Two men have been charged with illegal dumping in the Pine Barrens in Manorville last month in violation of Suffolk County’s new Evergreen Law, Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney announced Monday afternoon.
Charles Weiss, 32, of Coram, and Marvin Sandoval, 28, of Ronkonkoma, were arrested for violating Suffolk’s new Evergreen Law by allegedly dumping a pile of construction waste and household debris in a remote wooded area within the protected Long Island Central Pine Barrens Region, according to a press release issued by the district attorney.
Weiss and Sandoval loaded a U-Haul box truck with construction waste and household debris on Nov. 6 and then drove the truck into a remote wooded area in the pine barrens region where they dumped the contents of the truck onto the forest floor, according to investigators. The materials they allegedly dumped consisted of pieces of wood furniture, used paint cans, paint rollers, shower doors, chandeliers, large pieces of styrofoam, a sink, a granite countertop, tools, and multiple bags of household garbage, the press release said.
Two witnesses sifted through the pile for any identifying information and then contacted law enforcement, Tierney said. The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Suffolk County Park Rangers, and the Town of Riverhead Police Department conducted a joint investigation that resulted in the identification of Weiss and Sandoval, the DA said. The pair had solicited a job of cleaning up a house for a $1,000 fee and then, instead of properly disposing of the waste, dumped it in the woods in the pine barrens, according to the report.
Last December, Tierney, County Executive Ed Romaine and Sheriff Errol Toulon, along with leadership of the New York State Police, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Suffolk County Park Rangers, Long Island Pine Barrens Law Enforcement Commission, and Crime Stoppers, announced the Suffolk County Evergreen Initiative, a collaborative plan to curb illegal dumping on county property and within the Central Pine Barrens Region by ramping up and coordinating enforcement, imposing harsher fines, and enhancing civilian incentive to report dumpers, Tierney said.
Early this year, the Suffolk County Legislature amended the county code to increase the maximum fines for dumping in the Central Pine Barrens Region to $15,000 for individuals and $25,000 for corporations.
The amended law also mandates that 33% of fines collected from convictions under the statute be remitted to members of the public who provide information leading to the arrest and conviction of offenders. This was designed to provide an incentive for the public to assist in identifying and preventing illegal dumping in this largely unsurveilled area, Tierney said.
The amendments were signed into law by the county executive in March.
“The Evergreen Initiative thus relies heavily on deterrence and citizen stewardship as a means of protecting an otherwise vulnerable and voiceless victim,” Tierney said.
The Long Island Pine Barrens Region, is Long Island’s largest natural area and its last remaining wilderness, covering more than 100,000 acres, the district attorney noted. The pine barrens region overlays and recharges a vast portion of Long Island’s sole-source aquifer; all of Long Island’s drinking water comes from underground wells fed by this aquifer, he said. The region also provides habitat for a vast array of local wildlife and is a vital stopping point for various species of migratory birds, Tierney said.
“The health of all of Long Island is utterly dependent on the integrity of the Pine Barrens,” he said.
Weiss and Sandoval were each arraigned in Riverhead Town Justice Court on charges of violating section 433-7 of the Suffolk County Code (the Evergreen Law) and were released on their own recognizance.
They are due back in court on Jan. 8.
Editor’s note: A criminal charge is an accusation. A person charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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