Shoreline scofflaws beware

The Baltimore Sun

It was common gossip within the contractor community that damage to Maryland's waterfront caused by Tropical Storm Isabel in fall 2003 was regarded by some property owners as less a disaster than an opportunity.

Piers, bulkheads and shoreline washed away could be replaced at a scale bigger and better than would otherwise be allowed - particularly if no one was paying close attention to hastily issued permits that limited restoration work to the dimensions of what was lost.

But in the case of William and Janice Costello, someone was paying attention, and the federal and state governments have effectively thrown the book at them for violating the Clean Water Act and Maryland wetlands protections. This case should be a cautionary tale to future shoreline violators that they are running a big risk - as well as diminishing the environmental quality that makes their property valuable.

The Costellos live at Sharps Point in Anne Arundel County, where Whitehall Creek feeds into the Chesapeake Bay. According to the legal documents, they were granted county, state and federal permits to replace the stone revetment ravaged by Isabel to extend 10 feet past the mean high-tide line. But they built instead a much grander structure that extends 53 feet into the water channel and required filling in state wetlands.

Mr. Costello argues he was merely trying to make his property more storm-proof, and regulatory authorities might have been none the wiser but for alert neighbors who tipped them off.

The case has plodded through state and federal courts ever since, ultimately producing last week a proposed settlement in which the Costellos and their construction engineer agreed to pay $50,000 in fines and to restore the shoreline to its pre-Isabel condition. The contractor, the Permit Coordinators, and its founder, Scott Mielke, also agreed to pay the Costellos $80,000, reflecting the contractor's role in the illegal construction.

Three points are particularly laudable here: The fines, which, while not huge, are more than the usual slap on the wrist; the restoration requirement, which should always be obligatory but is nonetheless rare; and federal involvement to put muscle behind county and state regulators who long have been understaffed or undermotivated.

With the bay in such bad shape, those who violate its few protections should no longer be able to blithely write off prospective penalties as simply the cost of doing business.

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