Convicted Polluter of Ventura River Gets 60 Days in Jail

A judge refused to place convicted polluter F. John Appel on probation Monday and instead sentenced him to 60 days in jail for dumping tons of debris into the Ventura River from 1991 to 1994.

Investigators said that most of Appel’s debris eventually ended up on Ventura beaches after the heavy rains earlier this year.

“It also further exacerbated flooding in his neighborhood,” said David W. Wilma, an Environmental Protection Agency special agent in charge of criminal investigation.

A Ventura County grand jury indicted Appel in December after he ignored an EPA cease-and-desist order, Wilma said.

Last month, a jury convicted the 51-year-old man of dumping tons of trees, boulders and other material cleared from his 31-acre Oak View property into the river, which cuts through his property. He also was accused of dumping additional debris from his tree service business into the river.

As part of his sentencing, Appel agreed to allow federal, state and county officials to search his land without a warrant during the next five years to ensure that no more dumping is occurring.

Appel was also ordered to remove any remaining debris and fill from the river running through his property.

Appel’s attorney Christopher P. Danch had urged Ventura County Superior Court Judge James P. Cloninger to keep his client out of jail, arguing that the crime had been “blown into something bigger than it is.”

Danch said that investigators went after Appel because of his brusque personality and obstinacy.

Appel maintained throughout his three-week trial that the property was his and that no governmental agency had jurisdiction over it. He argued vehemently with federal investigators and openly flouted their cease-and-desist order.

But a jury rejected that defense and agreed with prosecutors that Appel violated federal clean water laws by dumping the debris into the river channel.

Federal and state laws prohibit the altering of waterways without permits, whether the water is privately or publicly owned. The jury did, however, acquit Appel and his son, Jonathan, of felony conspiracy charges. Prosecutors had alleged the two conspired to dump the debris into the river. His son did not face any additional charges.

Cloninger said Appel is eligible for the Ventura County work furlough program, which would allow Appel to work at his tree service job during the day and report to jail in the evening.