EPA v. AGRESERVES, INC. D/B/A DESERET CATTLE & TIMBER, and DESERET RANCHES OF NORTH FLORIDA LLC - CMU 2

Case summary

AUGUST 13, 2024 - ADMINSTRATIVE COMPLIANCE ORDER ON CONSENT. Respondent Deseret Ranches of North Florida, LLC, acquired property in Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, and Gulf Counties, Florida, including the Site. Today, the Site is operated by Respondent AgReserves, Inc., for several purposes, including cattle ranching, pine silviculture, and wildlife management. At all times relevant to this AOC, Respondents were the owners and/or operators of the Site. On or about 2015, to approximately February 2021, Respondents, harvested plantation pine from the Site and developed cattle pastures and constructed stock ponds, which are currently used and will continue to be used for ranching. The Respondents? activities within the Discharge Area generally included removing stumps; roller chopping stumps and woody debris on the soil surface; using an agriculture and silviculture disk to prepare the soil surface for planting pasture grasses; planting of pasture grasses, including rolling; digging ditches using v-blade ditching equipment pulled behind a tractor; and constructing stock ponds and side casting the excavated material. These activities resulted in the discharge of dredged and/or fill material into wetlands on the Site and within the Discharge Area without a permit. The EPA alleges that Respondents unauthorized activities in the Discharge Area impacted approximately 2,819.94 acres of wetlands. The EPA alleges that the wetlands within the Discharge Area are waters of the United States because they have a continuous surface connection to the Intracoastal Waterway and/or the Gulf County Canal, which are traditional navigable waters. The Corps and the EPA conducted joint site inspections with the assistance of Respondents of a portion of the Site to review whether Respondents? unauthorized activities occurred in waters of the United States; to further review whether Respondents? unauthorized activities occurred in waters of the United States; and to collected vegetative cover data. EPA sent Information Request Letters to Respondents requesting information related to Respondents? discharge of dredged/fill material at the Site to assess compliance with the CWA, and the regulations promulgated. Respondents' responses to the Information Requests stated that their activities within the Discharge Area began on or about 2015 and ceased approximately February 2021, and generally included removing stumps with excavators; roller chopping of stumps and woody debris on the soil surface; using an agriculture and silviculture disk to prepare the soil surface for planting pasture grasses; planting of pasture grasses, including rolling; digging a number of ditches using v-blade ditching equipment pulled behind a tractor; and excavating cattle stock ponds and side casting the excavated material with excavators. EPA sent Respondents Notices of Violation of the Clean Water Act. The EPA alleges that Respondents? unpermitted activities in the Discharge Area resulted in the unauthorized discharge of dredged and/or fill material from point sources into waters of the United States, not exempt under Section 404(f) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ? 1344(f). The EPA alleges that the dredged and/or fill material deposited in the Discharge Area consists of earthen material which is a ?pollutant? as defined under Section 502(6) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ? 1362(6). The EPA alleges that the earth moving equipment used by the Respondents to deposit the dredged and/or fill material in the Discharge Area are ?point sources?. The EPA alleges that, to date, the unauthorized dredged and/or fill material remains in waters of the United States, and each day the material discharged by Respondents remains in waters of the United States without the required permit. Therefore, Respondents have violated Section 301(a) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ? 1311(a), by discharging pollutants into navigable waters without a permit.

Defendants (3)

• DESERET RANCHES OF NORTH FLORIDA LLCNamed in settlement
• DESERET CATTLE & TIMBERNamed in settlement
• AGRESERVES, INC.Named in settlement

Facilities (1)

• DESERET RANCHES OF NORTH FLORIDA, LLC

  6900 HIGHWAY 22, WEWAHITCHKA, FL, 32465

  Registry ID: 110070672109

Statutes cited

• CWA 404 — Permits for Dredge and Fill Material

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• AGRESERVES, INC. D/B/A DESERET CATTLE & TIMBER, and DESERET RANCHES OF NORTH FLORIDA LLC - CMU 2entered 2024-08-13

  Primary law: CWA

Timeline (2 milestones)

• 2024-08-13Final Order Issued
• 2024-08-20Enforcement Action Data Entered