Minisink homeowners accuse neighbor of illegal dumping

<p>Residents of a neighborhood in Minisink say people there are getting seriously sick because someone is trucking up contaminated soil from New York City and dumping it on a property nearby.</p>

News 12 Staff

Sep 17, 2018, 6:50 PM

Updated 2,056 days ago

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Residents of a neighborhood in Minisink say people there are getting seriously sick because someone is trucking up contaminated soil from New York City and dumping it on a property nearby.
Several homeowners hired an attorney to investigate whether the owners of a nearby property on Bowery Lane are using the site to dump contaminated soil.
Residents say they first became concerned last year, after seeing truck after truck piled with dirt driving onto the 38-acre property site. They say they then smelled something toxic.
They say the state Department of Environmental Conservation looked into the site and found contaminated soil.
Now, homeowners say they believe that toxic soil is to blame for causing new cases of respiratory illness, even cancer in some residents and pets, especially since they all share a nearby aquifer.
Christina Seewald was diagnosed with cancer last year and blames the toxic dirt.
"I think it's linked to a lot of sicknesses on the road, in myself, my neighbors and our pets," she says.
"Our children drink the water, our grandchildren drink the water, we water our vegetable gardens, we eat the produce from those gardens and we all breathe the same air," says resident Dennis O'Gorman.
Property owner Renata Wodzinska says she has done nothing but try to build her dream home for her family. She says soil from the Bronx has been dumped on site but the company doing it says it is OK to do.
The Department of Environmental Conservation told News 12 it has continued to investigate claims at the property but has found "no significant violations."


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