Balsam Mountain Preserve has been fined $10,000 by the N.C. Division of Water Quality — the maximum allowed — for devastation caused by the collapse of a dam at its golf course.

When the earthen dam collapsed last summer, it unleashed a mud slurry that depleted aquatic ecosystems for miles downstream from the Jackson County development. The dam break led to massive die-offs of fish and aquatic insects, according to the Division of Water Quality, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

The die-offs included the prized Southern Appalachian brook trout, a native trout whose presence is increasingly rare.

“We had some sampling for brook trout pre-dam breach and post-dam breach, and there was a loss of brook trout,” said John Hennessy, state water quality compliance supervisor.

The sediment-filled wave scoured stream banks and bottoms for eight miles and left a plume more than 12 miles long. Drifts of sediment deposited by the dam break continue to migrate downstream to this day, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologists.

The development has been charged another $1,693 by the state for enforcement costs. The state fine was issued on April 24. Balsam Mountain Preserve has 30 days to either pay it or appeal it.

The state fine comes on the heels of a $150,000 fine by the Jackson County Sediment and Erosion Control Office following the dam break. The county’s fine was technically for violations that preceded the dam break, however, namely runoff from hillsides left barren and exposed for months on end during the golf course construction, according to the citations.

The county’s fine was originally $300,000. Balsam Mountain Preserve appealed the fine, and negotiations eventually led the county to halve the amount. As part of the settlement, Balsam Mountain Preserve has to host two seminars on erosion control issues stemming from mountain development practices in Jackson County.

“First and foremost we would like to apologize to the citizens of Jackson County and would like them to know that we have invested a tremendous amount of our own resources to correct this problem,” said Balsam Mountain Preserve President Craig Lehman in a statement. “Our commitment to our neighbors, the citizens of Jackson County, about the environmental quality of this great state remains steadfast.”

Lehman said Balsam Mountain Preserve has spent $200,000 on cleanup so far. That includes removing mud from the yards of downstream neighbors, stabilizing scoured stream banks and removing sediment from creeks.

“As an industry leader in conservation-based development, we were devastated by this unfortunate accident,” Lehman said in a statement. “And while we are very sorry that this event even occurred, we are proud of our cleanup efforts as well as our commitment to helping the citizens of Jackson County prevent accidents like this from happening in the future.”

During the first two months of cleanup, Balsam Mountain Preserve was chastised by state and federal environmental agencies. They claimed the developers were not moving quickly enough nor devoting enough resources to capture sediment deposits from the dam break or properly stabilize the scoured stream banks.

A fine by the Army Corps of Engineers could still be pending.

Balsam Mountain Preserve is renown as an eco-development. It has only 354 home sites slated for 4,400 acres. The majority — some 3,000 acres — is under a conservation easement. Balsam Mountain Preserve has a sister nonprofit, the Balsam Mountain Trust, that carries out conservation initiatives on the property, from educating school groups to inventorying and protecting rare species.