Get tougher on illicit dumping in New York State
A 2015 view of Islip Avenue and Sage Street in Central Islip, where contaminated fill was dumped. Credit: James Carbone
To the lexicon of Long Island’s checkered environmental history, we can now add a new term: Dirt broker.
More specifically, thanks to a string of recent illegal-dumping arrests by state and Suffolk County officials: Dirty dirt broker.
The flurry of enforcement actions — the largest for illegal dumping in state history — exposed a scheme in which a so-called dirt broker allegedly arranged for construction and demolition debris to be dumped at dozens of sites, including residences where homeowners were expecting free clean fill. But the debris was contaminated with hazardous substances like pesticides and petroleum-based products, as well as stuff like glass and rebar.
This is odious on many levels. It presents a physical danger for families. It despoils the environment. And it threatens our precious aquifer.
The numbers — 27 people arrested, 12 companies charged, 27 vehicles seized, more than $4 million in assets frozen — confirmed that Suffolk has the dubious distinction of being, as one state official put it, the epicenter of the illegal dumping problem in the state. Some 44 of the 81 illegal dump sites discovered in the state’s ongoing investigation are in Suffolk.
Given the sickening revelation that illegal dumping has been more common and widespread than previously thought, it’s good to see that first-year Suffolk District Attorney Tim Sini has ramped up efforts to work with the state Department of Environmental Conservation in pursuing bad actors. More can be done, especially when one realizes that the heart of this crime is greed — the desire to save the cost of legally disposing debris from construction sites centered primarily in New York City.
Sini wants new laws that would make these types of crimes higher-level felonies with tougher penalties. That’s a good idea. Playing financial hardball is a strong deterrent. The DEC also should continue to improve its system for tracking waste, substituting a fully electronic system with mandatory reporting for the paper version it now uses. And homeowners need to be suspicious of anyone offering free dirt, unless it’s a town giving away its own compost. Free dirt could end up costing both you and Long Island’s environment. — The editorial board
