statement.
The settlement was reached with Trager Limestone LLC, which runs the Nettleton Limestone Quarry in Caldwell County, Missouri, the news release said.
Trager Limestone received a compliance order from the EPA in 2019 that stipulated, among other things, that the firm submit a plan to remediate the Kettle Creek section that had been damaged. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil action in the Western District of Missouri in April 2020 after Trager Limestone disobeyed the order, according to the news release.
"Trager Limestone filled in approximately 935 feet of Kettle Creek without first obtaining a required CWA permit," EPA said.
The EPA alleged that the impacted area contains a "wide variety of fish species and that Trager Limestone’s activity resulted in loss of habitat," the news release said. "Further, the Agency alleges that Trager Limestone failed to develop and implement a required plan to prevent discharges of oil from their facility."
