Minnesota Company To Pay $20K For Disturbing Refuge Plants
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The U.S. Attorney's office says a Hugo construction company has agreed to pay $20,000 for allegedly disturbing plants in a national wildlife refuge.
Lametti & Sons Inc. agreed to pay a $10,000 fine and $10,000 in restitution to the nonprofit group Refuge Friends Inc.
A criminal petty offense citation charged the company with one count of disturbing plants last summer in the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Bloomington. The payment resolves those allegations.
Lametti was awarded a contract to reline sewer pipes in the wildlife refuge. The permit called for protecting nearby areas of threatened plants.
After a citizen reported finding dead plants in July, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent found 6,200 square feet of dead vegetation.
Company president Fred Chase said Monday he had no comment.
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