A contractor involved in shoreline protection work south of Grand Bend has been fined over $13,000.
Ausable Bayfield Water and Planning Manager, Geoffrey Cade, says the violation involved the contractor and three land owners installing shoreline protection without getting a permit from the ABCA.
“So under the Act, a shore wall is considered development and it requires permission. We really do try hard to work with people and we don't like taking legal action, but this is something we had a lot of problems with, even the wall as it's put in doesn't meet policy as defined by the authorities,” said Cade.
Cade adds laying charges is a last resort.
“But in a case like this, we couldn't let it go. The shore wall that they built was quite far out onto the beach and it wasn't something that they could issue the permit for after the fact. So we felt that we have no choice other than to lay charges on it,” added Cade.
Cade says one of the property owners has plead guilty while charges against the other two owners, representing three properties, are still before the courts.