NEW YORK – Federal authorities have entered into a consent degree settling a civil lawsuit against a Town of Wallkill horse racing training center for violating the Clean Water Act.
The settlement includes Mark Ford, Mark Ford Stables, Inc., Mark Ford Stage Road Property, Inc. and Ford Equine, LTD for violations in the construction and operation of a facility on two adjacent properties.
The complaint, filed in 2019, alleged that from 2007 to 2016, the defendants destroyed existing federal wetlands and rerouted streams in the course of building a horse racing training center at 90 Slaughter Road and 482/484 Stony Ford Road.
The lawsuit also alleged the defendants have operated a concentrated animal feeding operation without a permit, allowing horse wash water and process wastewater to be discharged into waters of the United States.
The suit also alleged the defendants violated the terms of a stormwater construction general permit during construction at the Slaughter Road site from February 2016 to February 2017.
In the consent decree, the defendants admitted, acknowledged and accepted responsibility for its violations.
In addition to paying a $200,000 civil penalty, the consent decree requires they create or restore approximately 18 acres of wetlands on their property, to restore two streams to their pre-fill configurations, to take additional measures to ensure the long-term, success of the defendants’ restoration work, and to come into compliance with federal concentrated animal feeding operation regulations.
