EPA probes Eastern Shipbuilding

More than a dozen EPA investigators armed with search warrants swooped on Eastern Shipbuilding Group's Allanton Shipyard in Panama City, Fla., at 8.30 a.m. Tuesday.

According to a local press report, the Environmental Protection Agency is investigating allegations that Eastern Shipbuilding Group illegally filled in 120 to 140 acres of wetlands with dredged material at the shipyard.

The Walton Sun quotes a shipyard attorney as saying that the allegations involve six properties in the immediate area of the yard, some of which were filled in up to three or four years ago.

"It's our position they aren't wetlands," the attorney is reported as saying.

Read the Walton Sun story HERE