What to Do if You Have Been Charged with a Tidal Wetlands Violation

In Virginia, wetlands are protected by law.  The Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC), 与环境质量部和当地湿地委员会密切协调工作, 有责任保护和防止潮汐湿地遭到破坏，同时又要以符合保护湿地的方式促进必要的经济发展.  Va. Code §28.2-1301(B).

Construction activities in tidal wetlands areas are highly regulated.  任何未经法律特别授权的活动，你都必须获得许可.   Certain categories of construction projects are explicitly authorized, 但是，拟议的项目是否属于这些狭窄的类别并不总是立即清楚.  For example, 你可以建造某些类型的非商业码头和船屋，如果这些建筑是在允许“合理不受阻碍的潮汐流动和保持湿地自然轮廓”的桩基上建造的.”  Va. Code §1302(3)(1). 

If the locality has created a Local Wetlands Board, then the Local Wetlands Board decides whether to grant or deny the permit.  As an applicant, 如果你对当地湿地委员会的决定不满意，你可以向湿地委员会上诉.  On the other hand, if the locality has opted not to create a Local Wetlands Board, the VMRC decides whether or not to grant the permit.  In that case, you may appeal the VMRC decision to the appropriate court.  In Hampton Roads, for example, Virginia Beach and Norfolk have each established their own Local Wetlands Board. Chesapeake, however, does not have a Local Wetlands Board.  This means that unlike the situation in Virginia Beach and Norfolk, the VMRC decides all tidal wetlands permitting issues in Chesapeake.

在潮汐湿地进行被禁止的活动，可能会受到相当严厉的处罚.  For example, under Virginia Code §28.2-1318, it is a Class 1 Misdemeanor to knowingly, intentionally, or negligently violate a wetlands law.  The word “negligently” is important.  这意味着，即使你不知道你的活动可能会危害潮汐湿地，你也可能被控罪, as long as you reasonably could have known.   In addition to the criminal penalties, the VMRC has the authority to assess civil fines which can be quite severe. 

对于那些希望在潮汐湿地上建造房屋的人来说，好消息是根据彭德收集的专有数据& Coward’s waterfront law team, 当申请人正确地遵循申请程序时，VMRC几乎总是批准施工许可证.  事实上，我们的数据显示，去年VMRC批准了100%的此类申请. 

Unfortunately, 很难判断一块土地是否受潮汐湿地条例的约束，需要许可证.  虽然有些潮汐湿地很明显，但其他湿地几乎无法辨别.  Nevertheless, the law applies to all types of tidal wetlands, and the consequences of making a mistake can be enormous.  这应该是有关任何人谁拥有财产在潮水或其他潮汐地区在弗吉尼亚州, and to all businesses that conduct any type of construction in these areas.  For more information on permit applications in construction projects, see this article written by my colleague and waterfront law attorney Jim Lang.

In a recent VMRC hearing, 切萨皮克的一位房主因雇佣承包商在自家后院填土，被要求支付近3万美元的罚款和罚金!  房主的院子比邻居的院子海拔低, causing water to rise into the crawlspace under his home during heavy rains.  In order to prevent the flooding, 房主雇了一家公司给他的院子加土，使它达到和邻居的院子一样的高度.   不幸的是，房主的后院有一块受保护的潮汐湿地, which brought him to attention of the VMRC.

房主选择在听证会上代表自己而不是请法律顾问.  在听证会上，他作证说，他不知道他的后院包括一些湿地.  Interestingly the VMRC did not dispute this, 委员会成员甚至承认，没有办法从视觉上判断湿地的存在.  尽管如此，VMRC还是对房主处以了6000美元的民事罚款.  Additionally, he was required to purchase 1250 square feet of “wetlands credits,这意味着他必须为每填满一平方英尺的湿地支付建造两平方英尺新湿地的费用.  These credits cost the homeowner $21,500.  Thus, the total cost for filling in a portion of his backyard came to $27,500, in addition to the cost of the project itself!

After dealing with the homeowner, VMRC将目光转向了执行这项工作的承包公司.  VMRC给该公司发了一封信，要求业主解释发生了什么，以及为什么他不应该因为填满房主的院子而被指控违反潮汐湿地. Unlike the homeowner, 承包商决定不为自己辩护，而是从我们公司的滨水法律团队聘请了一名律师. .

 我们团队回答这个问题的第一步是确定VMRC使用哪些因素来评估对建筑公司的民事处罚是否有必要.   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.

利用我们的滨水法律团队与VMRC员工的密切工作关系, we found many mitigating factors which favored our client.  其中包括该公司在遵守环境法律方面无可挑剔的记录, and the fact it rarely performs this type of construction project.  After several weeks of dialogue between our attorneys and the VMRC, 局长同意撤销对我们客户的诉讼，不再追究此事.  Thus, 客户避免了出席听证会，也避免了可能会被处以巨额罚款.        

Regardless of whether you are a contractor or a homeowner, 如果您正在考虑在潮水区或弗吉尼亚州的任何潮汐区进行任何类型的建筑活动, 你最好确保你不是在没有许可证的情况下在潮汐湿地地区建造.  Our team can assist with the permitting process for such projects.   If you have already been charged with a violation, 我们建议向经验丰富的环境/滨水律师寻求法律咨询.  Although no two cases are alike, as the foregoing story shows, 一个经验丰富的律师可能意味着巨额罚款和驳回案件之间的区别.

Bryan Peeples is a Pender & Coward attorney focusing his practice on waterfront law matters.