50° SUNNY, Criminal charges for wetland contractor
Last Modified: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at 11:20 a.m.
Criminal charges have been filed against a Marin County man and his contractor for their alleged illegal drainage of a sensitive wetland area near Atascadero Creek north of Sebastopol, authorities said.
County inspectors stopped work on the project last June after neighbors complained about damage to the wetland.
The new charges filed by the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office includes three felony counts each against property owner Robert O’Brien, of Tiburon, and contractor Charles Craig Von Schalscha, of San Rafael, authorities said.
The two men are accused of violating the California Water Code when they channelized about 800 feet of a creek tributary, removed riparian vegetation from one stream bank and constructed a 200-foot diversion ditch to drain the wetlands, the District Attorney’s Office said.
“We will continue to protect and preserve our wetlands,” District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua said in a written press release. “There are serious consequences whenever there is damage to our waterways, including to fish, plant and animal life.”
O’Brien, 50, a building contractor, acknowledged last summer that he should have checked into permitting before starting the excavation on the 60-acre ranch he bought last January.
But O’Brien said he was trying to prevent flooding in the area and believed the work was sufficiently far away from the creek to prevent damage to the riparian habitat.
State water quality officials disagreed.
“It is a very serious violation of many agencies’ codes and regulations,” John Short, a senior engineer with the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, said at the time.
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Comments
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October 15, 2008 7:58:45 am
RE: Link
More bureaucracy run amok.
More bureaucrats trying to justify their overinflated salaries.
October 15, 2008 10:29:16 am
We've got illegals ruining every aspect of our lives and the government is concerned about this.
October 15, 2008 10:56:28 am
Ahh yes, Stephen Passalaqualalala. He is such a progressive minded individual isn't he? Always focusing on the most pressing cases for our county. He would never file criminal charges just to make an example of somebody, throw himself into the limelight, and further his own career would he?
So this is what this rancher is possibly facing:
-Three felonies
-Large Fines
-Possible prison time
-Probation/Parole
-A criminal record (he would always be a felon/ex con)
-lost voting rights
-lost 2nd amendment rights
All this for not getting a proper permit to work on his own land.
This county has just become ludicrous. Always going after the wrong people and never helping the right ones. At the same time our county has become a sanctuary for illegals and drug dealers. Liberalism is a freaking mental disorder!
October 15, 2008 11:05:04 am
What about all the homeless camped out along our waterways littering, defecating and plain trashing the riversides? Seems that they are much greater a threat than this. When will the libiots do something about them?
October 15, 2008 11:16:08 am
Think these two perps will face a death penalty? Why, what heinous crimes! Anyone seen my dope or handgun? Get my drift?
October 15, 2008 12:03:35 pm
Right...bureaucracy...libiots, sure, sure. So..if the guy doesn't own the wetlands which are being adversely effected outside the boundaries of his property, does he still have the right to damage the entire little eco-system? Nah, I didn't think so. As a contractor, this is a blatant attempt to skirt his obligation to obtain a permit. For someone who can afford a 60-acre ranch in this economy, I don't think researching a permit and doing things correctly the first time around is unreasonable. How 'bout rich people thinking they're above the law? Darn liberals and their moral aptitude to be compassionate about natural habitats...what ARE we going to do with them?
October 15, 2008 12:08:52 pm
Additionally, if severe damage wasn't occurring, law enforcement resources wouldn't be consumed on this issue.
...damn libs for catching this undoubtedly entitled republican!
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