Veteran Sent To Prison For Digging Ponds On His Property To Protect His Home From Fires

Dec 11, 2019 by apost team

It seems that a 78-year-old U.S. Navy veteran by the name of Joe Robertson violated the Clean Water Act, when he was digging ponds on his property in Montana. According to one of Robertson's lawyers, the man only wanted to protect his property from potential fires. Since the CWA isn't a state law, the U.S. government charged Robertson directly rather than through the state of Montana.

The Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, states that the Clean Water Act, which was amended in 1972 states that the release of pollutants into waters that are navigable has to be permitted by the US government. The CWA has made it unlawful to make man-made ditches or pipes.

Robertson received a sentence of 18-months in prison as well as a fine totaling $130,000 which was to be deducted from Social Security checks. Robertson served his entire sentence and was still under a 20-month long parole when he tragically died of natural causes in March of this year. The PLF is trying their best to clear Robertson's name.

apost.com

Attorney Tony Francois works with the Pacific Legal Foundation and spoke to Heritage Foundation about the incident. The PLF is a property rights firm and nonprofit. Attorney Francois offered some insight into Robertson's case. Robertson was a water supplier working for the fire department in Montana. He dug several small ponds from 2013 to 2014. He also installed some hoses in order to protect his home.

According to Attorney Francois, the veteran lived near a wooded area that was prone to damage from potential wildfires. A fire had the possibility of breaking out during the summer and Robertson's home would have been engulfed before firefighters could reach the property. The veteran simply wanted to prepare himself to fight off fires if they were to ever reach his home.

The PLF wrote about the incident on their site. According to the nonprofit, the EPA claimed that the nameless channel, which was only a foot deep and a foot-wide, was "navigable water" which was federally protected. The PLF claimed that the nearest navigable river was over 40 miles from Robertson's holes. The group continued to explain that the Army Corps of Engineers needed to give Robertson permission to dig these ponds, according to the EPA.

The charge levied against Robertson by the U.S. government was “digging in proximity to navigable waters without a permit.”

The veteran defended himself during the trial with some sound arguments. Robertson claimed that the Clean Water Act was not being violated by his digging because the ponds were far away from navigable waters. He continued to explain that no waters received soil discharged from his activities. Attorney Francois claims that the closest body of water was over 40 miles away from Robertson's digging site.

The Navy veteran's defense wasn't enough as he ended up receiving a sentence of 18 months behind bars and a fine of $130,000. When Robertson passed away, PLF adopted his case to fight the fine.

The organization wrote about Robertson's tragic passing and about their request to allow his wife Carri stand-in for the veteran in order to finish the attempt to get his name cleared, overturn the unconstitutional conviction, and overturn the hefty fine.

According to the group, The Supreme Court voided the ruling made by the Ninth Circuit and granted Robertson's petition. It also commanded the Ninth Circuit to confirm or deny whether Robertson's estate is allowed to contest the hefty fine.

It was the Clean Water Rule which help to extend the Army Corps' and the EPA's jurisdiction to nearly all areas surrounding navigable waters around the country. This was put in place by an Obama-led administration in 2016.

Many farmers are finding it difficult to perform many activities due to this executive choice. People who are also in Robertson's field of work are struggling as well. These regulatory bodies have widened their reach so much that many citizens are simply unaware that they're breaking any laws.

If you found this article informative and interesting, show it to a friend who might like it as well.