Settlement Follows Extensive DEC Investigation in Smithtown
Following an exhaustive site investigation that included the digging of 220 test pits, the operator of a King Parks sand mine will pay a $200,000 penalty and will remove illegally disposed solid waste from an Old Northport Road site in Smithtown, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Regional Director Peter A. Scully announced today.
In addition to paying the penalty, the cost of the investigation, and the cost of removing unacceptable solid waste from the site, Anthony Santilli, 72, of Baldwin, Nassau County, has agreed to tough new operating requirements, including the installation of video cameras so that DEC staff can monitor the site in real time on the Internet.
“The successful conclusion of this investigation should send a strong signal to those who might consider flaunting solid waste laws on Long Island that they should think twice,” Regional Director Scully said. “DEC’s Division of Law Enforcement and Solid Waste staff are keeping a sharp eye out for illegal solid waste activities, and they will make those responsible pay for their transgressions.”
DEC’s Divisions of Law Enforcement and Solid and Hazardous Materials began investigating solid waste activities at the Santilli site last November as part of a wide-ranging crackdown on illegal solid waste activities on Long Island. During the course of the investigation, DEC staff determined that the site had accepted numerous truckloads of unauthorized solid waste material without state approval, including dredge spoil, street sweepings and fill material from other sources without proper documentation.
On March 4, 2010, Santilli, was arrested by DEC Environmental Conservation Officers and charged with operating a landfill inside a deep flow recharge area, operating a landfill without a permit and unlawful disposal of solid waste, all misdemeanors.
As part of its investigation, to determine the extent of solid waste on the site, DEC required the mine operator to complete an investigation that included digging 220+ subsurface test pits, with samples sent to an independent laboratory for analysis. That analysis revealed that some of the illegally disposed of material consisted of paint chips, metals, asphalt, insulation and other non-authorized construction materials.
Along with paying the $200,000 penalty, Santilli will be required to remove approximately 1,500 yards of solid waste from the site. An additional $125,000 penalty will be triggered if Santilli fails to comply with the terms of settlement. Santilli is also required to implement a tough new set of operating conditions that will guide the restoration of the site to grade, including stringent documentation of every load of fill delivered to the site and the installation of video cameras that will allow DEC to monitor activity on the around the clock via the internet.
The DEC’s Order on Consent with Santilli resolves DEC administrative actions against him and his operations at the Santilli mine site.
In late April, following its investigation into activities at the Santilli Mine and other locations on Long Island, Regional Director Scully announced the formation of the Long Island Solid Waste Task Force, including representatives of law enforcement agencies and local governments, to strengthen coordination of solid waste investigation and enforcement activities across the region. Task Force members include the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Nassau County and Suffolk County District Attorneys, DEC’s Bureau of Environmental Crime Investigation, and the towns of Brookhaven, Huntington, Riverhead and Smithtown.
Scully noted that DEC has documented an upswing in illegal solid waste activity on Long Island over the past two years involving the placement of construction and demolition debris and other fill materials at unauthorized sites. Since early 2008, DEC’s Division of Law Enforcement has made 11 separate arrests for illegal solid waste activities, and additional investigations are still pending. Most of the cases involve illegal disposal of construction and demolition debris, known in the industry as “C and D”, often mixed or “cocktailed” with soil or fill. Some of the cases involve soil contaminated with petroleum products, semi-volatile organic compounds, or poly-aromatic hydrocarbons. Others involve what authorities have labeled as “scoop and fill” actions, where an excavation is created through illegal sand mining and then quickly filled with construction and demolition debris or unauthorized fill.
“These illegal activities are a special concern on Long Island because we depend on groundwater for our drinking water supply,” Scully said. “It is because contaminated soils and other solid wastes can threaten our water supply that we have laws in place that restrict landfills in Nassau and Suffolk counties.”
DEC’s actions in the Santilli solid waste case were the culmination of a month-long investigation into solid waste activities at multiple sites in the Kings Park area involving a Bellport man with a history of past criminal convictions for environmental violations. Robert DalCamo, also known as Joseph Dalcamo or “Joey Dirt”, has been arrested twice by DEC Law Enforcement since 2008 for solid waste violations at two sites in Medford. Charges in those cases are still pending.
Individuals spotting illegal environmental activities are encouraged to call DEC’s Environmental Conservation Officers at (631) 444-0250 on weekdays during business hours, and 1-800-TIPP-DEC (1-877-457-5680) at all other times to report such suspected activities. For more information on DEC programs and regulations, please visit the Department’s website at: http://www.dec.ny.gov.