State officials said the cannabis operation took water from streams and damaged wetlands for years without permission. The owner called the fines extreme and unfair but agreed to pay and restore wetlands. Of the total penalty, $500,000 represents the largest …

Sweet said, though, that the case didn’t have to play out like it did. “Offers were made and denied,” he said. “There would be no settlement without their need to ‘make an example of me first.’”
The…