DES is watching….
 

Saw this tonight on Facebook on NH News Now:

STATE OF NH SUES OVER UNPERMITTED WORK IN LAKE WINNIPESAUKEE - Attorney General John M. Formella and Robert R. Scott, Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Services (“NHDES”), announce that the New Hampshire Department of Justice Environmental Protection Bureau has brought a lawsuit in Carroll County Superior Court seeking civil penalties and corrective restoration to address unlawful dredging and filling of the shoreline and lake bed of Lake Winnipesaukee on and around Littlest Mud Island in Wolfeboro New Hampshire by John Murray, Legacy Lake Builders, LLC, and Murray’s Specialty Services, LLC.

The unpermitted work was reportedly conducted at the direction and with the assent of B. Cameron Pratt and Pratt Island, LLC, which owns Littlest Mud Island.

“The robust enforcement of State laws protecting irreplaceable natural resources such as Lake Winnipesaukee serves to preserve New Hampshire’s waters for current and future generations of residents and visitors,” said Attorney General Formella. “We must maintain diligent enforcement efforts in order to provide a level playing field for landowners, developers and consultants, all of whom must obtain and comply with the required permits for work conducted in and around State waters,” said Attorney General Formella.

“The numerous and extensive violations which occurred in connection with the unpermitted work on and around Littlest Mud Island are of an unprecedented scale and resulted in significant and widespread impacts to Lake Winnipesaukee, as well as to the wetlands and shoreline of the island itself. Unpermitted impacts to Lake Winnipesaukee and Littlest Mud Island must be rectified.

The Department is also seeking proportionate civil penalties for the unpermitted work, remains vigilant for all illegal work conducted in and around State waters, and is always available for compliance assistance and questions” said NHDES Commissioner Scott.

The island’s owner Pratt Island, LLC is already cooperating and has committed to filing a restoration plan with NHDES by October 2, 2026.

PRESS RELEASE COURTESY Attorney General John M. Formella and Robert R. Scott, Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Services

How do you restore what you already destroyed?
This is a case of, do what you want and pay the lawyers and the penalties afterwards, because you can. :(

Just like all the mansions that clear-cut down to the lake. Pay the fine, enjoy the view, move on. Once the damage is done, it's done.

And therein lie the limitations of civil law.

There is truth to the old agage: "Money is Power."

Let's hope they can force them to "rectify"

So sad
 

My favorite boathouse on the lake is here. We wondered what they have been doing here all summer. Huge piles of rocks surrounding the entire island and they have cut down all the trees in the middle of the island. So far the boathouse has not been touched so hoping they will not be allowed to change it. Photo from 2014

Maybe DES or Alton need to check permitting at Sandy Point. Did the owners pull individual permits for each unit the structurally, electrically and plumbing renovations. Let’s not forget all the new docks they built.

When I was 12-years-old, I was driving with a wealthy friend and his father over a bridge somewhere. On the bridge was a sign that said "No diving from bridge, $50 fine."

I will never forget my friend's response to his dad: "Look, Dad, it costs $50 to dive off that bridge."

At 12-years-old, he had internalized that fines and penalties only matter in terms of the cost, not social order/safety/conservation, etc.

Rich people just see the world differently...and often at the expense of others/the community.

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Class envy aside, I don’t think you need to be rich to cover $50 for a fun jump.


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Consider that to 99% of the global population, virtually everyone on this forum has an income and lifestyle that puts them in the top 1% worldwide. Yes...we're the rich people.

It's true, wealth is relative to the local cost of living, but we all have the choice of where and how to live.

This was 1986. $50 was a significant amount of money for a 12-year-old.

Four years later, I would make something like $3.50/hr.

And it's not envy—it's understanding how money changes perception and behavior.

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Risk assessment?

This may be a bigger level, but it seems many property owners do some format of it from time to time.

The 12-year-old couldn’t have been assessed a fine. Of course money changes perception and behavior. That truism goes back thousands of years. It’s neither good nor bad.


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Only gonna cost you $50/if you get caught. Do it in late spring/ early summer not a lot of danger and fun, but really foolish

Maybe jail time would be more of a deterrent than a fine.

Thankfully jail time wouldn’t survive Constitutional scrutiny for an offense like that.


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A small town where I used to live had the problem of buyers of waterfront illegally cutting the trees and paying the $5,000 per tree fine without second thoughts. The town instituted a 30-day jail stay for both the property owner and the contractor who cut the tree or caused it to die due to damage or neglect. That stopped the cutting immediately, and contractors were out watering and fertilizing to save threatened trees and stay out of jail.

I thought of this post Saturday when I watched a white tunnel-hull ocean-racer speedboat flying through a calm Winter Harbor at a speed that must have been close to triple-digits.

:eek:

Do you have proof of that? A video? Do you have a device that recorded its speed?

Based on your posts over the last 20 years, Winter Harbor seems to attract a lot of illegal activity...

... the need for speed!
 

Driving a boat 100-mph on a 45-mph lake is a reality driven by a mix of psychological overconfidence, thrill-seeking, and modern boat design. People feel they can evade law enforcement when there's no other boats around.

You know someone has a boat capable to go 100-mph, and it creates a need for speed in their mind. Like, why have it, if they don't use it, when it's doable?

Is similar to driving a car at 100-mph on Rt 93 when there's no other cars around ..... something to do just for the heck of it ..... where's the harm?

APS is correct. It happens frequently this time of year when the MP is "scarce". When the cat's away the mice play.