The Conservation Commission has ordered the town of Marion to remove a Silvershell beach seawall that was apparently built in violation of federal law.

On Sept. 24, the Conservation Commission sent Selectmen an enforcement order that requires officials to move the seawall away from the high tide line and a saltmarsh near the beach. It must be rebuilt in accordance with an approved engineering plan.

The town has until Nov. 19 to comply with the order.

In July, Conservation Commission Vice Chair Norm Hills and Richard Kristoff of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers inspected the seawall. Kristoff noted that it appeared rocks and fill had been placed below the high tide line towards the ocean and within a saltmarsh, which violated federal statutes.

In an Aug. 14 letter sent to Department of Public Works Director Rob Zora, the Corps' Acting Chief Brian Valiton wrote that he believed Zora's department performed the work without permission.

“We have not found any record indicating that portions of the work has been authorized. Therefore, we must assume work was performed in violation of Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act and in violation of Section 404 of the Clean Waters Act,” Valiton wrote.

The date of the seawall's initial construction was not mentioned in the letter.

The Corps set a 60-day deadline for the town to devise a plan to correct the violation, file for an after-the-fact permit or provide information that showed the Corps approved the project.

Valiton wrote that it appeared the quickest way to resolve the issue would be to remove the seawall.

In addition to the letter, Valiton included a map of Silvershell beach and a separate letter from the Corps that approved a request from former Harbormaster George Jennings to remove rocks from the beach.

That letter, dated May 29, 1991, authorized Jennings to remove approximately 250 rocks from below the high tide line on Silvershell beach. Those rocks were moved to an adjacent cove, “approximately 125 feet south of the existing structure, in a rocky intertidal area,” according to the letter.

It’s unclear if those rocks were part of the seawall to be removed. Why the 23-year-old letter was included in the packet to the town from the Corps is also unclear.

Calls to Zora and Dawson seeking comment have not yet been returned.

The Corps forwarded information to Marion officials that state violations of the Clean Water Act are punishable by civil or criminal fines.

To read the letters sent from the Conservation Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in full, click on the link below.