Long Island man arrested for allegedly dumping 24-foot boat in Pine Barrens
MANORVILLE, N.Y. -- The Pine Barrens of Long Island span across more than 100,000 acres -- a treasure that sits atop the island's sole source of drinking water.
But more and more people are trying to dump garbage they no longer want onto the secluded and valuable land.
On a pristine section of Pine Barrens in a secluded section of Manorville, eyes in the sky from planted cameras and drones caught the crime -- the illegal dumping of a 24-foot boat.
"Not only is it lazy and selfish, they don't realize the damage environmentally, what it's going to do to us," Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. said.
Thirty-five-year-old Timothy Hughes, of Shirley, is accused of dragging his boat, bearing the name "Three 4 Me" off his trailer, dumping it and driving off, potentially leeching oil and gasoline into the soil.
It could be spotted from the Long Island Expressway.
"We live on an island where our groundwater is under our feet .This is important because all of this illegal dumping costs taxpayers money," Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico said.
Money to clear the garbage and treat the contamination.
"We protect the sole source aquifer, which is deep underground. Anything that gets deposited on the ground can and will affect that groundwater," said Frank Carbone, with the Pine Barrens Commission.
The commission says dozens of people a year are creating a toxic mess by dumping vessels, vehicles, drums of medical waste and construction debris in remote areas.
Although this latest dumping is blamed on a resident, the Department of Environmental Conservation and Pine Barrens investigators say most illegal dumping in the preserve comes from business owners and contractors.
"Dumping in the Pine Barrens or any public lands -- yeah, that's a crime. Yeah, the fines are very high," Assistant Suffolk District Attorney Jed Painter said.
The county fine is up to $10,000. The town of Brookhaven tacks on several thousand more.
"Ultimately what broke this case was the use of technology. We have a lot of surveillance out there now through the use of license plate readers, as well as trail cams," Suffolk Deputy Sheriff Chris Brockmeyer said.
The boat could have been donated, scrapped or taken to the landfill, where 500 pounds of waste may be deposited free of charge.
Hughes turned himself in and received an appearance ticket for dumping prohibited in the Pine Barrens.
Brookhaven officials have removed the boat.
There are pending bills now before the Suffolk County legislature to increase penalties for illegal dumping and bolster reward money for tips.
