Photos courtesy of the office of the New York Attorney General
The office of New York Attorney General Letitia James and the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) have reached a settlement with the owners of an auto salvage and metal recycling company in the Queens borough of New York.
The settlement was tied to the handling of motor oil and author automotive fluids by LSM Auto Parts & Recycling (LSM) and BGN Real Estate, the owner and operator of the auto salvage yard in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens.
The settlement has resulted in the state securing full remediation and up to $497,000 in penalties against the two companies for releasing "dangerous automobile fluids and oil” at the site.
“LSM ignored critical regulations governing the proper disposal of toxic automobile waste and was responsible for significant amounts of oil spillage in the community,” officials say.
LSM and its affiliates will be required to clean up the property under DEC supervision and pay a penalty of $210,000. If the companies do not honor their commitment to clean up the site to the DEC’s satisfaction, additional penalties totaling $287,000 could result.
"LSM made an environmental mess, and now they are responsible for cleaning it up,” James says. “For too long, LSM ignored basic laws and regulations about handling dangerous chemicals and exposed neighbors to toxic pollutants.”
The agencies contend that, for years, gas, oil and antifreeze repeatedly spilled out of the scrap yard and into the street, running down sidewalks and into storm drains.
“DEC will oversee LSM Auto Parts’ cleanup of this facility, and this settlement sends a message to other companies—New York State aggressively prosecutes polluters who flout environmental laws and regulations," DEC Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar says.
The DEC also contends that LSM employees often drained vehicle fluids directly onto the ground instead of into a waste container, which allowed the chemicals to seep into the ground and contaminate the soil and groundwater.
The state environmental authority says it was not the only agency that “repeatedly" observed these conditions and violations of state laws and regulations, saying the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) also witnessed such conduct.
LSM likely received more attention than the average auto dismantling operation, according to local media reports, because of its ownership ties to Carmine Gotti Agnello Jr., a grandson of the late organized crime figure John Gotti and Gotti’s daughter, Victoria.
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