{"id":776613,"date":"2026-07-21T21:49:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T21:49:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/776613\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T21:49:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T21:49:21","slug":"big-trouble-in-little-river-after-16-years-an-environment-dispute-between-state-regulators-and-an-octogenarian-farmer-just-upstream-from-moonstone-beach-could-be-coming-to-a-head-lost-coast-outpos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/776613\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Trouble in Little River: After 16 Years, an Environment Dispute Between State Regulators and an Octogenarian Farmer Just Upstream From Moonstone Beach Could be Coming to a Head | Lost Coast Outpost"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Kids playing in Little River as flows across Moonstone Beach. Environmental groups have raised concerns about pollution in the river that could threaten public health and safety. | Image provided by Jen Kalt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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After nearly 16 years of failed enforcement efforts at a McKinleyville-area ranch, state water regulators are turning to the California Attorney General\u2019s Office to resolve a laundry list of alleged environmental violations impacting Little River near Moonstone Beach.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 226-acre property, owned by the Vern C. McGaughey Trust, has been the subject of dozens of warning letters and violation notices from the California Coastal Commission and the North Coast Water Quality Control Board over unpermitted solid waste disposal, unauthorized grading, inadequately controlled grazing \u201cresulting in widespread fecal waste\u201d and bacterial pollution in Little River, as stated in numerous documents shared with the Outpost.<\/p>\n

While the state\u2019s concerns largely focus on unpermitted activities within the channel of Little River, local environmental groups worry that bacterial runoff from the property could pose a threat to people recreating downstream on Moonstone Beach.<\/p>\n

Ken Bareilles, a local attorney representing 88-year-old Vern McGaughey, largely disputes the allegations, though he does admit that his client failed to secure the permits necessary to work in Little River\u2019s channel. Bareilles called concerns of fecal bacteria in Little River \u201cbullshit,\u201d adding, \u201cIt\u2019s an ag zone; cows and horses poop everywhere out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVern is one of the best guys on the face of the earth, and he lives for that property,\u201d Bareilles told the Outpost in a recent phone interview. \u201cHe\u2019s not polluting any damned thing; he\u2019s acted without permits, and the nature of his fines are all for failing to get a damn permit. \u2026 Vern has never, in my opinion, discharged anything into that stream. He\u2019s prevented illegal discharges by what he did, but he did it without a permit.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Bareilles tells it, the whole ordeal began nearly two decades ago when a section of Little River became clogged with fallen trees, causing a dike along the channel to crack and flood the property.<\/p>\n

\u201cPretty soon, water started flowing through there on McGaughey\u2019s property, and started washing out and eroding his doggone meadow there \u2014 it was not his fault at all,\u201d Bareilles said. To prevent further erosion, McGaughey installed some plastic netting and used a backhoe to move concrete blocks into the channel. \u201cHe was losing property every year, and that basically took care of things, basically, but they still had the problem with Little River.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when the issue caught the state\u2019s attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nearly 16 Years of Failed Enforcement Measures<\/p>\n

The California Department of Fish and Game, now known as the Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), became aware of an \u201cunpermitted development\u201d on McGaughey\u2019s property on a tributary of Little River in December 2010, according to a draft resolution<\/a> detailing the history of enforcement actions at the site. The agency opened an investigation and forwarded the matter to the California Coastal Commission for review.<\/p>\n

During a property inspection in January 2011, North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board staff found \u201cunauthorized discharges of construction debris\u201d along the channel of Little River, prompting the Coastal Commission to issue a Notice of Violation (NOV) for \u201cunpermitted placement of soil\/fill, construction debris, broken concrete, and plastic erosion control fabric into watercourses on the property,\u201d according to a letter dated Jan. 24, 2011. The Coastal Commission asked McGaughey to apply for a coastal development permit to resolve the issue, but he did not respond.<\/p>\n


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The property\u2019s boundaries are depicted in light gray. | Map via the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board.<\/p>\n

