By DON PITTMAN
(LEFT) - Steve Faircloth and his son’s, Tanner and Trent, stand in front of the house they were building before the Department of Natural Resources stepped in. According to the DNR, the house is about 10–feet too close to the dry creek they are looking at.
Some people around Dade County have received unwelcome visits from state level authority lately. According to more than one person, representatives from the Department of Natural resources have turned up on their property leveling fines and demanding that they fix problems they see with land use.
People like Steve Faircloth of Trenton said they had no idea they were in violation before the Department of Natural Resources personnel appeared on his property.
“I had no idea of the law before they showed up,” Faircloth said.
Faircloth is not the only one either. Other builders and residents in the area report the same type of problem, with fines being leveled upwards of $10,000.
Faircloth contacted the Dade County Sentinel because he said he didn’t want anymore of his neighbors in Dade County to go through the trouble he has had.
“People need to know to consult the county before attempting to build anything,” Faircloth said. “There might be laws you aren’t aware of.”
As of yesterday, all contractors in Dade County have to be licensed by the state, and county leaders are hoping that might curb some of the violations to land management laws.
In Faircloth’s case, the DNR says he messed up when he built a house on the back of his property to close to a now-dry creek that runs close by. The law says he has to maintain a 25–foot buffer.
Bert Langley out of the Department of Natural Resources Carterville’s office said that he and the rest of his associates are working hard to find a solution that works for everyone to the problem. He said he knows that the fines that can be levied can be devastating to a person, and his office doesn’t want to bankrupt anyone.
“We want to fulfill or obligation to the law, but be fair to a property owner who didn’t do anything intentionally,” he said.
Langley said the DNR wouldn’t of come snooping around on Faircloth’s property if someone had not of turned the violation in.
“When someone brings a complaint to us, we are required to investigate it,” Langley said.
As of the beginning of last month, Dade County became a local issuing authority for some DNR permits, and that should help more people to be in compliance with the laws. Langley said that his department found any violation of the stream buffer law to be serious, and that they were working with state legislators to find a solution to problems like the one Faircloth is experiencing.
“You end up having to draw lines,” Langley said.
He said that the laws governing land use were passed over two decades ago and whether a landowner knows it or not, the property they bought comes with restrictions.
Faircloth said he would never do anything intentional to hurt his property.
“I would do nothing to destroy that creek,” he said. “I love that creek.”
Both Faircloth and the DNR have consulted with Sen. Jeff Mullis to find an amiable solution the problem.
For more information about environmental laws please contact Dade County at (706) 657-4625 or check the Department of Natural Resources Website, www.gadnr.org.
The Dade Sentinel
http://dadesentinel.com/article.php/20080703155337203