WATERTOWN, S.D. (AP) The Environmental Protection Agency has fined a Watertown construction company for illegally dumping materials into wetlands while it prepared a site for commercial use.

Brownlee Construction is required pay more than 27-thousand-dollars for its 2005 violation of the Clean Water Act.

E-P-A spokeswoman Diane Sipe says these types of penalty actions occur between five and ten times per year in the E-P-A's Rocky Mountain region, which includes six states.

She said dumping fill material into wetlands can destroy aquatic environments and change the courses of rivers and streams.

The Army Corps of Engineers issues permits for any work involving discharge of dredged or fill material into lakes, rivers, streams and some wetlands.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 09-05-08 1634CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list