The Coastal Commission would issue another five NOVs between 2014 and 2022 urging McGaughey to \u201cremove the unpermitted development and restore the damaged resources\u201d in the channel or face fines exceeding $6,000 per day. Bareilles claims he and McGaughey offered to rent an excavator to \u201cpull the stuff out without going into the channel,\u201d but said they couldn\u2019t get permission to do it. <\/p>\n

The case sat idle for a few years, then resurfaced on Sept. 14, 2022, when the Coastal Commission sent \u201ca final attempt to resolve [the] matter\u201d on Sept. 14, 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs of the date of this letter, you have not obtained, or even applied for, such a CDP [Coastal Development Permit], nor have you even responded to the many letters that we have sent you and the unpermitted development remains a continuing violation of the Coastal Act and Humboldt County LCP [Local Coastal Plan], and damage to coastal resources is ongoing,\u201d the letter states. \u201cPlease be advised that if we cannot come to an agreement quickly regarding resolution of this matter through the CDP process, as we have repeatedly requested, we will consider initiating formal enforcement procedures.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSame identical charges, [which] we denied,\u201d Bareilles said. He and McGaughey hired an engineer to look at the property, who allegedly referred to the state\u2019s request for corrective action as a \u201cbloodless surgery,\u201d apparently describing a virtually impossible task.<\/p>\n

During a follow-up visit on Nov. 10, 2022, state and county staff found more issues at McGaughey\u2019s property, including \u201cadditional dumping in wetlands \u2026 as well as several unpermitted stream crossings.\u201d All told, CDFW staff documented 40 violations of Fish and Game Code on the property, according to an environmental impact assessment shared with the water board.<\/p>\n


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Screenshot of the stop work order. Click to enlarge.<\/p>\n

One month later, in December 2022, Humboldt County Chief Building Official Keith Ingersoll issued a stop work order<\/a>, citing the following violations of county code:<\/p>\n

H.C.C. 312-3 Development in the Coastal Zone without permits.H.C.C. 331-28 Construction of Building\/Structure in Violation of Building, Plumbing and\/or Electrical Codes.H.\u0421.\u0421. 354-1 Junk and\/or Inoperable Vehicles.H.C.C. 521-4 Improper Storage and Removal of Solid Waste.<\/p>\n

The county\u2019s Division of Environmental Health issued another notice in January 2024, ordering McGaughey to \u201cimmediately cease and desist the deposition of solid waste to land, waterways, and environment, and to take certain corrective actions to remove solid waste from the property.\u201d In February 2024, state and county officials met with McGaughey and his attorney to discuss a path forward to no avail.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy staff, and other agency staff, have tried repeatedly, for over a decade, to work with you to resolve this matter,\u201d Coastal Commission Executive Director Kate Huckelbridge wrote in a Feb. 5, 2024, letter to McGaughey. \u201cYou have either been unresponsive or you have failed to take the actions necessary to resolve these violations. I intend to record a Notice of Violation so that any potential future owners of these properties will be made aware of the violations and the obligation to resolve the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

In October 2024, the water board issued a cleanup order<\/a> with a schedule of tasks (stream and wetland impact assessments, waste disposal plans, etc.) to be completed over the following year. The order also points out \u201cbacterial impairment\u201d and \u201cfecal waste\u201d in Little River caused by \u201cuncontrolled livestock grazing and unauthorized construction of a pit privy\u201d on the property. Again, McGaughey failed to comply with the order.<\/p>\n

In March 2025, the water board made a last-ditch effort to resolve the list of violations on the property through a settlement offer. If McGaughey agreed to pay $39,737 and complete the list of tasks outlined in the cleanup order over an extended timeline, the matter would be put to bed. McGaughey received the offer, the resolution states, but \u201cfailed to respond and engage with staff by the April 23, 2025, due date.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Water board staff met with McGaughey and his attorney for in-person settlement negotiations in July 2025, but the parties weren\u2019t able to reach an agreement. They met in February 2026 to discuss a \u201cglobal settlement,\u201d but, again, couldn\u2019t agree on the terms.<\/p>\n

