NYCON Allegedly Dumping Concrete Illegally in Newtown Creek

NEW YORK- Today, the environmental watchdog group Riverkeeper and New York City Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Queens), Chair of the City Council Committee on Oversight and Investigations, announced legal action against a major concrete manufacturer on Newtown Creek for violations of federal environmental laws. They are alleging that NYCON Supply Corporation, located in Long Island City, Queens, has been illegally discharging concrete waste without a permit into a tributary of the heavily polluted Newtown Creek, in violation of both the Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

Newtown Creek, the site of a massive oil spill, is one of the most polluted waterways in the United States. During its routine patrols of NYC waterways, Riverkeeper has observed NYCON dumping concrete waste into the Dutch Kills tributary of Newtown Creek without a required Clean Water Act permit. Riverkeeper also observed piles of gravel and layers of concrete covering the riverbed adjacent to the NYCON facility.

Today, Riverkeeper filed a Notice of Intent to Sue NYCON. In addition to the lack of a Clean Water Act permit, Riverkeeper also believes that the current discharge of NYCON’s waste constitutes an imminent and substantial endangerment to health and environment under RCRA. Both the Clean Water Act and RCRA authorize citizen groups to sue polluters, subjecting potential violators to up to $32,500 in penalties per day per violation.

“The pollution issues confronting Newtown Creek and other waterways surrounding New York City cannot be fully addressed without enforcing environmental laws and holding polluters accountable for their actions,” said Riverkeeper Investigator Craig Michaels. “We will continue to work with elected officials and government agencies to track down and prosecute environmental lawbreakers who threaten the environmental and public health of our communities.”

“For too long, Newtown Creek has been the forgotten waterway of New York City, and polluters have taken advantage by dumping with impunity,” said Councilman Eric Gioia. “We're here today to send a strong message that that we will not stand for more dumping and more pollution in the creek. Polluters, beware: we are watching, we are vigilant, and we will go after you.”
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Background:

Riverkeeper is an independent environmental watchdog organization dedicated to protecting the Hudson River, its tributaries, and the watersheds that comprise the New York City drinking water supply. Since 1965, we have brought thousands of environmental lawbreakers to justice, forcing more than $1 billion in fines and remediation projects.

The notice letter filed today comes on the heels of a recent New York State appellate court decision that reinstated criminal indictments against another concrete company, Quality Concrete, also located on Newtown Creek. That decision reversed a lower court ruling dismissing the indictments against the company and one of its vice presidents, and ordered that there was sufficient evidence presented to the grand jury to sustain the indictments. That case is currently being handled by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office.

Newtown Creek is a 3-mile long waterway that separates Brooklyn and Queens and is a tributary of the East River, the Hudson River, and New York Harbor. It is also the site of the 17-million-gallon Greenpoint oil spill – currently the center of numerous lawsuits against ExxonMobil by environmentalists, including Riverkeeper; lawmakers, including Councilman Gioia; and private citizens – and was recently identified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as a contaminated area warranting further study under the Superfund law.