St. Lawrence County auto dealer, employee accused of burying hazardous waste

CANTON, N.Y. — A St. Lawrence County auto dealer and one of its employees are accused of burying more than 140 gallons of hazardous substances on the company’s property.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Basil Seggos, commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), announced the arrest and indictment on Wednesday in a news release that Schneiderman’s office issued.

Mahoney’s Auto Mall, Inc., located at 7513 U.S. Route 11 in the town of Potsdam, and its employee, Andrew Fuller, 33, of the town of Madrid are named in the 12-count indictment.

It charges Fuller and Mahoney’s Auto Mall with violations of the New York State Environmental Conservation Law (ECL).

The indictment unsealed Wednesday in St. Lawrence County Court charges both Mahoney’s and Fuller with one felony and eight misdemeanor environmental-law crimes pertaining to the burial of the hazardous material. 

The felony charge of endangering public health, safety or the environment in the third degree carries a potential prison sentence of up to four years and a maximum fine of $150,000. 

The eight misdemeanor charges of endangering public health, safety or the environment in the fourth degree each carry a potential jail sentence of up to one year and a maximum fine of $37,500. 

Mahoney’s Auto Mall was also charged with two counts of endangering public health, safety or the environment in the fourth degree for the release of automotive fluids through the garden hose and the disposal of “petroleum-contaminated” Speedy Dry, Schneiderman’s office said. Speedy Dry is an oil absorbent. 

The company also faces one misdemeanor count of violating ECL for operating an unpermitted solid-waste management facility, which carries a minimum fine of $3,750 and a maximum fine of up to $22,500 per day of violation. 

These charges are the result of an investigation that the DEC’s division of law enforcement’s bureau of environmental crimes investigation (BECI) unit conducted.

“The long list of egregious waste violations in this case is alarming and shows blatant disregard for the laws that are in place to protect our environment and the public’s health and safety,” Seggos said in the attorney general’s news release. 

Case background
According to statements made by the prosecutor at arraignment, the DEC’s investigation revealed that in June 2014, Fuller allegedly buried drums of used oil, containers of used oil filters, and tires on the Mahoney’s Auto Mall property. 

On July 21, 2014, DEC police and regulators executed a search warrant which authorized them to excavate the waste buried at Mahoney’s. 

During the excavation, DEC investigators discovered four 55-gallon drums containing about 142 gallons of liquid, several containers of used oil filters, and about 20 tires.

Subsequent laboratory analysis indicated that liquid samples from each of the four drums contained the hazardous substance benzene at levels in excess of .5 milligrams per liter. 

In addition to the benzene, the analysis detected the presence of the hazardous substances toluene, ethyl-benzene, and xylene. 

Releases of hazardous substances that may enter the environment are illegal, the attorney general’s office said. 

Additionally, adjacent to the excavated waste area, DEC investigators found an “open, unprotected” pile of solid waste which measured 33 feet in width by 25 feet in length. 

The pile of solid waste contained construction and demolition debris, roofing material, household trash, clothing, furniture, and bedding. 

The disposal of solid waste at the site constitutes the operation of a solid-waste management facility, Schneiderman’s office said. 

The DEC subjects solid-waste management facilities to “strict” operational and closure requirements to avoid “potential adverse” impacts to public health and the environment, and it is illegal to construct or operate such a facility without first obtaining a permit from the DEC. 

According to DEC records, Mahoney’s Auto Mall neither applied for nor received the necessary permit.

Inside the auto shop, DEC investigators also discovered a concrete channel dug into the floor which transported spilled automotive fluids into a pit. 

Once in the pit, the spilled fluids were discharged onto the ground outside the auto shop through a pump attached to a garden hose. 

DEC investigators collected a soil sample from the area onto which the garden hose discharged the automotive fluids. 

DEC laboratory testing revealed that this soil was contaminated with petroleum. 

DEC officials also discovered petroleum-contaminated Speedy Dry which had been disposed of outside on the ground adjacent to the auto shop, according to the news release.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com