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Duran Construction Company ordered to restore wetlands in Juneau, Alaska

Release Date: 03/02/2006
Contact Information: Contact: Steven Roy, (206) 553-6221, roy.steve@epa.gov Tony Brown, (206) 553-1203, brown.anthony@epa.gov

(Juneau, AK. – Mar. 2, 2006) Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has issued an administrative compliance order to Duran Construction Company (Duran Construction) for violating the Clean Water Act by filling wetlands without a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The unauthorized filling of wetlands occurred at Duran Construction’s Spruce Corners property in Juneau, Alaska.

The compliance order requires Duran Construction to submit a draft Wetlands Fill Removal and Wetlands Restoration Work Plan to EPA for approval. The goal of the work plan is to restore the wetlands functions and values that were lost because of the unauthorized work.

"Wetlands serve important functions such as purifying water and providing habitat for fish and wildlife," said Marcia Combes, Director of EPA's Alaska Operations Office in Anchorage. "We take protecting wetlands seriously. One way we do this is by ensuring that the proper permits are in place before work begins.”

This is Duran Construction’s second Clean Water Act violation. In November 2001, the company placed fill material onto approximately 3.2 acres of wetlands at Duran’s Vista Del Sol Subdivision property near the Juneau International Airport. EPA has recently approved Duran Construction’s wetlands restoration plan for that violation.

Region 10 's Office of Ecosystems Website (yosemite.epa.gov/r10/ecocomm.nsf)