An oil spill on property owned by Dejana Industries has new relevancy to some residents as the company tries to build a salt shed on the same location.
“I have a request for the village of Manorhaven trustees to take up the environmental issues with Dejana and request on their own an environmental review of the site,” said Caroline DuBois of the Manorhaven Action Committee.
It was recently discovered by MAC that an oil spill occurred on Dejana’s property at 12 Manorhaven Blvd. back in 2013. The spill was mentioned in the spring 2014 newsletter sent out by the Village of Manorhaven.
The spill was reported to the state Department of Environmental Conservation on April 11, 2013. Hydraulic oil and motor oil had spilled onto a gravel driveway on the property.
“It’s rather difficult to say the exact amount (that was spilled) but it was small,” said Robert Poczkalski, the DEC official who investigated the spill. “Grease and oil was dripping from equipment and there was some sheen dripping from the runoff.”
He said that some of this oil was discovered leading to the stream in the Manorhaven Preserve located adjacent to the Dejana property.
The last that he heard, Poczkalski said, the property had be cleaned. The DEC website says the investigation was closed on April 15, 2014, almost a year after the spill was first reported but does not say why.
Dejana Industries did not respond to questions about the spill.
“I think so, but it’s hard to tell,” DuBois said when asked if she felt that Dejana was being given preferential treatment by the village. “I would have to presume they are because of the close relationship (with Mayor Jim Avena, who is a grant administrator for Dejana’s foundation), but I can’t come out and say with certainty until I get more facts.”
DuBois and other Manorhaven residents want to make sure that more care will be taken with the salt shed that Dejana is proposing. She wanted to make sure that salt being stored on the property will not seep into the Manorhaven Preserve as oil did four years ago.
“It’s villages duty to protect citizens, whether it is contaminated groundwater or salt water,” DuBois said.
She added that she would like to see a more comprehensive environmental study conducted by the village to see what effect other businesses are having on the local ecosystem.
“I would also like to see a study of marinas and car shops in Manorhaven, and their environmental impact,” she said. “I don’t just want to pick on Dejana.”
