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Dumb people in the green news - VA oil slick
http://www2.starexponent.com/cse/news/local/article/hazel_river_oil_slick/57735/
Culpeper Star-Exponent
May 19, 2010
While the international spotlight continues to shine on BP?s massive oil spill that occurred April 20 in the Gulf of Mexico, Culpeper is dealing with its own slimy mess near the Hazel River. It?s even possible the local incident happened on the same day.
Thomas Pologruto, 55, of the 6000 block of Monumental Mills Road in Rixeyville, says he poured 300 gallons of used vegetable oil in a groundhog hole April 20 or 21. Eventually, the fluid seeped into an unnamed tributary near the Hazel River and Rappahannock River Basin.
?I had some used vegetable oil that I had been saving to make biodiesel fuel,? said Pologruto, adding that he had read on the Internet that used cooking oil was biodegradable.
The oil slick, he continued, ?didn?t get that far. The groundhog hole must have had an exit hole near the stream. With all of this rain recently, the water must have carried it into a tiny creek.?
The estimated cost to clean up the oil spill is $14,820, according to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, which is investigating the case and trying to minimize the ecological impact.
When Pologruto learned about the hefty fee Tuesday afternoon, he could only utter a single word: ?Wow.?
?I thought it would just break down in the ground and be absorbed, and I had no idea that it would get into a stream bed or else I would have never done it,? he said.
According to Mark Miller, DEQ pollution response coordinator, the groundhog hole was about 30 to 40 feet from an unnamed tributary.
?There was product found 10 to 20 feet from the Hazel River,? Miller explained. ?It?s likely some of the product did get into the Hazel River.?
Miller said Pologruto ?may be subject to some cost recovery. ? Since the state had to foot the bill, he may be ordered to pay a portion of the bill. I don?t make that decision. I?ll forward it to central office.?
He added that Pologruto may also receive a warning letter or notice of violation. ?He?s been open and honest about the situation,? Miller said, ?and this seems like an honest mistake.?
The report shows that a contractor noticed a ?sheen on a stream? while paving a driveway April 20 or 21 in the vicinity of Woody Lane, Monumental Mills and Homeland roads off Route 229 in northern Culpeper County.
?(The) caller stated he followed the stream to the sheen source, which was a groundhog hole, which had been filled with oil,? the report states. ?Oil was now seeping out the side of the embankment.?
The contractor reported the incident on April 30. Miller, who led this investigation, visited the sight May 13, 14 and 17, the report says.
According to the DEQ?s petroleum cleanup activity report, the state agency undertook numerous efforts to clean the spill, including: soil treatment and disposal and product removal using a vacuum truck. In all, 76 itemized expenses were listed.
The DEQ is responsible for ensuring and enforcing state compliance regarding violations of environmental laws and regulations. It has the option of filing civil charges against alleged environmental violators and collecting the money for cleanup expenses.
The Culpeper County Sheriff?s Office also responded to last month?s incident but did not file charges.
Re: Dumb people in the green news - VA oil slick
This is EXACTLY the kind of bad environmental decisions Alisha and I keep talking about. Huge corporations like CAFOs, or even stupid individual people, cause environmental damage and the taxpayer picks up the cleanup tab. To clean up the 300 GALLONS of oil this idiot poured into a gopher hole costs $14,820 to clean up, and he might not have to pay any of that. Certainly not all of it.
I ask, why not?
This part makes me so angry! Charges should be filed against him. Honest mistake my butt!
I know right!?! Just for reference, the huge @ss green rain barrel on the far left of this picture is 300 gallons:
How do you pour that much used vegetable oil down a gopher hole and honestly not think that it's going to come out somewhere else?!?! It's ridiculous. He should have to pay the whole cleanup cost, and if he can't he should go to jail. This is ridiculous.
The good news is that (hopefully) people will have a concrete image of what happens when you dump bad stuff (whether it's biodegradable or not) in/on the ground and water.
This incident is a teachable moment for talking with people about non-point source pollution (though 300 gallons isn't really non-point source) from drippy cars, washing cars, septic, etc.
Best sound ever: baby's heartbeat! (Heard @ 10w1d)
I'm wondering if I've used 300 gallons of cooking oil in my whole life... how long would you have to save to collect that much?!?
I also do think that it was a mistake and that dude is just a moron. But I also agree he should have to pay the cleanup costs... or at the very least a big fine.