‘Dirt broker’ gets year of probation for Clean Water Act violation
A “dirt broker” whose prison sentence for illegally dumping pollutants into protected wetlands was overturned by a federal appeals court last year pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Clean Water Act and agreed to serve one year of probation, prosecutors confirmed Thursday. For a fee, James Lucero provided trucking companies and contractors with an open space to dump dirt and construction debris. Lucero’s dumping sites were separated from Mowry Slough by a levee made of packed dirt.