Attorney General's News Release

July 12, 2007

St. Louis developers to pay $590,000 penalty for polluting waterways with runoff from three construction sites

St. Louis, Mo. — Several St. Louis-area developers responsible for polluting streams and lakes with runoff from three construction sites will adhere to a strict compliance program at future construction projects, clean up past pollution, and pay one of the largest environmental penalties of its kind in state history under a consent decree reached with the United States, Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon and the city of Wildwood, Mo.

The consent decree, filed today in federal district court in St. Louis, requires J.H. Berra Construction Co. Inc. and several other defendants to pay a civil penalty of $590,000, the largest penalty for a land disturbance case in Missouri. The other defendants in the case include JHB Properties Inc., J.H. Berra Holding Co. Inc, JMB No. 2 LLC, and CMB Rhodes LLC. All are connected to J.H. Berra Construction, one of the largest developers in the St. Louis area.

“This Consent Decree contains strong requirements for future construction sites that will reduce pollution, a hefty penalty, and also demonstrates the important role that the federal, state and local government each play in reducing the pollution of our lakes and waters,” said Ronald J. Tenpas, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division.

“Stringent steps must be taken in the construction of these developments to ensure they don’t pollute our streams and lakes,” Nixon said. “In this case, Berra’s clearing and grading at all three of these sites caused substantial problems with sediment. A record penalty and tough requirements for cleaning up the pollution and for future projects were appropriate.”

“Developers must realize the importance of keeping harmful sediment from reaching the waters of the state,” said John B. Askew, EPA regional administrator. “The strict erosion controls required of Berra by this settlement and the size of this penalty reflect the seriousness of the violations.”

Half of the penalty will go to the state of Missouri, and the other half to the United States. In addition, the defendants will implement remedial plans for the pollution caused by the runoff and reimburse more than $52,000 to the state of Missouri and the city of Wildwood for their costs of investigation and enforcement.

The consent decree resolves the concerns of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the state of Missouri and the city of Wildwood about sediment pollution from the Enclaves at Cherry Hills, a 130-acre residential development located in Wildwood; from the Countryshire Development, a 150-acre residential development in O’Fallon; and the Seckman Lake Estates, a 120-acre construction site in Jefferson County.

Berra Construction began grading and clearing at the Cherry Hills site in 2003. Shortly after those land disturbance activities began, the city of Wildwood began receiving complaints from neighbors about heavy discharges of sediment into Chesterfield Lake. City inspectors found that Berra had failed to install adequate measures to control the sediment running off from the development. Subsequent inspections by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the EPA found several violations of the general permit issued to Berra by the department.

EPA and DNR found similar violations at the Countryshire Development, where Berra began grading and clearing work in 2005. Neighbors soon thereafter began notifying the state of Missouri that runoff from that site was polluting tributaries of Dardene Creek.

EPA found additional violations during construction activity by Berra at the Seckman Lakes Estates development in Jefferson County. Berra was engaged in construction activity at that site between January 2002 and December 2005. An inspection by EPA in October 2005 revealed that these construction activities also resulted in significant amounts of sediment being discharged into Rock Creek.

Under the consent decree, the Berra companies must designate at least one stormwater compliance manager for each site. The person must be stormwater-trained, and will have the responsibility and authority to manage all activities necessary to meet stormwater requirements, and have the responsibility and authority to order work stopped on a project, if needed. Berra must also obtain all necessary permits and follow specific criteria spelled out in the consent decree to adequately control sediment runoff from its construction sites.

The Berra companies also must implement remediation plans to remove sediment in waterways that were harmed by their activities. The defendants also will pay $100,000 to the Harbors of Lake Chesterfield Homeowners Association for the estimated cost of removing the sediment from Lake Chesterfield. Berra also must conduct trial samples for six months at two of its new development sites to ensure that the methods it has installed to control sediment are effective.

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