DORCHESTER MARINE CONTRACTORS
CONVICTED FOR WETLANDS VIOLATIONS

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that Spedden & Smith Marine Construction, Inc. a Cambridge corporation, plead guilty today to violations stemming from its construction of a pier on tidal wetlands. Kenneth Wilson Smith, III, 35, of East New Market and Phillip Winfield Spedden, Jr., 34, of Cambridge, also plead guilty to the same charges. The corporation will pay a $500 fine, and the two men will each pay a $250 fine. The maximum penalty by law for each count is $500.

Spedden, Smith and the construction company were convicted of failing to comply with a condition of a license issued for construction on tidal wetlands in Fishing Creek in Dorchester County. Specifically, the license required them to remove a portion of a pier before doing additional construction. The company is required to come into compliance with the license within 60 days, or face additional charges.

These convictions are the result of a joint investigation by the Maryland Department of the Environment, Maryland State Police, and the Environmental Crimes Unit of the Office of the Attorney General.

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