by Jonann Brady
On Dec. 26, the Nassau County Fire Marshall's Office received a report from a homeless man who frequents the area near the pond that a red substance was floating in the water, said Mark Lowery, a spokesperson for the DEC. The Fire Marshall's Office immediately contacted the DEC, which sent workers to the pond that afternoon.
The DEC determined that the oil was coming from a leak in the fuel line of the boiler at nearby Freeport High School on Brookside Avenue. Oil dripping from the line washed into floor drains, which lead directly to a culvert to Milburn Pond. Two to three gallons of fuel per hour bled into the pond and the surrounding land, said Lowery.
According to Lowery, subsequent investigation revealed that the school staff had discovered the leak days earlier, on Dec. 24. The staff attempted to stanch the spill by dumping an absorbent material, similar to cat litter, on the leak, Lowery said. The leak was repaired on Dec. 27, he added.
But according a spokesperson for the Freeport School District, the facilities director said the leak was not discovered by staff members until the DEC informed them of it on Friday, Dec. 27.
"The district had been unaware of the situation and immediately began to collaborate with the DEC. . . . The leak was repaired the same day," said a statement released by the district.
The Freeport school district has agreed to pay for the cleanup, which could run in the tens of thousands of dollars, said Lowery. It has not been determined whether any further action will be taken against the district, Lowery said.
An independent firm, Milro, was contracted to clean up the spill and spread absorbent pads and booms to soak up the oil. Most of the floating oil was cleaned up by Dec. 29, Lowery said, but there was still residue on nearby vegetation that could linger for months.
A Canadian duck and a black duck coated with oil were found dead near the pond, but environmental workers did not see any dead fish. "We didn't observe any effects on the fish," Lowery said. "Most of the oil will get flushed out of the pond into the wetland itself." He added that he did not foresee any long-term negative environmental impact from the spill.
