Rob Dunn bought 87 acres in Vermilion in 2020 to start a farm. However, a road culvert funnels runoff from dozens of neighboring properties onto his land, triggering dangerous floods that block his family’s only way out.
After years of getting the runaround from local officials — with one even suggesting he place fill dirt himself — Dunn finally did so.
Now, the state EPA is suing him, claiming he illegally polluted a protected state water. Furthermore, they say that because it’s state water, he needed to get state and federal permits to fill the hole.
The case hasn’t been decided yet, but the EPA has already asked the court to make Dunn remove the dirt and risk flooding his land.
Nate Hotes, an attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), says the state is completely in the wrong under both Ohio law and the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Sackett decision. According to both, clean water laws only apply to relatively permanent bodies of water, which Dunn’s property is not, only holding water after rain.
“Ohio cannot first tell him that he has to let his property flood because the government refuses to address the problem, then punish him when he takes reasonable steps to protect his family and make his land productive,” Hotes states.
PFL is representing Dunn in this case.
Hotes notes that Dunn’s property features an ephemeral drainage — meaning it’s dry most of the year and sits thousands of feet away from any traditional waterway. He warns the state’s aggressive lawsuit should worry property owners everywhere.
“The issue that we’re discussing could happen to anybody that purchases a house,” Hotes says. “Ultimately, it’s an issue about small town and state governments trying to bully landowners, and landowners should know about this and see it as an opportunity to support their capacity to fight back.”
AFN is seeking comment from the Ohio EPA.
A court hearing on the state’s request for a preliminary injunction is scheduled for next week in Erie County.
