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Sergeant Bluff man fined $80,000 for violating environmental rules

According to the Iowa DNR, John Goldsmith called the agency in August 2018 to tell them he would be burning an estimated 30,000 railroad ties on his property.
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DES MOINES, Iowa — A judge fined a northwest Iowa man $80,000 for burning thousands of railroad ties despite being told the burning was illegal. 

The Iowa Attorney General's office said Wednesday that John Goldsmith, of Sergeant Bluff, was also ordered not to violate state solid waste disposal and open burning regulations in the future. 

The Department of Natural Resources said Goldsmith called the agency in August 2018 and said he planned to burn some of an estimated 30,000 railroad ties on his property because it would cost too much to properly dispose of them. 

He also said he had barricaded his property so firefighters could not put out the fire, which burned for four days.

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