Rancher agrees to pay $275K after wetlands damaged

A Ninemile-area rancher has agreed to pay a $275,000 penalty for allegedly violating the federal Clean Water Act in late 2003. Alfred Barone and the Bar One Ranch, which lists a Huson address, also agreed to completely restore about 14 acres of wetlands and stream channel adjacent to Ninemile Creek. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which settled the case with Bar One, the ranch did extensive construction along the south bank of the creek starting in October 2003. "Basically, in about a 23-acre area, Mr. Barone was building a bunch of ponds," said Ken Champagne, a Denver-based enforcement officer for the EPA. "While doing that, he essentially denuded about 13.9 acres of wetland, and he did it all without a permit." The state of Montana had previously declared Ninemile Creek an "impaired" stream because of sediment loading. Bar One also violated terms of a general storm water permit that had been issued to the ranch by the state...more