PA Attorney General Charges Man for Environmental Crime

AG’s Office says Monroe County man illegally dumped 6,700 tons of soil containing elevated levels of arsenic

HARRISBURG – Agents from the Attorney General’s Environmental Crimes Section have filed criminal charges against a Monroe County man who is accused of illegally dumping contaminated soil brought in from New York City.  The soil failed to meet Pennsylvania’s Clean Fill standards due to elevated arsenic levels.

Attorney General Tom Corbett identified the defendant as Gerald Gay, 45, P.O. Box 653, Tannersville.

According to the criminal complaint, Gay received more than 6,700 tons of soil from the Bronx.  Gay is accused of dumping 232 dump truck loads of the contaminated soil at his Castle Creek Estates property in Hamilton Township.

Corbett said the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection requires that soil being brought into the state be tested for total metals.  According to the complaint, that did not happen.

“Our environmental laws were created to protect our residents, our communities and our natural resources,” Corbett said.  “It is important that we keep Pennsylvania from becoming a dumping ground for waste from other states.”

Gay is charged with one count each of unlawful conduct (illegal dumping)  and unlawful conduct (operating a disposal facility without a permit), both third-degree misdemeanors carrying maximum penalties of one year in prison and fines of $25,000 per day.

The charges were filed before Monroe County Magisterial District Judge Jolana Krawitz and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 29, 2010.

The case will be prosecuted in Monroe County by Senior Deputy Attorney General Brian Coffey of the Attorney General’s Environmental Crimes Section.
Corbett thanked the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for their assistance with this investigation.