The Georgia Department of Transportation has paid $4,688 to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division for erosion violations at the I-985 Exit 22 in Gainesville.

DOT spokeswoman Teri Pope said the incident occurred in January, when a contractor began clearing away vegetation in order to start improvement work on the northbound exit ramp.

"Once they removed the kudzu, they discovered a stream that we didn’t know was there and was not shown on our plans," she said.

Pope said once DOT learned of the stream’s existence, they immediately stopped work and notified the EPD.

"They fined us for not including the stream on our plans," she said. "Also, while inspectors were on site, they noted that we needed additional erosion controls (such as silt fences) in a paved ditch, so we were fined for that as well."

Pope said the problems have been corrected.