(Des Moines)– Developers of the Bridges Bay condominium project on the southeast side of East Lake Okoboji are being investigated by the Iowa Attorney General’s Office for allegededly violating environmental laws.
Diana Hansen, a lawyer for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says developers repeatedly allowed silt to run into East Lake Okoboji before installing silt fences. They’re also accused of illegally burning construction materials on the site. Hansen says the alleged violations have been going on for more than a year.
The issue was discussed at Tuesday’s meeting of the DNR’s Environmental Protection Commission, which referred it to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office for possible prosecution. The company could face fines of up to five thousand dollars for each day of water quality violations and 10-thousand dollars a day for air violations due to the open burning.
Scott Brunsvold, a consultant engineer for Bridges Bay, told the EPC Tuesday the silt fence problem has been corrected. He says a landscaping contractor kept taking it down for some reason. Brunsvold added they weren’t aware of the ban on burning until they were notified by the state. He says crews stopped doing it once they found about it.
Developers of the project, Regency Hotel Management of Sioux Falls, are also overseeing development of Honey Creek State Park, the state’s first resort park at Rathbun Lake. State officials say they’re confident the necessary precautions have been taken to keep the same thing from happening there.
Regarding Bridge’s Bay, developer Jon Broek blames the alleged violations on a lack of communication. He says the DNR never came to him or his partner, Randy Rensiek. Broek says he feels they’re being ambushed.
