A Long Island man was arrested Monday morning, accused of dumping thousands of gallons of toxic fluids into the ground at his Glen Cove salvage yard, exposing nearby people and animals to health risks, authorities said.
John Doxey, 44, of Muttontown, had been illegally dumping automotive fluids at 4 Park Place, just south of the Glen Cove Waterway, since last October, according to the district attorney.
Witnesses allegedly saw Doxey, along with his workers at the salvage yard, stripping and dismantling large commercial vehicles without first draining its fluids. An analysis of soil by DEC confirmed high concentrations of petroleum, hydraulic fluid, transmission fluid and anti-freeze.
State law requires fluids like gasoline, motor oil, anti-freeze and hydraulic fluid to be drained and properly stored for disposal before disassembling a vehicle.
"This defendant put the health of his community, his employees and even himself at risk, all in an attempt to save some time and make a few more dollars," said DA Kathleen Rice.
The yard is located next to a former brownfield site that was decontaminated last November, and across the street from a youth baseball field.
Doxey was charged with 10 counts of endangering public health, safety or the environment in the third degree and 10 counts of discharge of pollution into the waters of the state of New York without a state pollution discharge elimination system permit.
Local
If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison and a fine of up to $75,000 a day for each day of dumping.
He was scheduled to be arraigned later Monday. It wasn't immediately known if he had a lawyer.
Get the latest from NBC 4 New York anytime, anywhere. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. Get our apps here and sign up for email newsletters here. Get breaking news delivered right to your phone -- just text NYBREAKING to 639710. For more info, text HELP. To end, text STOP. Message and data rates may apply.
