Rhys fined $3.7 million for illegal Mendocino reservoirs

I was shocked to see this large fine reported. It is odd in California that you can't just build a pond but with water resources being what they are I understand.

Hat tip to terroirist.com

[David M. Bueker]

Well this has been reported in multiple venues, and there’s a lengthy (and bizarre) thread about it on Berserkers.

The core is that they did not obtain permits (or more clearly, their contractor did not) for 1 of the three ponds (the other two were there when Rhys bought the property), modifying stream and runoff channels to both develop the 20 acre vineyard site and the access road, and the effects (e.g. runoff issues) of the modifications.

The actual state report is available, and it presents the violations in a dispassionate manner, which helps understand the scale (not small) of the violations.

Kevin Harvey of Rhys responded twice in the Berserkers thread, providing a tiny bit (no doubt lawyer approved) of additional insight.

Serious violations.

[Jenise]

I read the Berserkers thread, David, and was kind of amused at the line of thought that more or less went "well the pot farmers have been doing it, so why not Rhys".

I have really reduced my stress after stopping Berserkers, with the downside that I miss out on some of the juicy news.

It's a lot of water in one sense, but it's only about $1000 worth at city retail rates. Way less if we're talking irrigation water. It is totally true that in California, whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting. A friend of mine lives up in the hills, about 30 minutes from any town, and has his water delivered by truck, plus a holding pond that was grandfathered in. When he first moved in, he found that someone downhill from him had dug a small trench hundreds of feet to the adjoining property, and placed a garden hose in it to siphon water from the pond. My friend capped the hose, stopped the theft, and never heard anything from the neighbor. And this is still, technically, in the Bay Area!

[David M. Bueker]

I read the Berserkers thread, David, and was kind of amused at the line of thought that more or less went "well the pot farmers have been doing it, so why not Rhys".

The chief apologist has special privileges at Rhys.

I wasn't following this. Has anyone complained about the Dutch draining the Bordeaux swamps yet?

[David M. Bueker]

Indeed they have!