The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued consent orders and fines to Rhea County and a contractor for exceeding a grading permit issued to help stop flooding on Roaring Creek.

Rhea County and East Tennessee Grading were assessed fines of $2,500 each, according to a news release. They were cited for discharging material into wetland habitats.

The actions were among 17 announced this morning by EPA against Clean Water Act violations in eight states.

“By taking these enforcement actions, we are sending a strong message about the importance of protecting rivers, lakes and streams across the Southeast,” Stan Meiburg, EPA Region 4 acting regional administrator, said in the news release. “To protect our region’s waters, these regulated entities must comply with the Clean Water Act and promptly take the steps needed to resolve the violations noted in our inspections.”

Rhea County Executive Billy Ray Patton could not be immediately reached for comment.

In 2003, heavy rains twice sent Roaring Creek out of its banks and through the town of Graysville in south Rhea County. Many homes were damaged and a federal disaster was declared.

Local officials began working on solutions to perennial flooding problems. The county eventually received permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the Tennessee Valley Authority to dredge the creek and line it with wire baskets of rock to stabilize the banks.

But in 2006, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation said the work performed went almost a mile past the limits of the permit. The state ordered the county to restore the creek or face penalties of up to $140,000.

According to TDEC, the dredging and widening altered the creek enough to threaten aquatic species and raise the risk of sending rock and debris downstream that could cause more flooding.

See Wednesday's Times Free Press for complete coverage.