California regulators say a Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur and winemaker has agreed to pay $3.76 million in penalties after his company bulldozed a protected wetland and filled in a stream bed to build a vineyard in Mendocino County.
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported that the settlement is one of the largest ever involving water quality on the North Coast. It stems from a litany of environmental violations tied to unpermitted work by Rhys Vineyards on owner Kevin Harvey’s ranch near Laytonville.
Rhys’ lawyer said in a statement that the company “deeply regrets the mistakes made.” Harvey, a San Francisco Bay Area venture capitalist, could not be reached for comment.
Officials say the company illegally covered protected wetlands and filled in a stream bed near the North Fork Ten Mile River watershed.
Topics California
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Old Republic to Acquire Small Farmowner Insurer Everett Cash Mutual 
Trucking App Trucker Path Launches Retail Insurance Agency 
Update: Catastrophe Bond Investors Told to Brace for Jamaica Payout 
Rotting Apple: Berkley Explains Property Market, Company Appetite 
