A California farmer who was facing millions in fines for planting wheat in a disputed wetland has agreed to settle with the federal government.
John Duarte, president of Duarte Nurseries near Modesto, California, had been facing a $2.8 million fine and the requirement to purchase mitigation credits worth $13 million in a trial this week after the Army Corps of Engineers cited him in 2013 for plowing a field he owned near a creek north of Sacramento. The case was detailed in the current issue of THE WEEKLY STANDARD.
Farming groups said the case exemplified the overreach of the regulatory state and set a precedent that farmers could wind up paying steep fines for farming if they failed to seek permission from the government. The Trump Justice Department continued pressing the case, which was initiated under the Obama administration.
On Tuesday, just as the trial was set to begin, the two sides settled, according to the Sacramento Bee:
Duarte issued a statement on Tuesday explaining the settlement: “This has been a difficult decision for me, my family, and the entire company, and we have come to it reluctantly. But given the risks posed by further trial on the government’s request for up to $45 million in penalties, and the catastrophic impact that any significant fraction of that would have on our business, our hundreds of employees, our customers and suppliers, and all the members of my family, this was the best action I could take to protect those for whom I am responsible.”
