AP 5-11,2016
A settlement has been reached in a three-year battle between the Environmental Protection Agency and a southwest Wyoming landowner over a stock pond.
The EPA had threatened stiff fines over a pond Andy Johnson had built on his property in Uinta County. The agency said the pond may have violated the Clean Water Act.
However, lawyers for Johnson say the settlement that has been reached allows Johnson to keep the pond and doesn’t impose any fines on him.
Johnson agreed to plant willows by the pond and temporarily fence off part of it to help control livestock.
Johnson says he’s relieved by the resolution and thanked his supporters, including the California-based Pacific Legal Foundation.
Sens. John Barrasso and Mike Enzi say the settlement is a welcome rebuke of the EPA.
