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Bill Greene used to enjoy the tranquility of the pond that once backed up to his and about 20 other houses in the Olde Stage Knolls neighborhood in Bowie.

The pond, which was there before the housing development was built more than 18 years ago, was made by a beaver dam, said Greene and his neighbor, Jeanette Rodkey.

But the beavers and the dam were removed and the pond consequently drained in March at the request the Olde Stage Homeowners Association, HOA president David Perroto said.

Acting on a complaint from Greene that the removal of the dam was illegal, officials from the Maryland Department of the Environment inspected the drained area in May, June and July and noted several violations of state law, including the lack of authorization from MDE for any work to be done on the site, according to an MDE report.

The report does not state who committed the violations.

Ideally, Greene would like to see the pond restored to its original state and inhabited again by the birds and turtles that left after the pond was drained.

"I'm not a tree-hugger or something, but it really bothers me that this area was destroyed," Greene said. "I think it's important that people understand that even that five acres behind your home is wetlands and it's protected."

The MDE report on the site notes 14 violations over the three separate inspections, several of which were the same violations noted multiple times. Violations included work done on the site without authorization by MDE and the removal of sediment leading to water pollution.

Perroto said the HOA contracted with a private company to remove the beavers and the dam because the beavers were damaging trees in the neighborhood and the dam caused high water levels that threatened properties.

The association contacted Prince George's County, Bowie city and state Department of Natural Resources offices to ensure the work was allowable, Perroto said, adding that at no point did any agency officials tell him a permit from MDE was needed to drain the pond and remove the beavers.

"The decision was made the beavers had to go and to reduce the water level the dam was penetrated and Mother Nature did its thing," Perroto said of the pond drainage.

Rodkey, who has lived next to the pond for 18 years, said the pond removal and migration elsewhere of wildlife that used to inhabit it was a loss to the neighborhood.

"I'm not, like, waxing religion here, but this is God's great ecosystem out here, and it's just beautiful," she said. "It was gone in six weeks."

The case has been forwarded to the Maryland Attorney General's Office by MDE for possible enforcement action, said MDE spokesman Jay Apperson, who declined to comment further on the specific case because it remains under review.

Enforcement action can include required corrective action, an injunction or civil monetary fines in court, Apperson said. The Attorney General's Office and MDE will jointly decide to whom the penalties should be assessed, he said.

According to state code, each violation is punishable by civil fines of up to $10,000 or imprisonment not exceeding one year or both. Each day a violation continues it can be considered a separate violation subject to civil penalties, Apperson said.

The fines are speculation at this point, Perroto said, adding the HOA has followed MDE's instructions to plant trees and grass in the area disturbed by the dam removal. The association's liability insurance is paying for the cost of legal representation in the case and would cover any fines the state might assess, he said.

The owner of the business that completed the beaver and dam removal, ABC All Wildlife Removal, said his company is not responsible for procuring a permit from MDE the work.

"Whoever I did the work for was supposed to make sure the permits were OK," said Tim Ryan, adding that he was not aware of problems with the results.

The home owner's association's former management company, D.H. Bader Management Services, contracted with ABC All Wildlife for the work on behalf of the HOA, according to the MDE report. Representatives from D.H. Bader did not return calls for comment.