Monroe County builder arraigned in wetland case

4/21/2005

MONROE A Bedford Township developer stood mute yesterday in Monroe County District Court, where he was arraigned on misdemeanor charges alleging that he illegally drained a Douglas Road wetland last year to build a subdivision.

Douglas Dibert, 46, owner of Douglas Development and PTL Custom Homes, is charged with one count of destruction of a wetland, a violation of Michigan s Wetlands Protection Act. He was released on a personal recognizance bond yesterday after appearing before District Court Judge Terrence Bronson, and is scheduled to appear for a pretrial conference at 9 a.m. May 16.

If convicted, Mr. Dibert faces a maximum punishment of a $2,500 fine and a requirement to completely restore the five wetlands areas he is accused of destroying on a 33-acre site off Douglas Road, just south of Dean Road, where his firm was building a subdivision called Douglas Ridge.