To be clear, COMPANIES do this. Small private landowners like homeowners get absolutely fucked. The fines aren't means tested so what s a slap on the wrist to wal-mart or even a medium sized business could be soul-destroying for a homeowner, plus you will almost always be saddled with the cost of restoring it, as wal-mart was here. Having to replant one or two trees if that's all you did may be annoyingly expensive but absorbable, but depending on what you did restoration could wind up costing as much as your house to restore the same drainage conditions, erosion protections, etc.