A California farmer faces trial this summer in federal court and a $2.8 million fine for not obtaining a permit to plow soil on his own land, USA Today reported Wednesday.
In 2012, John Duarte, owner of Duarte Nursery in Modesto, California, bought 450 acres in Tehama County that he intended to use to farm wheat. The property contained numerous swales, vernal pools — or temporary pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals — and wetlands due to being drainage areas for two creeks.
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