ATTORNEY GENERAL MAY IMPOSE CIVIL PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION OF THE TIDAL WETLANDS ACT AND THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION WAS ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON ITS ACTION TO COMPEL DEFENDANT TO SUBMIT A RESTORATION PLAN AFTER DEFENDANT, CLEARED AND FILLED WETLANDS AND CONSTRUCTED A BULKHEAD AND FENCE ON WETLANDS (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme that the attorney general (AG) can impose civil penalties pursuant to the Environmental Conservation La (ECL fro violations of Tidal Wetlands Act and the Department of Environmental Conservation was entitle to summary on its action to impose penalties and compel defendant to submit a restoration plan:

… [P]laintiffs established their prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law on the issue of liability on the fourth cause of action in the amended complaint, which sought to recover civil penalties pursuant to ECL 71-2505 for the defendant’s post-February 1, 2008, violations of the Tidal Wetlands Act, and to compel the defendant to submit a restoration plan addressing those violations. In support of their motion, the plaintiffs submitted evidence demonstrating, inter alia, that between 2011 and 2012, the defendant, without a permit, cleared wetland vegetation and placed fill, constructed a bulkhead in delineated state tidal wetlands and in the tidal creek, and installed a 900-foot long fence in tidal wetland adjacent areas in violation of ECL 25-0401… . In opposition, the defendant failed to raise a triable issue of fact … . New York State Dept. of Envtl. Conservation v Segreto, 2019 NY Slip Op 01084, Second Dept 2-13-19