William L. Nutting, Clean Water Act Violations, Georgia 2016

Savannah, GA – A Long County developer has agreed to pay for his role in violating the Clean Water Act, federal authorities announced today.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers allege that William L. Nutting and three related entities – Georgia Coastal Land Company, Provident Land Holdings, Co., and Provident Construction Co. – discharged fill material into federally protected waters without authorization at three Long County sites over a number of years.

The complaint also states that the defendants failed to pay an administrative penalty assessed in 2014 and failed to comply with a previous settlement agreement intended to resolve Clean Water Act violations at one of the three sites.

The proposed consent decree, which has been lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, requires Nutting and the related entities to restore two sites, pay monetary penalties, and take steps to mitigate past harms and prevent future violations.

“These defendants disregarded several opportunities to voluntarily comply with the law,” said Acting United States Attorney James Durham. “We will continue to work with our partners at the Army Corps of Engineers and the Environment and Natural Resources Division to hold accountable anyone who places their own financial interests above those of this community.”

The case is the first recovery of civil penalties for violations of the Clean Water Act in the history of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, according to Shaun Blocker, Project Manager with the Savannah District. “We take our obligation to enforce regulations to protect the nation’s waters seriously,” Blocker said.

The proposed consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. A copy is available on the Justice.gov website at: https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees

For questions, please call the United States Attorney’s Office at (912) 201-2522.

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