The developer of the commercial property northeast of Middle and Forest Grove Roads in Bettendorf has been fined $6,000 by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) for failing to control erosion on the construction site.
FG80 Holdings, LLC, owned by developer Kevin Koellner, agreed to the fine in September for violations of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit that occurred in 2022 and 2023.
According to the IDNR, a routine inspection of the property in July 2022 found soil had flowed out of the sediment basin and that the sediment traps that had been installed did not provide adequate control of the soil runoff.
"Silt fencing in low lying areas had been overwhelmed," according to the inspection report, which was sent to the developer along with recommended corrective actions.
A little less than a year later in April 2023, an inspection of the site by the city of Bettendorf and the Iowa DNR found the three permanent sediment basins with "significant erosion."
The city/IDNR report stated "most of the site had been seeded but the seed did not germinate well and large sections of the site had little to no stabilization."
"On the northeast perimeter of the site there is a sharp slope that has multiple rows of silt fence," the report stated. "However, the silt fence was overwhelmed with sediment and a flow path of sediment was observed. The sediment flowed over rows of silt fence into a waterway on the neighboring agricultural land, into the drainage ditch along the southern edge of Interstate 80 and into Spencer Creek. . ."
"On the eastern edge of the site where the Iron Tee complex is being constructed there is another steep slope leading to an agricultural waterway," the report stated. "Four rows of silt fence had been installed along this slope but all of the silt fence was damaged or overwhelmed with sediment. Another flow path of sediment was observed from this agricultural waterway leading into a tributary of Spencer Creek."
The IDNR sent the developer a notice of violation May 2, and on a return trip to the site May 16 "observed significant improvement in the sediment and erosion controls."
Koellner signed off on the administrative consent order with the IDNR and agreed to the $6,000 fine Sept. 22.
CLICK HERE to download a copy of the Iowa DNR administrative consent order.
