如果你被指控违反潮汐湿地，该怎么办

在弗吉尼亚州，湿地受法律保护.  弗吉尼亚海洋现金网官网委员会, working in in close coordination with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and local Wetlands Boards, have the responsibility to preserve and prevent the destruction of tidal wetlands while also accommodating necessary economic development in a manner consistent with wetlands preservation.  Va. 代码§28.2-1301(B).

潮汐湿地地区的建筑活动受到严格管制.  You must obtain a permit for any activity that is not specifically authorized by law.   某些类别的建设项目是明确授权的, but it is not always immediately clear whether a proposed project will fall into one of these narrow categories.  例如, you can build certain types of non-commercial piers and boathouses if the structure is constructed on pilings that permit the “reasonably unobstructed flow of the tide and preserve the natural contour of the wetlands.”  Va. 代码§1302 (3)(1). 

如果当地成立了当地湿地委员会, 然后由当地湿地委员会决定是否批准或拒绝许可证.  作为申请者, you may appeal to the VMRC if you are unhappy with the decision of the Local Wetlands Board.  另一方面, 如果当地选择不成立当地湿地委员会, VMRC决定是否授予许可证.  在这种情况下，您可以向适当的法院上诉VMRC的决定.  在汉普顿路, 例如, 弗吉尼亚海滩和诺福克都建立了自己的地方湿地委员会. 然而，切萨皮克并没有当地湿地委员会.  这意味着与弗吉尼亚海滩和诺福克的情况不同, VMRC决定切萨皮克所有潮汐湿地的许可问题.

Penalties for conducting prohibited activities in a tidal wetland can be quite severe.  例如，根据弗吉尼亚法典第28条.2-1318，这是一级轻罪故意，或者 粗心大意地 违反湿地法.  “疏忽”这个词很重要.  This means that you can be charged with a crime even if you did not know that your activities would potentially harm tidal wetlands, 只要你有理由知道.   除了刑事处罚, VMRC有权评估可能相当严重的民事罚款. 

The good news for those wishing to build in a tidal wetland is that according to proprietary data gathered by 现金网官网& 科沃德的滨水律师团队, the VMRC almost always approves construction permits when the applicant properly follows the application procedure.  In fact, our data shows that last year the VMRC approved 100% of such applications. 

不幸的是, it can be extremely difficult to tell if a piece of property is subject to tidal wetlands regulations such that a permit is required.  Although some tidal wetlands can be obvious, others are nearly impossible to discern.  不过, 该法律适用于所有类型的潮汐湿地, 犯错误的后果可能是巨大的.  This should be concerning to anyone who owns property in Tidewater or other tidal areas in Virginia, 以及在这些地区进行任何类型建设的所有企业.  浏览更多有关建筑工程许可证申请的资料, 请参阅本文 作者是我的同事兼海滨律师吉姆·朗.

在最近的VMRC听证会上, a 切萨皮克 homeowner was required to pay nearly thirty thousand dollars in fines and penalties for hiring a contractor to add fill dirt to his own back yard!  The homeowner’s yard was situated at a lower elevation than yards of his neighbors, 在大雨中导致水上升到他家下面的爬行空间.  为了防止洪水泛滥, the homeowner hired a company to add dirt to his yard to bring it up to the same elevation as his neighbors’ property.   不幸的是 for the homeowner part of his backyard contained a protected tidal wetland, 引起了VMRC的注意.

The homeowner chose to represent himself at his hearing rather than obtaining legal counsel.  At the hearing, he testified that he was not aware that his backyard included some areas of wetlands.  有趣的是，VMRC并没有对此提出异议, and the members of the Commission even acknowledged that there was no way to visually tell that a wetland was present.  不过, the VMRC assessed a civil penalty of $6000 dollars against the homeowner.  另外, 他被要求购买1250平方英尺的“湿地信用”,” meaning that he had to pay for the construction of two square feet of new wetlands for every one square foot that he had filled in.  这些抵免使房主花费了21,500美元.  因此, 在他的后院填上一块地总共花了27美元,500, 除了项目本身的成本!

在与房主交涉之后, VMRC将目光转向了执行这项工作的承包公司.  The VMRC sent the company a letter requiring the owner to explain what had occurred and why he should not be charged with a tidal wetlands violation for filling in the homeowner’s yard. 不像房主, the contractor decided not to represent himself but instead hired an attorney from our firm’s waterfront law team. .

 Our team’s first step in answering the inquiry was to determine what factors the VMRC uses to assess whether a civil penalty against a construction company is warranted.   Some of these factors include how often the contractor performs work in tidal wetlands areas; whether the violation was willful; the extent of the damage caused; and the company’s record of compliance with wetlands laws and other environmental regulations.

Utilizing our waterfront law team’s close working relationship with the VMRC Staff, 我们发现了许多有利于我方当事人的减刑因素.  Some of these included the company’s impeccable record of compliance with environmental laws, 事实上，它很少执行这种类型的建设项目.  在我们的律师和VMRC进行了几周的对话之后, the Commissioner agreed to drop the case against our client and not to pursue the issue any further.  因此, the client avoided having to appear at a hearing and was saved from what could have been a very large fine.        

不管你是承包商还是房主, if you are considering conducting any type of construction activity in the Tidewater area or any tidal areas in Virginia, you would be well-advised to make sure that you are not building in a tidal wetland area without a permit.  我们的团队可以协助此类项目的许可程序.   如果你已经被指控违规, we recommend seeking legal counsel from an experienced environmental /waterfront attorney.  尽管没有两个案例是相同的, 正如前面的故事所示, an experienced attorney can mean the difference between a large fine and a dismissed case.

布莱恩·皮尔普斯 是一个现金网官网 & 科沃德律师专注于海滨法律事务.