Van Hollen
MADISON, Wis. (Legal Newsline) - Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced on Thursday that an Appleton developer and a Kaukauna business have been ordered to pay $152,500 for allegedly placing unpermitted structures and riprap without permits.
G&G River Investments LLC and Gene Frederickson Trucking must pay $152,500 in forfeitures, assessments and costs for allegedly placing the structures and riprap in the Wolf River at and adjacent to property located on State Road 110/County Highway II in Fremont.
Wisconsin law prohibits the placement of any structure or material on the bed of a navigable water without a permit. According to the complaint, G&G River Investments worked with staff from the Department of Natural Resources to develop a permit for structures at the Fremont property that would generally protect the shoreline of the Wolf River and near shore habitat.
The permit was specifically meant to protect the habitat of 15 mussel species, including one Wisconsin threatened species that resides at the site in the Wolf River.
G&G River Investments allegedly constructed one pier, seven boat lifts and five permanent boat shelters that were not authorized by any permit. The construction resulted in a footprint increase of 300 percent more than what was permitted to the detriment of the Wolf River resource and statewide waterway permitting programs.
In addition, Gene Frederickson Trucking and G&G River Investments allegedly placed riprap that was not authorized by any permit in the Wolf River at the Fremont site. The DNR advised G&G River Investments that no riprap would be permitted at that location of the Wolf River, which is an area of special natural resource interest, in 2003. The DNR reiterated that no riprap could be placed there without a permit in 2004.
In 2006, G&G River Investments and Gene Frederickson Trucking allegedly placed riprap at the site along at least 110 yards of the bank of the Wolf River. The two companies removed all of the rock riprap and concrete curbing above the ordinary high water mark and stabilized the bank in 2008.
The court order, which was signed by Winnebago County Judge Daniel J. Bissett, requires that G&G River Investments pay $137,500 and Gene Frederickson Trucking pay $15,000 in forfeitures, assessments and costs for the alleged violations. In addition, G&G River Investments must implement a corrective plan for the lifts and reconfiguration of the pier, implement a shoreline restoration plan for the riprap and monitor the site for five years.