DEEP investigator Kevin Zawoy has identified violations of CT wetlands law at 28 Schoolhouse and 6 Heron and ordered the owner to start remediation measures. 

Here is a walkway paved with bluestone slabs on 6 Heron directly on wetlands. Straw was used to cover them but Mr. Zawoy was not fooled.

Here is a gravel that was dumped to create a "beach." The owner claimed that it must have just washed in during a storm, although he apparently did admit to being responsible for the big granite stone and the gravel fill that abuts it

Here is the gravel being removed as ordered by DEEP

Unfortunately budget cuts have hit DEEP enforcement hard. A feb 2019 article in the CTpost noted a 40% drop in DEEP inspections over the preceding 7 years. The agency has seen an unprecedented decrease in staff which has resulted in an understandable loss in moral and experience that cannot be early remedied. The state now has a single inspector to investigate violations of CT environmental law.

Without an army of investigators, DEEP is really dependent on citizens reporting violations and for those reported, DEEP lacks the manpower to commit resources required to fully investigate.  This may be news to many, but it is undoubtedly well known by potential offenders who know the chances of getting caught are low and even if caught, the likelihood getting fined is miniscule. According to DEEP's enforcement database, there was not a single Enforcement Action in the entire state during the last 12 months related to water, wetlands, or Long Island Sound. An apparent lack of enforcement also lessons the incentive for citizens to report issues. And it gets worse. The fines apparently require the offender to admit to the violation and agree to pay the fine. Imagine being issued a ticket for speeding that you refuse to sign it and there isn't anything the cop can do about it. in many situations, a fine might be appropriate but the offender will refuse to sign it, so why bother.

Reporting a violation always entails some risk because the offenders, who have already demonstrated a willingness to break the law, are not going to be very happy about being reported. Even Local officials may not want to report influential residents when there is almost a zero chance of an enforcement action. 

The CT Wetland law is quite clear regarding violations: 

"No regulated activity shall be conducted upon any wetland without a permit." Where "regulated activity" means you can't dig, fill, or dump on wetlands.

"Any person who knowingly violates any provision of sections 22a-28 to 22a-35, inclusive, shall be liable to the state for the cost of restoration of the affected wetland to its condition prior to such violation insofar as that is possible, and shall forfeit to the state a sum not to exceed one thousand dollars, to be fixed by the court, for each offense." 

We are waiting to see the final results of Mr. Zawoy's intervention. The path has been removed and the "beach dug up." This is good but the real point is that laws have a purpose. With consequences, they are meaningless. To the average citizen a $1,000 dollar fine is a big deal. To a very wealthy resident it may represent a rounding error, hardly a deterrent. Worse yet, they lack of a significant penalty is likely to increase violations. Even residents not prone to violating laws may get the message that the law is meaningless, a relic of the past that is no longer enforced. Ironically, this creates a situation where reporting a violation can increase the overall harm to the environment. 

It is too early to tell but we are hopeful that the message in this case will be clear. "Don't violate wetland laws!"