Ventura Man Ordered to Stop Dumping Into Riverbed : Environment: Operator of tree-trimming service also faces suit alleging he has discarded tons of debris in waterway. But he says he did nothing wrong.

A federal judge has ordered a Ventura man to stop dumping debris into the Ventura River, following allegations that he has illegally discarded tons of material into a section of the waterway over the past four years.

John F. Appel, who operates The Eager Beaver Tree Service, is accused of dumping tree branches, logs and other material into more than 15 acres of river channels and wetlands, in a lawsuit filed last month by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.

That activity has taken place on a 31-acre parcel Appel owns near Casitas Springs, EPA officials said.

Appel, 50, said Thursday he has done nothing wrong.

“I have never dumped anything in the waterways,” he said. “The EPA has been threatening me with grievous crimes for a long time, but none of it is true.”

But EPA officials said Thursday that Appel has dumped vegetation and fill material into the Ventura River and San Antonio Creek, which slice through his property and spill over to create lush wetlands.

They also accuse Appel of clearing and grading river channels and the wetlands, thus diverting the river’s natural flow.

Such activity, illegal without a permit, could cause flooding, EPA officials say. It already has damaged habitat that may be home to rare and endangered species, they contend.

The injunction, issued Wednesday by U. S. District Judge Lourdes G. Baird, will remain in affect until the judge issues a ruling.

EPA spokesman Dave Schmidt said Thursday that Appel has ignored repeated orders by federal, state and local agencies to stop his activities. He said it is unusual for the EPA to seek an injunction because most people obey such orders.

“We’re dealing with someone here who has defied all previous efforts of enforcement,” Schmidt said. “This is not something that just happened yesterday, it’s been going on for a long time.”

Responding to complaints, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers launched an investigation in early 1993 into the matter and concluded that Appel had illegally dumped debris into the waterways and wetlands.

The federal Clean Water Act prohibits landowners from dumping into rivers and wetlands without a permit.

Appel had no permit, and the Corps ordered him to stop. EPA officials said Appel ignored that order.

In late 1993, the EPA got involved, issuing another cease-and-desist order. That order also was ignored, EPA officials said.

In July of this year, Appel filed a lawsuit against the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers, asking the federal agencies to prove that they have jurisdiction over him and his property.

“Congress limits their jurisdiction to navigable rivers and interstate waterways, and that doesn’t have anything to do with the Ventura River,” Appel said. “I want them to show me where the federal government can tell a state citizen what to do in this case.”

That lawsuit is still winding its way through the courts.

Finally, the EPA filed its own lawsuit last month and on Wednesday won the preliminary injunction preventing Appel and The Eager Beaver Tree Service from dumping wood debris, vegetation and other material into the waterways. Officials believe Appel dumped debris from his tree service, which does trimming and stump removal, into the riverbed.

“It is an unusual move, but that’s because we are really concerned about the things he is doing,” said Jessica Kao, a lawyer for the EPA in San Francisco. “We need to minimize the harm. We are really concerned about what his activities might do to properties downstream.”

The EPA also is concerned about what Appel might be doing to his own property.

Kao said Appel’s parcel once was a thriving riparian habitat, home to the Southwestern pond turtle and the red-legged frog, which are candidates for the endangered species list.

“It’s kind of sad, the site is extremely bare and a lot of the interior trees are gone,” Kao said. “We want to be able to preserve that area, and the longer we let it go the harder it will be to restore.”

The EPA’s lawsuit seeks to compel Appel to restore the river bottom, its tributaries and the adjacent wetlands. It also seeks unspecified civil penalties.

For his part, Appel was not pleased Thursday when federal officials showed up to cordon off the 15-acre section where the violations allegedly occurred. He said all he has been doing is trying to provide for the 40 sheep that graze on his land.

“I’ve just been farming my property,” he said. “It’s been farmed for years, a long time before the EPA even existed.”