A South Sound developer is getting prison time for polluting.
Bryan Stowe was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to six months in prison and a $300,000 fine. Seattle U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan says it’s one of the first criminal prosecutions under the Clean Water Act in U.S. history.
Stowe admitted that he and his Sumner construction company deliberately ignored the conditions of their stormwater discharge permit when they cleared 50 acres – more that twice what their permit allowed – for warehouses next to the West Valley Highway in Sumner.
He repeatedly pumped sediment from the site into the nearby White River, despite warnings from environmental officials, and caused two major landslides that closed the highway in 2010 and 2011.
Stowe also must pay $100,000 payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and his company has been ordered to pay $350,000.
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