EPA penalizes Coast homebuilder

WAVELAND — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has fined a former Hancock County builder $100,000 for illegally filling wetlands in 2004.

EPA officials say Rodney O. Corr was cited for violations when he owned the property of the failed Cameron Bay development on Highway 603.

Waveland Mayor Tommy Longo tells the Sea Coast Echo that the 14-acre site was originally intended to be a single-family subdivision.

The EPA says Corr did not obtain a required permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before doing the work near Edwards Bayou, a tributary of the Jourdan River.

Corr, who now lives in Texas, says the civil fine was a settlement with EPA. Corr says he stopped work as soon as he got a cease-and-desist order.