Despite nearly 16 years of inaction by McGaughey and dozens of warnings, \u201cno fines have been imposed to date,\u201d a water board spokesperson told the Outpost via email.<\/p>\n

Bringing in the California Attorney General<\/p>\n

Having exhausted all civil enforcement options, the water board is now turning to the Attorney General\u2019s Office for legal help. At its Aug. 6 meeting, the board will consider sending a formal referral to Attorney General Rob Bonta seeking \u201cjudicial enforcement of the alleged violations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe referral could result in the filing of a judicial complaint in superior court where different remedies are available to the North Coast Water Board,\u201d water board spokesperson Blair Robertson told the Outpost. \u201cIn addition to civil liabilities, judicial enforcement allows for injunctive relief and\/or a consent judgment to place Mr. McGaughey under a judicially enforceable timeline to comply with the required actions in the Cleanup Order. The [board\u2019s] administrative enforcement authority is limited to the imposition of administrative civil liability.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Humboldt Waterkeeper and the Surfrider Foundation are among the environmental advocates calling for the Attorney General\u2019s Office to get involved in the case. In a joint letter<\/a> to the water board, the groups highlight water quality concerns in Little River, as well as potential impacts to endangered salmonid species and people who recreate at Moonstone Beach.<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle River was designated as impaired by pathogens<\/a> in 2015,\u201d the letter states. \u201cNumerous studies<\/a> have confirmed high levels of pathogenic bacteria in the river. Since then, numerous violations of local and state regulations designed to protect water quality and aquatic health have been issued to the property owners. It appears that no actions to remedy the violations has been taken, despite the ongoing impacts to public health and safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have received complaints from members of the public regarding children experiencing vomiting and diarrhea after playing in Little River; horse and cattle carcasses in the Little River channel; and plastic erosion control fabric covering streambanks and pieces floating downstream,\u201d the letter continues. \u201cWe have also fielded numerous calls and emails over the years from people wondering if it\u2019s safe to recreate in Little River and in the surf near the mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Something important to note about Little River is that its condition changes on a week-by-week basis, as detailed in the Little River State Beach Report Card at this link<\/a>. At the beginning of July, for instance, the beach scored an A+, but this week it\u2019s at a B.<\/p>\n

Jen Kalt, executive director of the Humboldt Waterkeeper, said conditions on Little River tend to be affected by rainfall. <\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time it rains a significant amount, stormwater pollution carries fecal matter into the river, and the county advises that people stay out of the water for 72 hours after major rain incidents,\u201d Kalt said during a recent phone interview. \u201cOnce the fecal bacteria and viruses aren\u2019t in the guts of warm-blooded animals anymore, they start to die off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople, a lot of times, freak out when they find out that Little River has this kind of pollution, but it\u2019s a good rule of thumb no matter where you are to be really cautious [after a rainstorm], especially with children, because they are so likely to swallow water,\u201d Kalt continued. \u201cIf you have any kind of open wounds on your body, that can be really dangerous for infections, especially for people who are immunocompromised.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kalt wants to see a true resolution to the issue, not just more threats of punitive action. If the water board decides to forward the case to the Attorney General\u2019s Office, she hopes the state will order the property owner to \u201cfix the damage and stop the continuing abuse\u201d of Little River.<\/p>\n

The North Coast Water Quality Control Board will discuss McGaughey\u2019s case at its next meeting on Thursday, Aug. 6. The board will meet at the Elk Valley Rancheria (2332 Howland Hill Road) in Crescent City at 9 a.m. Read the full agenda and find instructions for remote attendance at this link<\/a>. Those who wish to speak during the meeting should register ahead of time here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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