Van Hollen
WINNECONNE, Wis. (Legal Newsline) - Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced on Monday that a Winneconne, Wis., contractor has been ordered to pay $18,500 for waste violations in the Rat River.
Radtke Contractors Inc. must pay forfeitures, assessments, costs and fees for allegedly placing and failing to remove material in the Winnebago County river during a 2006 bridge construction project. The order is the resolution of an enforcement action that was commenced by the Department of Justice at the request of the Department of Natural Resources.
According to the complaint filed in the case, Radtke Contractors was contracted by the Department of Transportation to replace the County Highway M bridge over the Rat River in Winchester, Wis., in 2006. As part of a water quality certification granted by the Department of Natural Resources, it was recommended that Radtke minimize and remove the amount of rubble falling into the water. State law prohibits the placement of material on the bed of a navigable body of water without a permit.
In June 2006, Radtke Contractors allegedly let large pieces of concrete fall into the Rat River. The Department of Natural Resources sent a notice of violation to the company in July 2009. Radtke removed the debris from the river at the bridge project site in November 2009.
"Wisconsin law requires that contractors manage construction projects so as to protect public use of the state's navigable waters," Van Hollen said. "The Wisconsin Department of Justice will continue to work with the DNR to ensure that navigation of Wisconsin's waters is safeguarded through compliance with the law."