New York landfill owners accused of permit violations

The attorney general and governor of New York have announced an $8 million judgment against the owners and operators of three separate waste handling properties in Saugerties, New York, for what they call “repeatedly violating pollution laws.”

A news release from New York Attorney General Letitia James says her office, along with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), have issued the judgement against Joseph and Rachel Karolys, who own the landfills in Ulster County, about 100 miles north of New York City.

James’ office and the DEC sued the Karolyses in June 2020 for what they call “repeatedly accepting construction and demolition (C&D) material from the New York City metropolitan area at one of their sites.”

“Our antipollution laws are designed to protect New Yorkers and our natural resources,” James says. “Joseph and Rachel Karolys flagrantly [now] must clean up the mess they made.”

According to James, that site was only authorized to receive waste from Ulster County and adjacent Dutchess County. Some of the inbound materials allegedly were brought to the other two unauthorized sites.

Officials also say the Karolyses were operating the sites without the required state water and pollution control permits.

“The Karolyses have since admitted to this illegal conduct and have now been ordered by the court to completely clean up the three sites and pay $8 million to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG)," the May 15 news release says.

The news release also claims C&D waste from highly urbanized areas like New York City is more likely to be contaminated with petroleum or hazardous substances than waste material from less urbanized areas. Accepting unauthorized materials puts the community’s health and environment at risk.

A piece of legislation currently in committee the New York Senate, Senate Bill 4720 (S4720), if passed, also would require contractors in cities having a population of 1 million or more to recycle 50 percent of the waste generated on construction and demolition sites. New York City is the only city of that size in the state.

“Illegal dumping can pose a serious threat to public health and the environment and is not tolerated in New York,” DEC Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar says. “I would like to recognize DEC’s legal team, Division of Law Enforcement and staff for their diligence and dedicated investigative work to support our ongoing efforts to crack down on illegal dumping and thank Attorney General James and her staff for their hard work to help bring these polluters to justice.”

Last March the OAG and DEC also filed a lawsuit against waste haulers and brokers for illegally dumping waste at a Karolys-owned site.

“Over a period of three years, 29 waste transporters and waste brokers unlawfully transported more than 3,000 loads—approximately 100,000 cubic yards—of C&D waste from multiple construction sites in New York City and Long Island to the Karolyses’ site,” the OAG says.