A Minneapolis man who bought lakeside property in the hopes of living again in his childhood town of Prior Lake has been fined $30,000 by state regulators who accused him of polluting the lake with sediment runoff.

Jason A. Miller, 38, paid the fine without admitting guilt, but he said Thursday that he was mistreated and falsely accused by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and other agencies scrutinizing continuing construction on roughly 1.8 acres along Lower Prior Lake.

During several inspections in 2013, the MPCA said, its staff discovered violations of construction stormwater rules at the site, among them failure to stabilize exposed soils, slopes and dirt stockpiles, and improperly draining water.

The results, the agency continued, were that sediment and sediment-laden stormwater flowed into Lower Prior Lake. Large amounts of sediment entering a lake can damage water quality and harm aquatic life, the agency noted.

Miller paid a $30,000 civil penalty and took several steps to satisfy the MPCA's allegations.

"I feel like you should stand up for your rights, but I knew they would bury me," Miller said, explaining why he paid the fine and chose not to mount a court challenge.

He said the MPCA and other agencies in the Prior Lake area "tried to have the project blocked to generally make it unbelievably difficult to build."

Miller, who runs a commercial property management company, said he bought the land in 2011 so he could "build a house for myself. … I grew up in Prior Lake and loved using the lake."

The land can accommodate up to three homes, Miller said, but he has no immediate plans to add any residences.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482