Rye resident Jeff Miller was struck by what he saw at Beaver Swamp Brook on Monday night, on his way from the Harrison train station to his home on Glen Oaks Drive. “I’d never seen anything like this in our nine years here.”
By Bill Lawyer
Rye resident Jeff Miller was struck by what he saw at Beaver Swamp Brook on Monday night, on his way from the Harrison train station to his home on Glen Oaks Drive. “I’d never seen anything like this in our nine years here.”
What Miller saw was the swampy brook by the Park Avenue Bridge, separating Rye from Harrison, filled with dead fish floating in a circular milky substance, emitting toxic fumes.
When he got home, he contacted the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) at their New Paltz regional office and the Greenburgh local office.
A response team arrived later that evening, but they were unable to get anything accomplished until daylight Tuesday morning, August 12. They said it appeared that the cause of the massive fish kill was some sort of toxic chemical solvent, not an oil spill, hypoxia (low oxygen level in the water) or a break in a sanitary sewer pipe. The team also said that it might have been the result of illegal dumping of the solvent, either directly into the brook or into a nearby storm drain. The use of surface aerator equipment is necessary to raise the level of dissolved oxygen in the water; surface aerators sustain vital aquatic life and expedite the process of breaking down pollutants.
A preliminary evaluation of the scene in the light of day Tuesday morning revealed that the toxic substance appeared to be white paint mixed with paint thinner.
While the DEC, under the direction of Conservation Officer Tom Koeph, continued their investigation, they brought in a cleanup crew and equipment from Tri-State Environmental Services. They also notified the Harrison Department of Public Works, who provided assistance in the cleanup efforts.
Beaver Swamp Brookk originates at Westchester Country Club and empties into Long Island Sound in Mamaroneck, passing through Greenwood Union Cemetery, and Rye Neck Middle-High School campus.
According to the 2013 Westchester County Stormwater Reconnaisance Plan, the Brook watershed contains 1,962 acres, which includes three important freshwater wetlands. The Brook’s lush vegetation and marshy terrain provides abundant food for a wide range of wildlife, including a large population of minnows. These in turn provide food for various wading birds.
Nearby neighbor Laura Hugelmeyer was particularly concerned about an American egret that frequents the marsh.
NY State Assemblyman Steve Otis got to the site about 1:30 Tuesday afternoon. “I was appalled by the extent of dead fish covering the brook in the Park Avenue area,” he told the paper. But he expressed his thanks to the quick and cooperative response by the staffs of the DEC, Harrison DPW, and Westchester County Health Department.
The cleanup crew raced to remediate the toxic conditions of the Brook before the poisonous substances began taking their toll on the birds and other wildlife eating the fish.
By late afternoon Tuesday the crew was making headway in removing all the dead fish. Workers estimated that some 2,000-3,000 minnows had been affected. In addition to removing the dead fish, Tri-State used a vacuum device to suck up the milky looking paint and paint thinner substance.
As the DEC carried out its investigation, they determined that the dumped waste and fish kill was limited to the immediate area on either side of the Park Avenue Bridge. A Rye neighbor who lives upstream on Coolidge Avenue confirmed that there was no sign of pollutants in the Brook there.
Going toward the intersection of Park Avenue and Soulard Street, they discovered a storm drain that had white paint on the grill.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the DEC’s working theory was that some person or persons dumped a mixture of paint and paint thinner into the storm drain by Soulard Street. The toxic liquid then worked its way down the storm sewer to where it empties into the Brook.
The DEC was waiting for the results of tests to confirm the exact nature of the pollutant. And they were planning to continue their investigation as to who was responsible for the criminal actions causing the death of so much wildlife in an area that’s been designated as a Habitat Restoration Area.
On Wednesday morning, Koepf said that they have a lead on the perpetrators’ identity. He noted that dumping a toxic substance is a violation of DEC and persons found guilty would be subject to fines or prison time.
Contacted on Thursday, the dispatch officer at the DEC Regional office in New Paltz said that Officer Koepf got a search warrant on Tuesday to search the Prestige Auto Salon at 50 Oakland Avenue in Harrison. The Salon is just up the street from the storm drain at the corner of Soulard and Park.
The dispatcher added that the warrant was served on Wednesday, and a dye test was used to trace marked liquid dumped into a drain on the floor at the Auto Salon. The colored dye went directly into the Brook.
When interviewed Thursday afternoon, Officer Koepf said that the investigation is ongoing, and he could not provide further information yet.
Koepf did inform us that the Tri-State vacuum truck was unable to remove the pollutant, as it was too much dissolved in the water. He said that when they came back Wednesday there were no more dead fish and no more remediation work was done. The heavy rain on Tuesday night diffused the pollutant, according to Koepf, which should make it too weak to cause further damage.
Visitors to the site on Thursday could see no more dead fish, and no more sign of the milky liquid in the water. And the American Egret was back at his feeding spot in the marsh.
