PORT ANGELES — The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a $14,000 fine against Dan and Kelie Morrison’s A2Z Enterprises for filling 1.31 acres of wetlands without a permit when a site west of Port Angeles was developed for a popular sprint boat racetrack.
The 4-acre track is at the Morrisons’ Extreme Sports Park at 2917 Edgewood Drive.
The Morrisons, who have agreed to pay the civil penalty, submitted a wetlands restoration plan to the EPA on Thursday that is being reviewed by the federal agency but is not yet public, Enforcement Coordinator Chan Pongkhamsing said Monday.
“Our goal is to respond to A2Z probably by this week,” he said.
“We would like to see full restoration.”
The Morrisons said in an interview last week that they did not intentionally put fill into the wetlands.
“It was an honest mistake,” Dan Morrison said.
Morrison said he expects to pay the fine before November.
Pongkhamsing said the Morrisons “absolutely” will be able to keep their sprint boat race track.
The comment period on the fine ends May 21 and will be followed by a 10-day waiting period so the EPA can review the submissions before the agency makes a final decision on whether to impose the penalty, Pongkhamsing said.
Dry Creek residents who first filed a complaint with the state Department of Ecology in 2010 about the Morrisons’ activities in the wetlands have not decided if they will seek a stiffer sanction, Dry Creek Coalition member Harley Oien said last week.
Using earth-moving machinery and a backhoe, A2Z discharged dredged material, fill material or both, including soil and gravel, into the wetlands between July 15, 2011, and Sept. 15, 2011, without obtaining a permit, a move that was in violation of the federal Clean Water Act, according to the consent agreement and final order on the fine and restoration plan.
According to the order, Morrison neither admits nor denies the “factual allegations” contained in the consent agreement and final order.
The soil and gravel is considered a pollutant under the federal law.
The site contained wetlands that were connected to Dry Creek, which flows into the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
“The Army Corps of Engineers provided A2Z Enterprises with an approved jurisdictional determination of the wetland boundaries of their property back in July 2010,” Pongkhamsing said.
In 2012, the Corps of Engineers determined that A2Z had committed a “knowing and willful violation” of the law but could not reach an agreement on a remedy, referring the case to the EPA in 2013, Pongkhamsing said.
As part of the restoration, Morrison said he will add seating to the site, which draws thousands each year to United States Sprint Boat Association races and an annual Run A Muck Obstacle Challenge.
Races are scheduled this year for July 25 and Aug. 22.
Anyone who wants to submit comments on the proposed penalty or obtain documents related to the fine must notify Regional Hearing Clerk Candace Smith, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 (ORC-158), 1200 Sixth Ave., Suite 900, Seattle, WA 98101-3140, by May 21.
Smith can be reached at 206-553-6524.
The consent agreement and final order are at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-Finalorder.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
