How NOT to clean up a site - Page 2

I just called DEP today left them a message told them only a few things and they seemed very interested because they called back.. Going to call them tomorrow to talk over everything I had to generalize what was going on because they were busy.. In Maine you can have to have more then just a complaint on things you have to have the physical evidence because people like to clean up things fast if they know if they are getting DEP called on them... Well I have the physical evidence and everything and they still don't care so its time to step up and actually go threw it... Not to mention this land used to be an old Indian burial ground and also animals sacrificed... NOT a good idea to let things go easy... it should be cleaned and left alone not let all the chemicals and metal and trash ruin the land... Its more then one thing after another.. there has been 3 car accidents on this property and there are probably more that went unreported... There are Crosses across the street and I had to put one back up.. I'm not all religious but at least respectful to the land and property... on top of it all there are cans bursting and leaking and also broken.. just because of them being bulldozed over..

Whatever anyone else says, it sounds like you're doing the right thing.

That's what really matters.

I will add some on that Raven dosent know in this case. The Red Bus was moved there in 2004 when the DOT placed the driveway and moved most of his stuff that he wanted to keep over to that section of the property. Most of the property still has metal on it the property is 6.5 acres in size. The last owners family has owned the property since the 1920's and that's just how far back I could access in the deeds.

Now I will agree that this property could have been done within 3 months since I have done a cleanup worse then this of a closed junkyard within 3 months using no equipment and no employees (this was back in 2010 and another a few months ago) and still had the property cleaner then what they did here. If the DEP wants us to finish the job all I can say is the amount will require all three towns and the property owner to pitch in with the cost of diesel, trucks, employees, and equipment cost, etc... (I said all three towns because the town of Talmadge only has a population of 60 people total).

All I can say is I cant wait to here the DEP reaction on this since no one wants to here ours when we first seen what he did after being gone from there for a month without the truck and doing different jobs around the county.

For anyone wondering there is also AC units buried in the pile. The one who owns the junkyard in charge of the cleanup isnt licensed to deal in refrigerants. I hold EPA 608 Type 1 and EPA 609 certifications and I told him I would take the AC units from there. I took what I could before they pushed everything into the woods. Im sure the DEP is going to love hearing about the one AC unit im working on getting out of there (nothing left in it I checked yesterday) and its a good chance it wasnt like that when it was pushed back there. Currently if I took all the sealed units it would be close to 30,000lbs alone im waiting on my processor to get back to me to see if we can cut a deal since no one in this area buys them. They just drained over 20 units alone onsite just for the copper, he was better off waiting for me to come in and drain them properly first then he could have taken the copper, now he will have fun explaining to the EPA how that happened.

There should be other ways to punish people who create toxic waste dumps other than monetary...I can think of a few....Totally disgraceful....

I know someone local that has a place like this. County is afraid of dealing with him (believe it or not)!@!!

DNR in my state would have ate the junk yard alive. Chances are a simple cleanout gone wrong would have turned into incinerating the first 6 or 8 feet of soil, EPA would get involved and something like this would easily have snowballed into a million dollars in fines. I've personally seen just that happen. We do not do bare ground cleanouts and never will, if the mess is not contained in a building or on a parking lot...pass.

Originally Posted by SuperDave

There should be other ways to punish people who create toxic waste dumps other than monetary...I can think of a few....Totally disgraceful....

I know someone local that has a place like this. County is afraid of dealing with him (believe it or not)!@!!

That's probably because there's a lot of BS and red tape in Canada that gets passed on to the tax payers versus in the states where they fine the crap out of the individual(s) responsible.

Originally Posted by Scrappah

I'm at a loss .... i just don't see how they're involved in this.

The first coin minted in the U.S. was inscribed with the motto: " Mind your Business "

That could be one of two things. Firstly, it could mean stay out of things that don't concern you. Secondly, it could mean manage your business very carefully and pay close attention to the bottom line.

This where i'm getting confused about all of this. As nearly as i can they're both meddling in something that really doesn't concern them. If they're pre-occupied with this they're wandering off track. Their efforts should be directed toward turning a profit. The bottom line has to come first. If you're not profitable then you're useless to yourself and everybody else.

Environmental ideals are all good and well but you can't use your business to make the world a better place if it's gone into bankruptcy. All you can do is whine and make trouble for others from the sidelines.

I know it sounds harsh but the world is a hard place. If you make trouble and piss somebody off in small town Maine you'll be suffering the retribution for the next twenty years. That's why it's wise to tread very lightly and quietly resolve problems from behind the scenes.

That's why I said this should not have been posted here on SMF. But if I'm reading your words correctly, are you saying that if the only way I could make money scrapping was by releasing contaminants into the environment I should do it and everyone else should just "mind their business"? I believe that is why we have the "watch dog" elements of the government, it's true they don't run as effeciently as private sector elements do, but what aspect of the government, US or Canadian, doesn't piss away tax dollars in some way or another?

Originally Posted by scrapbabe97

Yes this thread is to show how a site shouldn't be left. Not telling others how to do a job but this job site is ridiculous.

I wasn't attacking you for posting it, I was just saying IF I did, I would have left out some of the details, at least until whatever legal issues are arising were dealt with and finalized. I support your using state authorities in this case and covering your butt. That's smart. I only raised the issue of anonymity out of concern that the other parties involved can easily find all the posts here and may not take kindly to you covering your butt at their expense.

Many times other posters here have warned against and even acted on reporting other scrappers who post about releasing refrigerants and other toxins into the atmosphere. Nothing wrong with reporting someone who has broken the law, that's why there are laws and law enforcement. I mainly can't understand Scrappah's issue with alerting the authorities to violations of environmental laws that are in place to protect the environment we all share and will be passing onto our children.