A developer and his partners have agreed to pay the state a record $12.1 million to settle a lawsuit that accused them of polluting the state's water, bulldozing protected land, fatally infecting bighorn sheep and destroying archaeological sitesThe state's settlement with George H. Johnson and his business partners primarily involves a tract of desert in the Santa Cruz River Valley area of Pinal County that he wanted to turn into a 67,000-home development about the size of Tempe.
The 2003 deal, which would have bordered Ironwood Forest National Monument, fell apart as some land owners resisted Johnson's offers and complained of strong arm-tactics intended to bully them into selling. He sold the land in 2004. "This resolution is a strong message to anyone who would despoil our environmental heritage," Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said today during a news conference.
The settlement, to be split among five state agencies, is the largest environmental enforcement action in Arizona history, Goddard said. Johnson still faces a federal lawsuit over alleged water violations, Goddard said. John DiCaro , one of Johnson's lawyers, stressed there was no admission of wrongdoing and that Johnson's insurance companies forced the settlement because they will pay for it. "This is a very expensive case to defend. They made a decision to settle," DiCaro said. "George is a very successful developer. . . . He wants to put this case behind him."
Johnson's contractors destroyed 270 acres of state trust lands near the Ironwood property in the area, known as the La Osa Ranch, the suit claimed. Additionally, contractors bulldozed 2,000 acres of private land without a permit and seven Hohokam archaeological sites, the state maintained. About $500,000 of the settlement will pay for trial preparation costs, such as hiring expert witnesses in the case. A portion, $150,000, is to be used to establish a preservation fund for the Arizona State Museum. Goddard declined to say how much the state estimated the environmental and archaeological damages at, but DiCaro said the state had suggested it was $200 million.
Under the agreement, Johnson must pay $7 million before Jan. 4. A firm he used, 3-F Contracting, must pay $5.05 million and Preston Well Drilling must pay $61,500. For Johnson, it is the most costly and prominent action taken against him and his businesses in recent years. Records show regulatory agencies have cited him 31 times between 1999 and 2005 for 93 alleged violations in Apache and Pinal counties. The citations range from trespassing to unauthorized construction. At least five of the citations were resolved with a consent order, in some cases with no admission of wrongdoing. Lawyers for the state said that Johnson routinely skirted rules to force his developments.
DiCaro said Johnson's regulatory record was irrelevant, and could not comment about the citations raised by the state. According to the state's lawsuit, which was filed in February 2005, Johnson took swift, destructive action after a Pinal County citizens advisory committee recommended a mile-wide buffer between the La Osa property and Ironwood Forest in 2003.
He ordered 3F Contracting to bulldoze the land that bordered the national property "from dawn to dusk seven days a week," the state claimed in court records. Johnson also had a portion of the Santa Cruz River redirected, and ordered mesquite trees to be bulldozed while federal officials considered protective rules for the pygmy owls that lived there, the state contended.
Johnson found that "asking for forgiveness rather than permission is not only easier, but profitable," the state argued in court papers. Over the years, Johnson has built a fortune he estimated as worth more than $100 million. Johnson has also maintained close business ties to elec
Source: AZcentral.com