ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY MARINA FINED FOR
WETLANDS VIOLATION

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that Pleasure Marine Limited, located at 1701 Poplar Ridge Drive in Pasadena, was sentenced for unlawfully dredging in State tidal wetlands without a wetlands license. Pleasure Marine Limited, which does business under the name Pleasure Cove Marina, pleaded guilty in the District Court of Maryland for Anne Arundel County. The Honorable John P. McKenna imposed a one-year probation and a fine of $1,000.

It is against the law to dredge or fill in State tidal wetlands without obtaining a license. The maximum penalty for violations is a fine of up to $1,000.

Pleasure Cove Marina, which is on Bodkin Creek, began a dredging operation in June 2002 without first obtaining a wetlands license from the Board of Public Works. Maryland Department of the Environment inspectors visited the site in response to citizen complaints and saw the dredging in progress. In addition to not having a license, the work undertaken was prohibited because it occurred during a "closed season" that was designed to protect yellow perch spawning activity on Bodkin Creek. The work was halted by authorities and eventually resumed after the end of the spawning season.

The Environmental Crimes Unit of the Attorney General's Office and the Maryland State Police investigated the case, with the assistance of the Maryland Department of the Environment.

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