Riverkeeper, Inc. filed a complaint in the Southern District of New York against State Contracting Corp. of New York and George McGuire for allegedly discharging excess polluted stormwater into New York waters.
According to Law Street Media, the Riverkeeper alleges that "the facility exposes storm water to waste residue, machinery and dumpster materials, fuel, oil, metals and more." Riverkeeper adds that these are Clean Water Act (CWA) violations.
The defendants own four properties under the entity Capital Industries Corp. that have been operating since 2003. Riverkeeper is suing for seven violations of the CWA.
According to Riverkeeper, the facility is located 80 feet away from two storm water drains that flow into the Saw Mill River which flows into the Hudson River, and does not have a General Permit or complied with any provisions of the General Permit.
The complaint states:
Defendants engage in industrial activities such as vehicle and equipment storage, maintenance, and vehicle traffic in and out of the Facility. As precipitation comes into contact with pollutants generated by these industrial activities, it conveys those pollutants to nearby surface waters. Contaminated stormwater discharges such as those from the Facility can and must be controlled to the fullest extent required by law in order to allow these water bodies a fighting chance to regain their health.
According to the Riverkeeper, under the CWA, the Defendants have not had a General or National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and do not maintain compliance with pollution prevention and control measures.
The Saw Mill River is considered an impaired water, according to the complaint.
The complaint adds that "each and every day on which Defendants violate the General Permit’s requirements governing discharges to impaired waterbodies is a separate and distinct violation of CWA Sections 301(a) and 402, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1311(a), 1342."
