9.4.06
A dam letter from the Pennsylvania Department of Environment
This guy should have been a Blogger I reckon lol
This is an actual letter sent to a man named Ryan DeVries by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Quality, State of Pennsylvania.USA
This guy's response is hilarious, but read the
State's letter before you get to the response letter;
SUBJECT: DEQ File No.97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec.
20; Lycoming County
Dear Mr. DeVries:
It has come to the attention of the Department of
Environmental Quality
that there has been recent unauthorized activity on
the above referenced
parcel of property. You have been certified as the
legal landowner and/or
contractor who did the following unauthorized
activity:
Construction and maintenance of two wood debris dams
across the outlet
stream of Spring Pond.
A permit must be issued prior to the start of this
type of activity.
A review of the Department's files shows that no
permits have been issued.
Therefore, the Department has determined that this
activity is in
violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of
the Natural Resource
and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the
Public Acts of 1994,
being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the
Pennsylvania Compiled Laws,
annotated.
The Department has been informed that one or both of
the dams partially
failed during a recent rain event, causing debris
and flooding at
downstream locations. We find that dams of this
nature are inherently
hazardous and cannot be permitted. The Department
therefore orders you to
cease and desist all activities at this location,
and to restore the
stream to a free-flow condition by removing all wood
and brush forming the
dams from the stream channel. All restoration work
shall be completed no
later than January 31, 2006.
Please notify this office when the restoration has
been completed so that
a follow-up site inspection may be scheduled by our
staff.
Failure to comply with this request or any further
unauthorized activity
on the site may result in this case being referred
for elevated
enforcement action..
We anticipate and would appreciate your full
cooperation in this matter.
Please feel free to contact me at this office if you
have any questions.
Your’s Sincerely,
David L. Price
District Representative and Water Management
Division.
Here is the actual response sent back by Mr.
DeVries:
Re: DEQ File No. 97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec. 20;
Lycoming County
Dear Mr. Price,
Your certified letter dated 12/17/02 has been handed
to me to respond to.
I am the legal landowner but not the Contractor at
2088 Dagget Lane, Trout
Run, Pennsylvania.
A couple of beavers are in the (State unauthorized)
process of
constructing and maintaining two wood "debris" dams
across the outlet
stream of my Spring Pond. While I did not pay for,
authorize, nor
supervise their dam project, I think they would be
highly offended that
you call their skillful use of natures building
materials "debris." I
would like to challenge your department to attempt
to emulate their dam
project any time and/or any place you choose. I
believe I can safely state
.
there is no way you could ever match their dam
skills, their dam
resourcefulness, their dam ingenuity, their dam
persistence, their dam
determination and/or their dam work ethic.
As to your request, I do not think the beavers are
aware that they must
first fill out a dam permit prior to the start of
this type of dam
activity.
My first dam question to you is:
(1) Are you trying to discriminate against my Spring
Pond Beavers, or
2) do you require all beavers throughout this State
to conform to said
dam request?
If you are not discriminating against these
particular beavers, through
the Freedom of Information Act, I request completed
copies of all those
other applicable beaver dam permits that have been
issued. Perhaps we will
see if there really is a dam violation of Part 301,
Inland Lakes and
Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental
Protection Act, Act 451
of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101
to 324.30113 of the
Pennsylvania Compiled Laws, annotated.
I have several concerns. My first concern is; aren't
the beavers entitled
to legal representation? The Spring Pond Beavers are
financially destitute
and are unable to pay for said representation -- so
the State will have to
provide them with a dam lawyer. The Department's dam
concern that either
one or both of the dams failed during a recent rain
event, causing Flooding is proof that this is a natural
occurrence, which the Department
is required to protect. In other words, we should
leave the Spring Pond
Beavers alone rather than harassing them and calling
their dam names.
If you want the stream "restored" to a dam free-flow condition please
contact the beavers -- but if you are going to
arrest them, they obviously
did not pay any attention to your dam letter, they being unable to read
English.
In my humble opinion, the Spring Pond Beavers have a
right to build their unauthorized dams as long as the sky is blue, the
grass is green and water flows downstream. They have more dam rights than I
do to live and enjoy my Spring Pond. If the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental
Protection lives up to its name, it should protect the natural resources
(Beavers) and the environment (Beavers' Dams). So, as far as the beavers and I are concerned, this
dam case can be referred for more elevated enforcement action right now. Why wait until
1/31/2006? The Spring Pond Beavers may be under the dam ice then and there
will be no way for you or your dam staff to contact/harass them then.
In conclusion, I would like to bring to your attention to a real environmental quality (health) problem in the area.
It is the bears! Bears are actually defecating in our woods. I definitely
believe you should be persecuting the defecating bears and leave the
beavers alone.
If you are going to investigate the beaver dam,
watch your step! (The bears are not careful where they defecate!)
Being unable to comply with your dam request, and
being unable to contact you on your dam answering machine, I am sending this
response to your dam
office.
THANK YOU.
Many thanks to Karl P for this little humour sent to me by e-mail; it made me smile.
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