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RENO, Nev. — The Environmental Protection Agency ordered a Boise beef company Monday to correct damage it caused by diverting a river's flow on its 1.4 million-acre ranch in Nevada's Elko County.
Failure to submit a plan to clean up the South Fork Owyhee River by mid-January could result in Agri Beef Co. of Boise facing fines up to $32,500 a day, EPA officials said Monday.
Agri Beef diverted about 1,200 feet of the river's flow by placing about 3,200 cubic yards of dredged dirt and debris into the channel without a federal permit on the IL Ranch near Tuscarora, about 80 miles northwest of Elko, EPA officials said.
The agency ordered the company to return the river to its normal flow, remove dirt and debris, replace any vegetation removed and take steps to further prevent erosion of the banks.
EPA discovered the violation after a tip from a local resident, EPA spokeswoman Laura Gentile said Monday. She said failure to meet the January deadline could trigger the daily fines of up to $32,500 under the Clean Water Act.
Agri Beef Co. President Robert Rebholtz Jr. was not immediately available for comment, said Patty Delgadillo, a company spokeswoman in Boise. She said the company was preparing a statement in response to the order but was not sure whether it would be available before today.
Alexis Strauss, director of EPA's water division for the Pacific Southwest regional office in San Francisco, said the company will be required to monitor the river for five years to evaluate the restoration.
"The Owhyee River is a treasured natural resource of the western United States," she said in a statement.
"We will ensure this company complies with our order to undo the damage and restore the river," she said.
Environmental groups have been critical of Agri Beef's grazing practices on federal lands in Nevada, including in areas around the Owyhee River.
Katie Fite, director of the Committee for the High Desert, said her group did not notify EPA of the river diversion but she was glad that someone did.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041109/NEWS02/411090325/1029/NEWS01
Failure to submit a plan to clean up the South Fork Owyhee River by mid-January could result in Agri Beef Co. of Boise facing fines up to $32,500 a day, EPA officials said Monday.
Agri Beef diverted about 1,200 feet of the river's flow by placing about 3,200 cubic yards of dredged dirt and debris into the channel without a federal permit on the IL Ranch near Tuscarora, about 80 miles northwest of Elko, EPA officials said.
The agency ordered the company to return the river to its normal flow, remove dirt and debris, replace any vegetation removed and take steps to further prevent erosion of the banks.
EPA discovered the violation after a tip from a local resident, EPA spokeswoman Laura Gentile said Monday. She said failure to meet the January deadline could trigger the daily fines of up to $32,500 under the Clean Water Act.
Agri Beef Co. President Robert Rebholtz Jr. was not immediately available for comment, said Patty Delgadillo, a company spokeswoman in Boise. She said the company was preparing a statement in response to the order but was not sure whether it would be available before today.
Alexis Strauss, director of EPA's water division for the Pacific Southwest regional office in San Francisco, said the company will be required to monitor the river for five years to evaluate the restoration.
"The Owhyee River is a treasured natural resource of the western United States," she said in a statement.
"We will ensure this company complies with our order to undo the damage and restore the river," she said.
Environmental groups have been critical of Agri Beef's grazing practices on federal lands in Nevada, including in areas around the Owyhee River.
Katie Fite, director of the Committee for the High Desert, said her group did not notify EPA of the river diversion but she was glad that someone did.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041109/NEWS02/411090325/1029/NEWS01
