Several streams and lakes in Blooming Grove are now bright blue, and state officials say a contractor who wasn't supposed to be doing work in the first place is to blame.

The Department of Environmental Conservation shut down the Clovewood housing development months ago and again last week, but work appears to be forging ahead.

DEC officials told News 12 last week that a contractor dumped an unauthorized dye into a stream on Clove Road to cover up another violation for construction runoff.

Blooming Grove officials say the dye has now spread to lakes and streams thousands of feet away that feed into the Moodna Creek and the Hudson River.  
"I'm very concerned with how it's being done and how it's moving forward," said Town Supervisor Robert Jeroloman. "If this is what's going on in the fringes of development, what's actually happening in the development."

The site is blocked off by a gate and surrounded by a privacy fence.
Chopper 12 captured what appears to be construction vehicles and excavators at work on Monday.

The DEC fined the developer, Keen Equities LLC, $228,000 last week for nine open violations and ordered them to stop work again.

"The DEC is committed to holding violators accountable for damaging the environment and, for months, Keen Equities ignored the requirements necessary to protect water quality and habitat," said DEC Regional Director Kelly Turturro by statement.  
So far, it's not clear what dye was allegedly used.
Blooming Grove officials say the streams affected run along multiple wells and that the town is testing the water.

A rep for the DEC says the dye doesn't appear to be hazardous but that people with concerns about their wells can contact the county Department of Health.

An attorney for Keen Equities has not yet responded to News 12's attempts to contact them for comment since last week.