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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’s Office to resolve a laundry list of alleged environmental violations impacting Little River near Moonstone Beach. 

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 “resulting in widespread fecal waste” and bacterial pollution in Little River, as stated in numerous documents shared with the Outpost.

While the state’s 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.

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’s channel. Bareilles called concerns of fecal bacteria in Little River “bullshit,” adding, “It’s an ag zone; cows and horses poop everywhere out there.”

“Vern is one of the best guys on the face of the earth, and he lives for that property,” Bareilles told the Outpost in a recent phone interview. “He’s not polluting any damned thing; he’s acted without permits, and the nature of his fines are all for failing to get a damn permit. … Vern has never, in my opinion, discharged anything into that stream. He’s prevented illegal discharges by what he did, but he did it without a permit.”

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.

“Pretty soon, water started flowing through there on McGaughey’s property, and started washing out and eroding his doggone meadow there — it was not his fault at all,” Bareilles said. To prevent further erosion, McGaughey installed some plastic netting and used a backhoe to move concrete blocks into the channel. “He was losing property every year, and that basically took care of things, basically, but they still had the problem with Little River.”

That’s when the issue caught the state’s attention. 

Nearly 16 Years of Failed Enforcement Measures

The California Department of Fish and Game, now known as the Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), became aware of an “unpermitted development” on McGaughey’s property on a tributary of Little River in December 2010, according to a draft resolution 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.

During a property inspection in January 2011, North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board staff found “unauthorized discharges of construction debris” along the channel of Little River, prompting the Coastal Commission to issue a Notice of Violation (NOV) for “unpermitted placement of soil/fill, construction debris, broken concrete, and plastic erosion control fabric into watercourses on the property,” 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.

The Coastal Commission would issue another five NOVs between 2014 and 2022 urging McGaughey to “remove the unpermitted development and restore the damaged resources” in the channel or face fines exceeding $6,000 per day. Bareilles claims he and McGaughey offered to rent an excavator to “pull the stuff out without going into the channel,” but said they couldn’t get permission to do it.

The case sat idle for a few years, then resurfaced on Sept. 14, 2022, when the Coastal Commission sent “a final attempt to resolve [the] matter” on Sept. 14, 2022.

“As 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,” the letter states. “Please 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.”

“Same identical charges, [which] we denied,” Bareilles said. He and McGaughey hired an engineer to look at the property, who allegedly referred to the state’s request for corrective action as a “bloodless surgery,” apparently describing a virtually impossible task.

During a follow-up visit on Nov. 10, 2022, state and county staff found more issues at McGaughey’s property, including “additional dumping in wetlands … as well as several unpermitted stream crossings.” 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.

Screenshot of the stop work order. Click to enlarge.

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

• 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.С.С. 354-1 Junk and/or Inoperable Vehicles.
• H.C.C. 521-4 Improper Storage and Removal of Solid Waste.

The county’s Division of Environmental Health issued another notice in January 2024, ordering McGaughey to “immediately 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.” In February 2024, state and county officials met with McGaughey and his attorney to discuss a path forward to no avail. 

“My staff, and other agency staff, have tried repeatedly, for over a decade, to work with you to resolve this matter,” Coastal Commission Executive Director Kate Huckelbridge wrote in a Feb. 5, 2024, letter to McGaughey. “You 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.”

In October 2024, the water board issued a cleanup order 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 “bacterial impairment” and “fecal waste” in Little River caused by “uncontrolled livestock grazing and unauthorized construction of a pit privy” on the property. Again, McGaughey failed to comply with the order.

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 “failed to respond and engage with staff by the April 23, 2025, due date.” 

Water board staff met with McGaughey and his attorney for in-person settlement negotiations in July 2025, but the parties weren’t able to reach an agreement. They met in February 2026 to discuss a “global settlement,” but, again, couldn’t agree on the terms.

Despite nearly 16 years of inaction by McGaughey and dozens of warnings, “no fines have been imposed to date,” a water board spokesperson told the Outpost via email.

Bringing in the California Attorney General

Having exhausted all civil enforcement options, the water board is now turning to the Attorney General’s Office for legal help. At its Aug. 6 meeting, the board will consider sending a formal referral to Attorney General Rob Bonta seeking “judicial enforcement of the alleged violations.”

“The referral could result in the filing of a judicial complaint in superior court where different remedies are available to the North Coast Water Board,” water board spokesperson Blair Robertson told the Outpost. “In 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’s] administrative enforcement authority is limited to the imposition of administrative civil liability.”

The Humboldt Waterkeeper and the Surfrider Foundation are among the environmental advocates calling for the Attorney General’s Office to get involved in the case. In a joint letter 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.

“Little River was designated as impaired by pathogens in 2015,” the letter states. “Numerous studies 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.”

“We 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,” the letter continues. “We have also fielded numerous calls and emails over the years from people wondering if it’s safe to recreate in Little River and in the surf near the mouth.”

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. At the beginning of July, for instance, the beach scored an A+, but this week it’s at a B.

Jen Kalt, executive director of the Humboldt Waterkeeper, said conditions on Little River tend to be affected by rainfall.

“Every 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,” Kalt said during a recent phone interview. “Once the fecal bacteria and viruses aren’t in the guts of warm-blooded animals anymore, they start to die off.”

“People, a lot of times, freak out when they find out that Little River has this kind of pollution, but it’s 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,” Kalt continued. “If you have any kind of open wounds on your body, that can be really dangerous for infections, especially for people who are immunocompromised.”

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’s Office, she hopes the state will order the property owner to “fix the damage and stop the continuing abuse” of Little River.

The North Coast Water Quality Control Board will discuss McGaughey’s 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. Those who wish to speak during the meeting should register ahead of time here.

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DOCUMENTS:

• Cleanup and Abatement and Investigative Order
• Joint letter from the Humboldt Waterkeeper and Surfrider Foundation