New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that a preliminary injunction has been issued against a Monticello resident and his company who had turned his Waverly Avenue property into an illegal dump.

Sullivan County State Supreme Court Judge Robert A. Sackett signed a consent order prohibiting David Turick and his company, Waverly Turick, LLC, from dumping illegally and violating other environmental laws. In November 2006, the Office of the Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Mr. Turick and his company after they had failed to properly address citations from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) regarding their unlawful acts.

Mr. Turick engages in commercial demolition work, auto dismantling, and other waste-generating activities. An inspection after the lawsuit commenced found 30,000 cubic yards of trash, demolition debris, fill, and even hazardous waste, such as televisions, computers, and lead-acid batteries. The waste was piled in a valley behind Mr. Turick’s vehicle dismantling facility, mostly out of sight from the street and the adjacent Sullivan County landfill. Televisions, computers, and other electronic equipment contain large amounts of lead and other toxic metals that can adversely affect the public health and environment when improperly discarded.

Attorney General Cuomo said, “Violating the laws that protect the health of New Yorkers and the environment of our state will not be tolerated. When these laws are broken by businesses, they put law-abiding competitors at a disadvantage. The defendants’ illegal activities have been stopped, and my office will continue to pursue this case until the site is cleaned up.”

DEC Acting Executive Deputy Commissioner Carl Johnson said, “Illegal dumping can pose a significant threat to our environment and adversely effect the quality of life in our local communities. DEC is committed to preserving our valuable natural resources and believes in holding polluters accountable for their actions. The Department will continue working with the Attorney General’s office to pursue enforcement actions against those individuals who violate environmental conservation laws.”

According to the injunction, Mr. Turick and his company are prohibited from: importing, processing, or disposing of any solid or hazardous waste on the Turick property; engaging in any activities that cause odors at the site; driving through a protected stream that crosses the property; releasing any petroleum or other vehicle fluids onto the ground; burning plastics or other waste; operating an auto crusher or otherwise dismantling any motor vehicle except in strict compliance with the state motor vehicle dismantling law; and engaging in the moving of earth or other construction activities at the site, with the exception of lawfully removing waste or activities approved by the DEC.

Mr. Turick and his company must also give DEC inspectors access to the Turick property and legally dispose of all waste lead-acid batteries within two weeks. In addition, they are barred from off-site demolition work unless the waste removal is handled by an unrelated party.

Every violation of the injunction subjects the defendants to a penalty of $1,000 per day. Any illegal dumping carries an additional penalty of $100 per cubic yard of capacity for the truck or container that is used in the act.

The case is being handled by Assistant Attorneys General Andrew J. Gershon and Julia Robbins of the Environmental Protection Bureau, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Katherine Kennedy, working with DEC Region 3 staff.

Source: New York Attorney General's Office

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