Schenectady County legislators introduced a law authorizing the county to clean up the property owned by Michael Marotta if it isn’t cleared by May 25.
A handful of residents and County Legislators Ed Kosiur, Judy Dagostino and Kent Gray, gathered at the site on Route 5S in Pattersonville Thursday, April 26, to introduce the legislation.
Marotta’s property, which is cluttered with construction vehicles and other debris, is located on a sensitive area of the Great Flats Aquifer, which is Schenectady County’s source of drinking water.
This is a quality-of-life issue for the residents and a health issue for the entire county, Kosiur said.
On April 16, Supreme Court Justice Joseph Sise signed a default judgment mandating the immediate cleanup of the property.
The legislation sets aside $50,000 for the project. According to public health law, if the county does have to clean up the property, the cost of doing so would be charged to the property owner, and, if necessary, the property could be sold to recoup the cost of the project.
County Attorney Christopher Gardner said, `We don’t care how it’s cleaned up as long as it’s cleaned up. If someone goes to jail, so be it.`
Dagostino thanked the residents who fought for the cleanup of the property and brought the issue to the attention of the legislature.
Shawn Shultz, a member of the advocacy group Friends of the Aquifer, has been actively pushing for the cleanup.
`This is great. It’s wonderful that the county Legislature is starting to aggressively pursue environmental violators,` Shultz said. `Our biggest concern is what might be buried here.`
Gardner said a full environmental review of the property will be completed once the site is cleaned up.
According to Shultz, Marotta was using the site as a junk yard in the 1970s. At that time the county seized the land from him and cleaned it up. The property was then sold to a lawyer, who sold it to Marotta again.
`We have watershed laws, public health laws and leaders who are really willing to protect our only source of drinking water and the environment,` Shultz said.
Kosiur said local leaders are actively pursuing environmental violators.
`What is different this time is the support of the county looking to make this a serious issue. Protecting the environment and the aquifer is important and we need to show our commitment to it,` Kosiur said.
The county sheriff was called to inspect the registration on the vehicles because at least one was found to be in violation. Sheriff’s deputies confiscated five sets of license plates on vehicles that had been uninsured for at least two months.
`If these trucks were on the public roadway we would be able to take the vehicles, but the plates are state property so we can take them,` Sheriff Harry Buffardi said.
The county legislature is expected to vote on this legislation during its next meeting Tuesday, May 8.
`This is something that is well overdue and needs to be completed,` Gray said.
Efforts to reach Michael Marotta before press time were unsuccessful. In the past, Joseph Marotta, Michael Marotta’s father, has said he felt the enforcement action was politically motivated.“