By Scott Brinton
Merrick civic activist Robert Young and James Caracciolo, Nassau County deputy parks commissioner, recently uncovered the dumping while touring the Merrick reservoir woodland, which runs into Freeport. Both were outraged to discover the roughly 10 four- to six-foot-high piles lying in the forest, near a DOT access road.
The two believe the silt is laden with toxic petroleum residue from motor vehicles, which could leach into the soil and a streambed that lies about 100 feet from the dumping site. The stream runs into Merrick Bay to the south.
Regional DOT spokesperson Eileen Peters said the silt is, in fact, waste from the DOT's recent spring roads cleanup. She, however, contends it poses "no environmental threat, as far as we can see."
Bill Fonda, a state Department of Environmental Conservation spokesperson, said that, if the dumping fell within a freshwater wetland, it would "definitely be prohibited," even by the DOT. State law doesn't allow any activities within 100 feet of wetlands, unless a special permit is granted.
According to the DEC's freshwater wetland map for Nassau County, the woods where the dumping is occurring is not part of a wetland; however, the stream that runs through it originates in one.
Fonda said the DOT might not have violated state wetland regulations. The department, though, might have needed a DEC permit to store solid waste at the site, which it has not obtained. Fonda said the Department of Environmental Conservation would send a solid-waste inspector to check the dumping "fairly shortly," likely within the week.
If the DEC determines a solid-waste storage permit is needed, the agency could levy a fine against the Transportation Department and force the DOT to remove the dumping.
Fonda noted that the DEC most often does not fine government agencies and municipalities heavily, because, in the end, taxpayers foot the bill. "Don't expect us to hit the DOT with a $1-million fine," the spokesperson said.
Peters said the silt would be removed, once the DOT has "accumulated road sweepings of all roads" for which it is responsible locally, adding that "any large items" that were "swept" up in the silt would be hauled off as well.
The spokesperson said the DOT is concerned for the environment, adding that the department places green markers with white stripes next to "environmentally-sensitive land" along state roads. The markers alert DOT and utility workers to cause as little harm as possible to the environment in such areas.
The Herald found one such marker on Sunrise Highway, only a few hundred feet from where the DOT is dumping the road waste.
State Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr. (R-Merrick), who is organizing a cleanup of the Merrick reservoir woodland, has seen the dumping and said recently that he plans to tour the property with the DOT regional director and have it cleaned up.
Nassau County Legis. David Denenberg (D-Merrick), who is an attorney and environmental engineer, agreed with Young and Caracciolo that the silt poses a potential environmental hazard. "How do we know the road silt doesn't leach petroleum hydrocarbons into the soil?" said Denenberg.
"I would imagine that I couldn't dump private road silt on a state property, so why can the state dump on its own property? There is clearly something wrong with that."
The legislator added, "That logic would allow the state to turn every property into a landfill. Road silt is solid waste, and you can't store solid waste unless you're a solid-waste facility."
