Liberty University fined for wetland damage

By Sarah Watson

Published: August 19, 2008

Liberty University will pay about $9,200 in fines imposed by the state Department of Environmental Quality for wetland and stream damage caused by dorm construction.

The damage is considered minor, DEQ enforcement officer Marvin Booth said. It involves a small amount of forested wetlands and 65 feet of a small stream next to the Campus East residence halls.

DEQ also is ordering the university to create a small amount of new buffer zones on an existing stream in the same watershed to make up for the damage, Booth said.

“We try to match the impacts with the civil charge. This was a minimal impact, so this is not that large of a fine,” Booth said. “This whole process is part of making developers aware of what’s out there and what they’re supposed to avoid.”

LU chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. said the university is not at fault and if challenged in court, the DEQ would not be able to prove the impacts were out of line with the permit.

“If anyone made a mistake, it was our surveyor and we weren’t willing to take a big hit on it, so we made a counter-offer,” Falwell said. “I just see it as harassment by the DEQ. They’re trying to control everybody’s property in the state of Virginia.”

DEQ initially proposed about $30,000 in fines, but LU countered with a $9,270 fine, which DEQ accepted, Falwell said. “Sometimes it’s cheaper just to settle than to pay attorneys, even if you’re innocent.”

A public comment period on the consent order began Monday and the State Water Control Board will likely finalize the document Oct. 16, Booth said.

The Liberty East, Phase III December 2006 permit application said 281 feet of an intermittent stream would be relocated to a storm sewer. A small amount of forested wetlands located next to the stream and just above where the dorms were built was explicitly labeled as off limits, the order said.

In March 2007, a DEQ site inspection found that .01 acres of the wetlands were destroyed and an extra 65 feet of the stream had been channelized and shored up with riprap, the order said.

A violation notice was sent in June 2007, which also said builders didn’t mark wetland areas and didn’t implement proper erosion and sediment controls.

“This particular permit said the wetland was indicated as a non-impact, which means they were supposed to stay out and that’s not what happened,” Booth said. “There wasn’t much there to destroy, so when you do anything, it’s gone.”