The scope of one homeowner’s unpermitted dredging and filling work on Mink Meadows Pond became apparent on Tuesday night when conservation commission members heard from a land surveyor and the contractor who carried out the work.

In February the Tisbury conservation commission sent a cease and desist order to property owner Mary Howell of Arlington, Va., and Vineyard Haven, after commission members discovered that she had dredged and filled in wetlands near her property in an apparent effort to eradicate phragmites. At the time commission chairman Tom Robinson stated that the work, which was in clear violation of the Wetlands Protection Act, was the most egregious violation he had seen in more than two decades.

On Tuesday night at a meeting of the conservation commission, Reid Silva of Martha’s Vineyard Surveying and Engineering represented Ms. Howell, and at the request of the commission he tried to determine the extent of the area affected by the unpermitted work. Mr. Silva said that a total of 11,600 square feet had been excavated, that the volume of material removed was 1,100 cubic yards and that the fill pile measured 6,500 square feet. Mr. Silva also estimated that 2,160 square feet of wetlands had been filled.

Last month, alerted by neighbors, conservation agent Jane Varkonda made a site visit to the property where she saw excavating equipment owned by contractor Steve Handy and a large pile of excavated fill at the edge of the pond.

“This big pile of fill is sitting on what was a freshwater wetland,” Mr. Silva said on Tuesday.

In addition to the damage done to the wetlands, the surveying work also revealed that most of the work was done off of Ms. Howell’s property, on lots owned by John C. Botts and by Andrewsen LC & Cruikshank DC Trustees. Ms. Howell’s property does not abut the pond, and as of Tuesday the neighbors had not been notified.

Conservation commission chairman Tom Robinson said that possible trespassing issues were beyond the commission’s purview and that the commission’s focus was the wetlands violations.

Ms. Varkonda said that she would have to talk to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to determine how to rectify violations off of an offender’s property.

“This is all new to us,” said Ms. Varkonda. “We’ve just seen this survey today.”

Commission members also were eager to know where Ms. Howell planned on putting the pile of excavated fill.

“She owns with her sister a lot on Golf Club Road down the street where she anticipated putting the fill,” said Mr. Silva.

Ms. Varkonda said that the fill would remain where it was until Ms. Howell hires a wetlands consultant to design a restoration plan. On Tuesday Ms. Varkonda asked for further survey work including soil borings to determine where the wetlands had been filled and when.

“I think the filling of the wetlands was done prior to the dredging work,” she said.

Also on Tuesday contractor Steve Handy was on hand to answer questions from the commission.

“Have you done this kind of work before and was this represented to you as being permitted?” asked commission member John Best.

“I assumed that it was,” said Mr. Handy.

“But you didn’t ask, you just assumed?” asked Mr. Best.

“No, I asked and I was under the understanding that it had been dredged before and the permit was still open,” he replied.

Ms. Varkonda said that she would work with Mr. Silva and Ms. Howell to hire a qualified wetlands expert in the coming weeks and that the commission may ask her to post a bond to hire further consultants.

“Ms. Howell is trying to figure out what she has to do to fix it,” said Mr. Silva.