Pinehurst man to pay fine for CDA River bank disturbance

PINEHURST –– A local man recently agreed to pay an $8,000 fine after he was found in violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA). 

According to the court-filed consent agreement from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in September 2022, Michael Gagliano was discovered to have violated the CWA after he used a combination of off-site rock and native sediment from the bank to reinforce the bank of the South Fork of the Coeur D’ Alene River near his property in a remote area of Pinehurst.

Through the use of heavy machinery, Gagliano reportedly removed the layers of uncontaminated rip-rap, and fill materials, as well as the lower layer of contaminated materials from beneath the high water mark, which is where private property ends and the tributary becomes what is considered a navigable waterway. 

According to Charissa Bujak, a specialist with the EPA, Gagliano’s actions without a permit from the United States Army Corps of Engineers are what caused him to receive the fine. Because his actions took place within the Bunker Hill Superfund Site there is a strong likelihood that contaminated soils were disturbed and subsequently mobilized into the river, which affects both human health as well as the surrounding ecosystem. 

Section 301 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §1311) prohibits discharges of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States unless the work has been authorized by a Department of the Army permit.

“Property owners must get the necessary Clean Water Act permits to make sure that any work impacting waters of the United States is done in a way that protects the health of the ecosystem and minimizes the impact to sources of drinking water and water used for recreation,” said EPA Region 10 Director Ed Kowalski. “These types of Clean Water Act enforcement actions are important in protecting our valuable water resources and are especially important in areas within Superfund sites with highly contaminated sediments.”

Altering a river bank can have several unintended and unforeseen consequences beyond pollution – things like changing water flows, which can increase water speed and speed up the erosion process for properties downstream. Disturbing these riverbanks can also disturb wildlife habitats, both at the site of the disturbance as well as areas downstream. 

In addition to paying the penalty, Gagliano agreed to remove the fill material and restore the site prioritizing slope stabilization, erosion reduction, and establishing vegetation along the riverbank.

This isn’t the first time that the EPA has issued a fine in that area of the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River – In 2022, resident Cody Karst was required to pay a $14,000 penalty and restore wetlands that he damaged – reportedly to build a baptismal pond along the bank of the river. 

The Clean Water Act was established in 1972 and is the guideline for pollution regulation and quality standards in the waters of the United States.