Coconut Farmer Must Restore Wetlands

In 1980, Parks B. Banks bought three lots in Big Pine Key, Florida. He began bulldozing two lots and covering them with fill. He continued this until 1983, when he planted coconut trees on the filled lots and built a house on the third. In March 1983, the US Army Corps of Engineers advised Banks that parts of two lots were wetlands and the discharge of fill materials was unlawful under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Banks continued to discharge fill without a permit and entered into no negotiations for a restoration plan. In 1988, Banks bought two more lots and again converted them to coconut farms. In December 1991, the government sued Banks, seeking an injunction against further discharges, restoration of the wetlands to their undisturbed condition, and a civil penalty. The trial court found that Banks had violated the CWA.