Jean Branigan says an abandoled oil tank punctured during a house demolition emits unpleasant odors in her Massapequa neighborhood.
We live in a quaint area of Massapequa, Old Harbour Green. On the corner of my street is an empty lot. The owner demolished the house to build a new one and punctured an underground oil tank, resulting in a large oil spill. Neighbors reported it to the town, the DEC and Department of Health. A cleanup was started but never finished. There still remains a large unsafe crater, garbage and the oil tank. On warm or rainy days the smell of oil is still in the air.
Problems like these take a while to resolve because of the different agencies involved. But if everything stays on track, the lot should be cleaned up by mid-May, Town of Oyster Bay spokeswoman Marta Kane said.
After the oil tank was punctured and reported by neighbors, the Nassau health department ordered the owner to call the state Department of Environmental Conservation to oversee the cleanup.
The owner hired a contractor to do the job last fall but after payment problems, the project was abandoned, Kane said. On Nov. 27, the town board voted to take on responsibility for the project. A few glitches snarled progress further, but now there’s a remediation plan.
The contractor who started the cleanup is expected to be approved by the town board on April 8 to remove the tank and tainted soil. The town highway department will fill in the crater, Kane said.
Nassau residents with oil tank questions can call the health department at 516 227-9673, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4:45 pm.
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