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Lazarus — standing at Wai Eyre Farm

Mark Ford fined $200,000 plus by Environmental Agency

By Harnesslink ·

WALLKILL, NY — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday (Aug. 21) that it reached a consent decree to settle a four-year civil case against Mark Ford, a prominent figure in standardbred harness racing, for violating the Clean Water Act by illegally filling wetlands and polluting the waters at his training center and another location in Orange County.

Mark Ford

In the consent decree, Ford and three of his businesses — Mark Ford Stables, Inc., Mark Ford Stage Road Property Inc., and Ford Equine, Ltd. — admitted to illegally filling 18.1 acres of federal wetlands and a tributary over the course of nine years while building a horse training center and a second equine center on two properties in Wallkill, a hamlet in Middletown.

They also re-routed streams and discharged pollutants from the horse training operations into waterways. Ford neglected to get the required authorizations and permits or to comply with the requirements of state and federal laws, the decree says.

The training center, which includes a track oval and multiple buildings, is located on Slaughter Road between Interstate 84 and the Walkill River. A tributary of the river runs through the property, including under the standardbred track. The second equine center is on Stony Ford Road, a short distance from the Slaughter Road training center.

In the decree, Ford, 52, agreed to pay a $200,000 civil penalty, create or restore 18 acres of wetlands on his property, fix two streams and address the animal waste and wastewater on his land, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York. The decree needs to be approved by a court and is subject to public comment.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

by Emilie Munson, reprinted with permission by the TimesUnion.com

Lazarus — standing at Wai Eyre Farm
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Emilie Munson, Mark Ford, TimesUnion.com, United States Harness Racing

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