I don't know what kind of gravel it was, but some here in our area contains a great amount of

clay and silt particles that, when mixed in the flowing river water is harmful to the fish.

Even if it wasn't a major polution incident, it was a case of dumping a major amount of

liter into one of our rivers.   Throwing a used piece of chewing gum out your car window

here in Michigan can get a 100 dollar (or more) fine and community service hours to

pick up trash that soemeone else has discarded.   Could the company not secured a

permit to do it legally, if that was permitted.       A speeder driving at 100 mph may not

cause an accident, but they are still speeding, and may get a ticket, accident or not.

Some govt. body made the rules and all (including corprations) have to follow them.