KBIA Local
(2009-12-10)
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COLUMBIA, MO
(KBIA) -
A former Columbia development business is under fire for violating the Clean Water Act. KBIA's Maureen McCollum has more on the attorney general's lawsuit.
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Although Garth Coleman Builders is no longer in business, the attorney general's office wants it to pay for clean water violations. The Columbia developer had planned the Kinkade Crossing subdivision, but it was never completed. Garth Coleman Builders defaulted on a loan, so the property went into the possession of the bank.
Attorney General Chris Koster has filed a lawsuit claiming the company violated the Clean Water Act by polluting a Rocky Fork Creek tributary. The Missouri Department of Natural Resource's Clean Water Commission recommended in July that the attorney general take legal action against Garth Coleman Builders. The DNR found that contaminants from the uncompleted Kinkade Crossing subdivision were entering a stream and violating the Clean Water Act. Deputy Attorney General Joe Dandurand says DNR inspections also found that erosion control structures and best management practices were not in place.
"The storm rain waters were causing erosion that was not slowed or stopped by any of the appropriate erosion control structures they were supposed to put in place. So, soil, rocks and setiment all came rushing off of the development property into the stream and polluting the stream and affecting the aquatic life."
Dandurand says the bank that repossessed the property has brought it up to environmental standards. But, he says, Garth Coleman Builders needs to be held responsible. Koster is urging the court to require Garth Coleman Builders to comply with the Clean Water Act and pay for past violations. Calls to Garth Coleman have not been returned.
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