The Enforcement Section and Compliance/ Investigations Section work jointly to appropriately and effectively track and process a case from beginning to end. The Enforcement Coordinator meets on a weekly basis with the Compliance/Investigations Section. During this meeting, staff reviews problem cases, monitors progress on existing cases and ensures adherence to the established guidelines and procedures. If a case requires immediate attention, it can immediately be referred for further enforcement action. Administrative or Legal enforcement action may be initiated at any point in the process.

The choice of enforcement action, whether administrative, civil or criminal will depend on the characteristics of the violation and the compliance history of the violator.

Wetlands compliance/enforcement activities are implemented with the foremost objective of correcting violations of Chapter 1-11 of the Rules. Restoration of the wetland to its original condition is the Division’s ultimate goal. Violations which cannot be resolved through standard warning notice negotiations are transferred to the Enforcement Section. Enforcement activities are implemented according to a weighing of a combination of the level of environmental harm, the violator’s prior history of environmental violations, and level of cooperation throughout the warning notice stage by the violator. This process allows the Division to select the most appropriate level of enforcement after a careful analysis of the particular circumstances of each case.