Attorney General Philip T. McLaughlin and Department of Environmental Services (DES) Commissioner Robert W. Varney announced today that a settlement has been reached in the State's action against Novel Iron Works, Inc. for violations of the State's wetland laws.

The Environmental Protection Bureau of the Attorney General's Office filed suit in the Rockingham County Superior Court on April 15, 2000. The suit alleged that Novel Iron Works, a steel fabricating business located on Ocean Road in the Town of Greenland, filled approximately 1.4 acres of a portion of the wetland known as Packer Bog without a permit from the DES Wetlands Bureau. Novel placed fill in the wetland to expand its operations and to install a large, steel, dual track, overhead crane. The fill reduced the flood storage and nutrient attenuation capacity of the Packer Bog/Packer Brook watershed of Great Bay and eliminated the natural buffer between human activity and the wetland.

State law requires a permit from the New Hampshire Wetlands Bureau to perform work in and adjacent to wetlands. The permitting system allows for a managed use of the state's wetlands.

After the State's lawsuit was filed, Novel Iron Works worked cooperatively with the Attorney General's Office to resolve the wetlands violations. The company agreed to pay the State a $75,000 fine, to restore .8 acres of the wetland and to submit an after the fact application to retain the fill in the other .6 acres. The Attorney General agreed to suspend $15,000 of the $75,000 penalty pending the company's successful restoration of the impacted wetland.

As part of the agreement, Novel Iron Works retained a wetland scientist to design and oversee the wetlands restoration as well as to monitor the success of the restoration for two years following its completion. Following the State's approval of the restoration plan, Novel Iron Works paid the $60,000 fine and has begun the restoration work. The Town of Greenland Conservation Commission, the New Hampshire Wetlands Bureau and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have approved of Novel Iron Works application to retain the .6 acres of fill beneath and immediately adjacent to the overhead crane structure.

Attorney General Philip T. McLaughlin noted, "Vigorous enforcement of the laws protecting New Hampshire's environment, including our wetlands, is essential to protect our natural environment. The failure to comply with the state's permitting laws is a serious offense that can lead to civil as well as criminal sanctions."

In expressing his satisfaction that a settlement had been reached, Commissioner Robert Varney said, "Packer Bog is an important watershed as the Packer Brook is a direct tributary to Great Bay, which is a precious natural resource in the state and a federally designated natural estuary. Preservation of such resources is vital to the state."

For further information, please contact Assistant Attorney General Geoffrey Ransom at (603) 271-3679.