DEC Order Shuts Down Work at Ballpark Site--Multiple Erosion and Sediment Control Violations Cited

October 15, 2010 The New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation –Division of Water—inspected the Grand Slam construction site last Thursday, and then on Tuesday of this week ordered a "stop to all construction activities, exclusive of that work necessary to correct the erosion and sediment control deficiencies." The DEC found five violations of State Environmental Conservation Law ranging from no erosion controls to a larger problem with "the entire site under construction and there are no stabilization measures." The work site includes two wetlands, one State and one Federal, and the property drains into a large County park.

Timeline
On Sept. 27 a complaint was made to NYSDEC about the lack of compliance with the SWPPP (storm water pollution prevention plan). The caller cited numerous violations of the sediment and erosion control measures on the environmentally sensitive property.

On Oct. 7, an inspector from the state agency visited the clear-cut property and documented the violations.

Oct. 12, NYSDEC environmental engineer Vladimir Berezanskiy notified Christopher St. Lawrence of the violations, the potential fines, and issued an order to stop all work other than the work necessary to correct the erosion and sediment control violations.

The specific violations that turned up in the inspection included:

1. The ball field has no erosion and sediment controls besides silt fences;
2. The diversion swales on the ball field are not constructed;
3. The broken silt fences are not repaired; and
4. There is no inspection report for the parking lot since July, 2010.

The report then advised the supervisor, "This is one site. One Notice of Intent covers the entire site and therefore, the inspection reports must reflect the condition of the entire site."

The report noted that "during the inspection it was found that the phasing plan and the stabilization schedule for the ball field are not being followed—the entire site is under construction and there are no stabilization measures."

The report then itemized which state environmental laws were being broken (GP-0-10-001 and Article 17 of the NYS Conservation Law) and that the penalties could include fines up to $37,500 per violation per day. The violations were referred to the DEC Office of General Counsel for appropriate enforcement.

Remedies
The Department ordered that all construction activities must stop, "exclusive of that work necessary to correct the aforementioned erosion and sediment control deficiencies until [the] Department notifies you in writing that construction activities may re-commence. Failure to abide by this Stop Work Order will result in additional penalties under the Environmental Conservation Law."

There was a meeting with the Supervisor, the Leonard Jackson Engineering group and the DEC officials later in the week to discuss the terms of the order.

Apparently in their rush to get as much work done as possible in a 7-day 70-hour week, St. Lawrence’s work crews neglected to protect the streams and wetlands on the property and violated a number of laws.

A question that might occur to some after the other events of this week—Will the taxpayers also pick up the tab for the fines if any are levied.?

Michael Castelluccio
Preserve Ramapo
www.PreserveRamapo.org 　

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