In California's Sierra County, a father and son were each sentenced to 30 days in county jail after authorities said they cut an unauthorized dirt road beside Keystone Creek so their truck and gold-mining equipment could get through.
Prosecutors said the excavation pushed rock and soil into Keystone Creek, which feeds the Yuba River, causing environmental harm in a county with a long mining legacy.
Here's what to know
According to The Independent, Gregory Arnoldi Jr., of Nevada City, and Gregory Arnoldi Sr., of Browns Valley, must pay $8,135; create a restoration plan; and cover the permitting, design, and construction costs for repairs after entering no-contest pleas to felony vandalism involving public and private property and misdemeanor counts of water pollution and stream alteration.
Before the pleas, the case included allegations of felony criminal conspiracy, mining without the required Reclamation Plan or Sierra County Conditional Use Permit, and grading without a permit. District Attorney Sandra Groven told CBS Sacramento the duo was first charged in May after a resident reported concerns about their activity, per the newspaper.
Sierra County did not view the operation as a throwback to the Gold Rush.
"This is not 1849," Groven said, per The Independent.
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Mining history runs deep in Sierra County. The region drew roughly 16,000 miners from 1848 to 1860.
More background
Authorities said the Arnoldis created the unpermitted road beside Keystone Creek near Loganville by altering a historic carriage route. The Sierra County Sheriff's Office released a photo showing one of the men operating a digger that officials said was used to clear a path for their truck and mining equipment, The Independent reported.
They said the effects extended beyond the road. Rock and soil ended up in Keystone Creek, a Yuba River tributary, and the damage affected both U.S. Forest Service land and private property.
Groven said historic and cultural resources were harmed as well, including mining remnants.
"In this case, the defendants' illegal mining scheme vandalized private and public property and caused significant damage to those properties and to the natural resources that make Sierra County a desirable place to live and visit, including damage to mining artifacts," she said, according to The Independent.
She told CBS Sacramento that enforcement is difficult because so much remote public land in the county lies far from public view, making environmental damage hard to catch.
What's being done?
Both men were also placed on three years of felony probation and barred from mining during that period while the county works toward restoration.
If the Arnoldis do not complete the required repair work by Aug. 1, each could face another eight months in county jail and $30,000 in fines.
Prosecutors said they altered a stream without first notifying the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and worked without the permits and reclamation planning intended to prevent this kind of damage.
"We are a small county with a lot of public lands which are remote, so enforcement can be difficult," Groven told CBS Sacramento, as The Independent relayed. "We prosecute the cases which are reported and substantiated by sufficient evidence. In this case, damage done to the environment was extensive."
Where can I learn more?
Elsewhere, unauthorized land disturbance has led to lawsuits, settlements, fines, and even jail time.
• In Tennessee, residents say an unpermitted quarry "pulverized" Piedmont as truck traffic continued.
• In Texas, landowners say crews bulldozed private property without permission during border wall work.
• Near Lake Tahoe, California proposed a $156,000 settlement after a builder skipped stormwater checks.
• In Cape Coral, Florida, developers were ordered to restore shoreline after illegal mangrove clearing.
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