The Fact of The Matter previously exposed illegal dumping under the leadership of a past superintendent Claude Schaefer. Asphalt was being dumped on an unprotected surface at the conservation center on Lambertsmill Rd. allowing oil based material to leach into the ground. Also, debris picked up by the DPW street sweeper was often illegally disposed of at the conservation center.
Last year the town council voted on a municipal budget that included the purchase of two new street sweepers to keep Westfield’s streets clean. DEP regulations require that the material picked up by the sweeper be placed in a container or on some other protected surface until it’s legally disposed of.
It appears that Westfield DPW Superintendent Greg O’Neil has continued the tradition of illegal dumping. In the picture below, a pile of hazardous material picked up by Westfield street sweepers was illegally dumped on what is allegedly New Jersey Transit property adjacent to the Westfield DPW property.
Click on the following link for Department of Environmental Protection Regulations and Standards.
https://www.nj.gov/dep/dshw/rrtp/sweeping.htm
Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am, illegal dumping dpw.
ReplyDeleteThe real story is the two guys from the DPW taking 3 months of overtime to do a small kitchen in the police station. They’ve done a poor job but I get it cause half the time there here working and the other half they are home on the clock.
ReplyDeleteWhat hazardous material is this and how do you know it is? What qualifies as hazardous and how can you test for it?
ReplyDeleteRead the DEP website and the link provided. That’s how.
DeleteStreet sweepings washed from the street sweeper, gathered into a pile until it’s big enough to dispose of, can’t be dumped over the fence by a front loader.
You should look into Greg O’Neill dumping a 1000 gallons of calcium chloride down the drain. Supposed to dilute that stuff 100 parts water to 1 part calcium chloride.
ReplyDeleteProve it.....
ReplyDeleteO’Neill knows what he did/allowed.
DeleteDear Anonymous “Prove it” comment,
DeleteThe Union County Health Department in conjunction with NJ DEP will be issuing a notice of violation regarding that pile.
No need for me to prove anything.
Thanks for your comment.
You should take part in a contest for one of the best blogs on the web.
ReplyDeleteI will highly recommend this site!
This shouldn't be happening! Did the budget for new street sweepers also include funds to manage the proper disposal of the debris collected?
ReplyDeleteGet demoted police sergeant Leo Lugo to write the report. He will cover it up for the DPW and call it a bed of roses. He sure screwed me with my hit and run!
ReplyDeleteHighly descriptive article, I loved that a lot.
ReplyDeleteWill there be a part 2?
Commenter above makes an interesting point. We could try and prove who dumped what where but if there was no plan in place, or funds allocated, for the additional hazardous materials then that's the punishable offense. Is the Mayor aware of this? Council members? Somewhere on paper someone ok'ed this without a plan. Punish that person not the one driving the front end loader.
ReplyDeleteThe DPW Supt. is in charge. The buck stops with him.
DeleteLooks like this was reported via SeeClickFix (Westfield Connect) and has now been closed, and you acknowledged it as such. Have you been back by to confirm if it was adequately addressed?
ReplyDeleteI’m sure the Union County Board of Health will confirm the cleanup with a follow up to any investigation conducted by them on behalf of the NJ DEP.
ReplyDelete