Duane Koncelik and his neighbors have been trying to get the state DEC to force the removal of tons of dirt and debris dumped illegally near their East Patchogue homes.
Newsday photo by Gwen Young
A tenant of the industrial property bordering our homes in East Patchogue brought in hundreds of loads of dirt and construction debris from Queens in tractor trailers, creating mounds of dirt, rocks and cement over three stories high. Now, every time it rains, this mountain is eroding onto Strong Lane and Strong Road and seeping into the bordering wetlands. We have been reporting this to the Town of Brookhaven, police and state Department of Environmental Conservation for over a year. The mud and potholes are taking a toll on our cars and homes. It is truly a nightmare and extremely sad that the DEC and town are ignoring the problem, especially the environmental destruction.
--Duane Koncelik, East Patchogue
What a mess. But DEC officials say the problems involving the commercial property on Orchard Road will be gone before the summer is over.
As Koncelik said, his neighborhood has been plagued for a while. The DEC documented illegal dumping of construction and demolition debris, known to waste management types as C&D, at this site in Sept. 2006.
Two months later, the DEC noted that soil erosion from the illegal dumping had entered the freshwater wetlands on Strong Road.
DEC spokesman Bill Fonda said that during 2007, the agency spent time trying to determine which tenant on the property was doing the dumping.
Nothing happened until March 27, this year, when a DEC consent order was signed, triggering the formal start of the cleanup process that will take a few months to complete, Fonda said.
In the consent order, the DEC ordered the property owner to stop the illegal dumping and assessed a penalty of $10,500. The owners were also ordered to bring the land back to acceptable environmental conditions.
That won’t happen overnight.
Time-consuming steps that need to be completed include soil sampling by a certified lab and the DEC analysis of the results. Then the owner has to present a plan for DEC approval to grade the area so the dirt doesn’t continue to wash onto the residential streets and wetlands.
And more DEC approvals are needed for the owner’s planting plan to restore native species to the wetlands. Then the owner has to prepare a cleanup plan that also needs a green light from the DEC to bring the property back to its pre-dumping condition.
In addition, the owner must show the DEC tracking records of where the C&D was sent and also remove any unauthorized wastes that were washed into the wetlands.
Fonda said that based on the required timeline for submissions and approvals, cleanup of the property should begin towards the end of July, or sooner if things move smoothly. The owners have already started using bales of hay and fencing to prevent the dirt from washing onto the roadway, he said.
Anyone who wants to report a violation to the DEC can call the toll-free hotline at 800 847-7332. It’s a statewide number, so be sure to specify the location of the violation. All calls are confidential, Fonda said.
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