According to court documents, construction of the bulkhead began Aug. 1, 2017. Within days, the Corps of Engineers notified the defendants the construction violated the Clean Water Act. A stop-work order was later issued and other orders directed the defendants to remove concrete from the beach.

It’s about 9 feet tall and 46 feet long, nestled within the waterway. Construction of the bulkhead began in 2017, and it allowed for the property owner to build bigger, adding 570 square feet of living space to the 3,000-square-foot home, according to federal court records.

On July 26, 2018, the EPA issued a notice of violation, stating construction of the bulkhead violated the Clean Water Act, and told Bayley he must remedy the situation or face enforcement action. Still the construction went on.

It also killed Chinook salmon, caused permanent environmental damage and was built without a necessary federal permit, the Environmental Protection Agency determined. In November, a federal judge levied nearly $300,000 in fines and fees against Joan Bayley, her son, Philip Bayley, and Big D’s Beach Cabin LLC of Union, Mason County.

Despite the lack of permits and environmental damage, the bulkhead and home above it can stay after consultants for the EPA deemed it would cause more destruction to take it out. And Bayley retains ownership.