DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Federal environmental regulators fined a Florida real estate company $187,500 and ordered them to restore wetlands after finding evidence of illegal dredging.
The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports (http://bit.ly/2aSrn94 ) that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Consolidated-Tomoka Land Company settled a longstanding case related to the illegal dredging on 163 acres of wetlands in Daytona Beach.
As part of the agreement, the company will restore about 108 acres wetlands and create another 41 acres of new wetlands at a cost of nearly $2 million.
The company did not admit wrongdoing, but the EPA says it found evidence of illegal dredging and filling along tributaries to the Tomoka River dating back nearly a decade.
The company has also donated 665 acres near the site, which is now a preserve owned by Florida.
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