08/17/2008

Associated Press

A California contractor will pay a $48,000 penalty and $192,000 for stream improvement projects to compensate for erosion on a U.S. 20 improvement project west of Corvallis.

The $240,000 agreement between Granite Construction and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is the third-highest settlement of an environmental violation in the past decade.

The state said Granite cleared 160 acres of forest without adequately considering the effect on salmon and trout streams. Dirt reduced the ability of the fish to feed and reproduce.

Construction resumed this summer on the seven-mile highway segment to replace a winding section of U.S. 20 between Corvallis and Newport.

A criminal investigation is continuing.

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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com