Van Hollen
RHINELANDER, Wis. (Legal Newsline) - Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced on Tuesday that a default judgment has been granted against two Illinois residents who allegedly were in violation of Wisconsin's waterway and wetland protection laws.
Oneida landowners Zbigniew Kretowicz and Dorota Kretowicz were named in a lawsuit filed by Van Hollen at the request of the Department of Natural Resources.
The couple purchased land on Neptune Lake, understanding it could not be accessed by the easement recorded to serve it due to the fact that it crossed wetland and lakebed. The DNR advised the couple to purchase an upland easement for the property, but they never did.
The Kretowiczes allegedly hired Town of Monico resident Rudy Pederson to place approximately 80 yards of gravel in the wetland to create a 16-by-200 foot road. The couple constructed a cabin and a pier crossing the wetland and vegetated lakebed to reach the lake from their building site, Van Hollen said.
Their pier extends 40 feet into Neptune Lake, Van Hollen says.
By law, a permit is required for the wetland and lakebed fill, as well as for the pier. Once contacted by the DNR, Pederson removed the roadway fill, but the Kretowiczes failed to respond when the lawsuit was filed.
The judgment calls for the couple to pay $34,959 for disregarding the law in placing the road and pier. The couple was also ordered to either obtain a permit for their pier and platform within 30 days or remove the structures within 60 days.