Illegal Dumping or Unintentional Flotsam: One Story, Two Perspectives

Two stories were filed earlier this week for posting in the Eye.  They were written by two authors who have a very similar concern for the environment, and in particular, for the Coginchaug River.

However, each had a slightly different take on the story, and a behind-the-scenes email debate ensued that was as enlightening as it was education about how perspective can shape a story.

We've debated the story for the past four or five days, and have finally decided to print both versions, in which the details are nearly identical, but the interpretations remain different.

The debate continued after the stories were written and new facts and opinions surfaced.

In this Roshomon moment is almost as interesting as the story itself.  Read and judge for yourself.

Demolition Debris in the Coginchaug

by John Hall

In recent years, the Coginchaug River, a beautiful but impaired waterway that passes through North Guilford, Durham, Middlefield, and Middletown has suffered a variety of negative impacts. In Middletown, these include the regular dumping of snow (containing road salts) adjacent to the river in Veteran’s Park; the huge mudslide at Charton Apartments on Newfield Street in 2010; and most recently an apparent case of illegal dumping of demolition debris into the river.

On April 29, 2011, a large number of old boards washed up on the bank of the Coginchaug River, just downstream from where the river crosses Middlefield Road. A similar pile of wood planks was then discovered at the rear of 465 Middlefield Road, which could potentially be the source of the debris washed-up downstream. Middletown’s Zoning Enforcement Officer Bruce Driska and Police Officer Aura Smith were notified and met at this site, and after some investigation Officer Smith wrote a report estimating that the debris washed up on the river bank downstream or floating in the river would fill a 30 cubic yard dumpster. The report stated that the property owner had been told to remove the debris from the waterway or make “a reasonable effort to do so” or he would be issued “an infraction for Littering, CGS 22a-250(a).” Apparently, no citation has yet been issued.

On June 4, I walked from Forest Street onto the railroad bridge that crosses the Coginchaug River just upstream from where the demolition debris allegedly entered the river. I photographed the construction debris sticking out of the bank and topped with woodchips. (See overview and close-up photos.) It appears that disposal of demolition debris at this site has occurred not just recently, but in the past as well. Another stack of used lumber similar to the lumber that washed downstream into Star Mill Pond is visible to the right of the overview photo, in the shade of the trees.

While there is a question of whether this particular batch of debris entered the waterway by intentional dumping or from being deposited near the river and washing away at high water, such a quantity of material entering the river is a serious matter. It is difficult to see how the shingles and boards still embedded in the bank arrived there by accident. Construction debris impacts fish  habitat, can harm wildlife, negatively affects recreation, and can increase flooding risks. The Jonah Center for Earth and Art will try to keep the public informed about these and other matters that affect the quality of our local rivers and streams.

An Attempt At Recycling Goes Awry 
by Stephen Devoto

The roofs which collapsed as a result of heavy snows in\ February caused more than the loss of buildings, they created piles of construction debris. One man’s efforts to deal with the debris of his collapsed building landed him in hot water with the Wetlands and Zoning Enforcement Officer, the Middletown Police Department, and the State Department of Environmental Protection. He claims he was keeping debris out of the landfill by recycling it; the city and state accuse him of illegal dumping into the Coginchaug River.

Richard Sweet owns two buildings on North Main Street, a large warehouse which is home to Gorilla Graphics, and a smaller building north of it, sandwiched between North Main and the railroad tracks. When the smaller building collapsed over the winter, Sweet decided to avoid bringing the construction debris to the landfill at the end of the street.

He brought many of the timbers to another of his properties, a warehouse at 465 Middlefield Street, on the edge of the Coginchaug River.

On April 29th, Certified Zoning Enforcement Officer Bruce Driska responded to a complaint from a downstream property owner that Sweet had dumped demolition lumber into the Coginchaug River, and that this lumber had washed up onto the downstream property owners land. In an email, Bruce reported, “The complainant further stated that Sweet had removed demolition wood from a property at North Main Street, trucked it to Middlefield Street and intentionally discarded the demolition wood into the river at 465 Middlefield Street during recent heavy rains.”

Driska contacted the police immediately; the police responded and filed a report the same day. In the report, Officer Smith reported that she had made contact with both Sweet and the complainant, and that Sweet was told he would be given an infraction for littering if he did not clean up the debris which had floated downstream.

Driska also informed the Inland Wetlands Agency of the potential violation. The Agency voted at their June 1st meeting to send a letter to Sweet requesting him to appear at their next meeting.

Finally, Driska filed a report with the D.E.P. Eugene MacGillis, in the Waste Engineering and Enforcement Division, wrote a Notice of Violation (n.o.v.), based solely on Driska’s report. In the n.o.v., MacGillis wrote that Sweet’s violations included building a solid waste disposal area without a permit, and disposing of solid waste on property owned by someone else, and into waters of the state. MacGillis called the apparent violation by Sweet one of the most egregious he had heard about in quite some time, “I’ve never heard of anybody doing this.” The n.o.v. was issued on May 9th.

“I was trying to keep some wood out of the landfill.”

Richard Sweet is exasperated by these charges. A former president of the Middlesex Land Trust, he says he was simply trying to minimize garbage by recycling the wood. He sorted the wood, took all of the nails out, and said he was trying to give the wood away to friends for use in wood-burning stoves and in bonfires. The wood that is remaining at the North Main Street propety (pictured), has had all the nails removed, and is sorted and stacked.

Sweet said that he moved the wood to his property on Middlefield Street, hoping to find takers for it in the fall.

He admits that the wood was stored too close to the river, and the spring floods carried some of it downstream. “I’m sorry it happened, I’m taking care of the situation. .... In this case I know that there was a problem that emanated from my property and I made amends to the neighbors.”

Sweet says that he has complied with everything he has been told to do by the D.E.P. However, as of this morning, Sweet has not submitted a required response to the DEP regarding the n.o.v., the response was due June 9th.