Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2004 | 10:44 a.m.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered KB Home -- the valley's largest home builder -- to cease work in waterways that flow to the Las Vegas Wash and Lake Mead.
KB Home could face fines up to $32,500 per day per violation if it fails to comply with the order.
The notice is for work KB Home conducted on the 160-acre Huntington subdivision, west of Fort Apache Road in the southwest Las Vegas Valley, without a federal permit, the EPA said. Under the Clean Water Act, a developer must first get a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before discharging dredged or fill material into regulated waterways. Because the tributaries and washes on the site flow into Las Vegas Wash and Lake Mead, they fall under the Clean Water Act.
According to EPA officials, KB Home cleared 160 acres of land and filled the washes and tributaries with the excess dirt and vegetation from September 2003 to December 2003. Since that point KB Home has begun laying pipelines for the new home community, the EPA said. The KB Home Web site reports that models in the community are set to open Oct. 1.
The order to cease work affects only the tributaries and not work on the site as a whole, the EPA said.
Officials with Los Angeles-based KB Home said in a statement that it is "committed to complete permit compliance."
"We have had productive meetings with the EPA and are hopeful we can resolve this matter in a timely manner," Kate Mulhearn, KB spokeswoman, said in a statement.
People often assume that just because a wash or tributary doesn't have water in it, that it's somehow not important to the overall landscape, said Audrey Liu, EPA environmental protection specialist.
"With washes people tend to look at them as low function in value," Liu said. "It's good to keep in mind the uniqueness of wash vegetation and wildlife that thrive in that environment."
The EPA became aware of the unauthorized work when KB Home officials went to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and filed for a permit for the work after the fact. The Corps automatically sends permit applications to the EPA for review, Liu said.
"They had already filled it in, and we said that's not right and they should have known better," she said. "They were made aware of the need of the permit after the fact. They said they didn't know there were waters (tributaries) on the site."
Liu said she does not know how KB Home was made aware of the need for permits after the fact. She said to her knowledge this is the first time KB Home has run into problems concerning the Clean Water Act.
In 2003 KB Home closed escrow on more than 3,300 homes. From January to June of this year, KB Home has closed escrow on almost 2,000 houses.
Vegetation within the wash on the site was destroyed. Whether any animal habitats were destroyed is unknown, Liu said.
Washes are also important for controlling water during thunderstorms. Without adequate washes, "urban runoff" can occur, Liu said.
The EPA is negotiating with KB Home as to what the company will do to mitigate the damage, whether through onsite restoration or environmental mitigation in another area.
Liu said if a company has not been cited for previous violations and is cooperating, the EPA often will ease up on penalties and mitigaton requirements.
So-called after-the-fact permits, or permits issued after the work is completed, pertaining to the Clean Water Act are not uncommon in the Las Vegas Valley, Liu said.
"I don't want to say we see it a lot, but it's not anything new," she said. "For me, I'm curious why were are not seeing more of these permits."
The Clean Water Act was passed in 1972 and employs a variety of regulatory and nonregulatory tools to sharply reduce direct pollutant discharges into waterways, finance municipal wastewater treatment facilities and manage polluted runoff. The act does no deal directly with ground water or with water quantity issues.
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