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WALLKILL, NY — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday (Aug. 21) that it reached a consent decree to settle a four-year civil case against Mark Ford, a prominent figure in standardbred harness racing, for violating the Clean Water Act by illegally filling wetlands and polluting the waters at his training center and another location in Orange County.
In the consent decree, Ford and three of his businesses — Mark Ford Stables, Inc., Mark Ford Stage Road Property Inc., and Ford Equine, Ltd. — admitted to illegally filling 18.1 acres of federal wetlands and a tributary over the course of nine years while building a horse training center and a second equine center on two properties in Wallkill, a hamlet in Middletown.
The training center, which includes a track oval and multiple buildings, is located on Slaughter Road between Interstate 84 and the Walkill River. A tributary of the river runs through the property, including under the standardbred track. The second equine center is on Stony Ford Road, a short distance from the Slaughter Road training center.
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by Emilie Munson, reprinted with permission by the TimesUnion.com
