(July 08, 2010)     The State Department of Environmental Conservation has issued 12 citations to three people in what an environmental advocate called “the most egregious case of illegal dredging on Long Island in 15 years.”

    All told, Rick Gibbs, the owner of the Crabby Cowboy Cafe in Montauk, and Keith and Susan Grimes, of the Keith Grimes contracting company, could face more than $2 million in fines. The citations, issued on June 30, followed complaints by an advocate working for the Group for the East End who allegedly discovered that dredging of Lake Montauk had been performed after state permits had expired.

Jeremy Samuelson Three people were charged with illegal dredging in Lake Montauk last week.

    Larry Penny, the director of the town’s Natural Resources Department, said yesterday that he and Tom Prieato, the town’s senior building inspector, had also notified the state of the alleged violations. “I was frustrated with how poorly . . . our justice system metes out justice. It’s not their fault,” Mr. Penny said, adding that local courts have limited injunction power. “The D.E.C. is very powerful,” he said.

    Mr. Gibbs and Mr. Grimes both were charged with dredging without a permit, building a road in wetlands, discharging dredge water without appropriate permits, dredging after the June 1 seasonal deadline, removing dredged material in violation of the expired permit requirements, placing fill in navigable waters, creating a waste management facility, illegally disposing of dredge spoil, failing to obtain a discharge permit, and failing to obtain a permit for dewatering dredg­ed material.

    Mr. Gibbs and Mr. Grimes face fines of up to $2 million combined.

    Susan Grimes, Mr. Grimes’s wife, was charged with storing the dredge spoil and operating a waste management facility at the company’s headquarters on Haines Path in Bridgehampton. She could face fines of up to $75,500. Ms. Grimes said yesterday that she and Mr. Grimes were both under the impression that the permits were valid, and said she contacted the state before work began.

Jeremy Samuelson Seen from the air, a “dewatering lagoon,”

    Work on the Montauk property, which is on East Lake Drive, began in May pursuant to a permit issued by the state in 2004. Those permits expired last year. Mr. Gibbs, whose Crabby Cowboy compound also has apartments and boat slips, did not return phone calls.

    Jeremy Samuelson, an environmental advocate for the Group for the East End, said this week that he had contacted state officials in May about the work at Mr. Gibbs’s property.

    Before that, he said, he had spoken with Bill Wilkinson, the East Hampton Town supervisor, who lives in Montauk. Mr. Samuelson said that he showed Mr. Wilkinson photos of what appeared to be a road of dredge spoil reaching out into Lake Montauk from the East Lake Drive property. Mr. Samuelson said that Mr. Wilkinson told him he did not think the situation was an enforcement issue.

    Reached on Tuesday, Mr. Wilkinson said that the road is actually a sand bar that has been there for over 35 years. He denied that Mr. Grimes added fill to the lake, a charge levied by the state.

    According to Mr. Wilkinson, the matter was handled through the proper jurisdiction — the State Department of Environmental Conservation. As far as he was aware, he said, all permits were in place for the dredging.

    “The town is a permitting authority. They have a responsibility to ensure that if work is permitted and there are violations . . . they have a responsibility to investigate,” Mr. Samuelson said.

    The East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals and the East Hampton Town Planning Department are responsible for issuing dredging permits, and the East Hampton Town Ordinance Enforcement Department is responsible for issuing citations for violations at the town level.

    Mr. Samuelson said this week that an enforcement problem looms larger in East Hampton Town than this one instance. “As far as environmental conservation and quality of life, the town is in a state of disarray,” he said. “We need to right the ship.”

    However, Mr. Wilkinson maintained that “there is no greater environmental advocate” than he is.

    “I have a tremendous amount of respect for Lake Montauk,” Mr. Wilkinson said. He said he recently asked the Planning Department to meet regularly to discuss the health of the lake.

    “But I also have respect for the ability of marinas to conduct business,” Mr. Wilkinson said. Marinas, like houses, need maintenance, he said, and regular dredging is required so boats can come and go.

    “This is not about laws on the books that have no bearing day to day,” Mr. Samuelson said. “This is about the largest eelgrass beds in Lake Montauk. This is about whether there will be clams in those beds in two years. This is about plummeting fish stocks.”

    Mr. Grimes, Ms. Grimes, and Mr. Gibbs will meet with state officials for a compliance conference in upcoming weeks.