Fema Employment - How do you get police and environmental agencies to do their job when you have a video that documents dumping?

How do you get police and environmental agencies to do their job when you have a video that documents dumping?

We have surveillance video that shows a so-called environmental clean-up company discharging waste that they removed from another site onto our property. We called the state environmental authority and they said they have so much dumping that they can't investigate unless you can actually see it on the ground. We called the county sheriff's office and they said they have to depend on the experts at the state to take care of stuff like this. The waste is condensate water that was pumped out of the bottom of fuel tanks at a truck stop. The dumper was a state-licensed company that dumped into a creek that runs across our property. The creek flows into a nearby river. Shortly after the dumping incident, there was a heavy rainfall. This a poor rural state, and the Federal government has delegated RCRA and Clean Water Act authority to the state. How can we get action?

Public Comments

Sounds like North Dakota. When I lived there we witnessed the burning off of crude oil on the open ground causing a very large amount of black smoke to blow over a small town. Local authorities did nothing, the state said it was too far to travel from their office to try to enforce anything. It's very frustrating. You could try contacting the EPA at the national level. You can find contact information on their website. www.epa.gov
You might want to contact an environmental lawyer for advice.
It would have helped if you told us what state you're in.But don't lose hope. In this big wide world no matter who you are or who you THINK you are,"Everybody Answers to Somebody". First,get all your facts straight. Then go see you County Prosecutor. Also let your local Department of Health know what's going on. If no one there is doing a satisfactory job,then look up the nearest office of State Attorney General- Consumer Affairs Division and ask to speak to an investigator. And I do mean in person ,NOT over the phone or online.
Good question, I had a similar problem a few years ago after seeing and videoing a person dumping in Brooklyn, NY. I called 311 and was gaffed off. I then went to the cops and the same thing. My last step was to go to the DEP and it didn't go any where either. I find that it is frustrating when a good samaritan tries to write a wrong and no one listens. I am not a tree hugger but we only have one planet so lets all try to take care of it. I wish to give you a better answer but I didn't have any luck either.
Go through the hierarchy first. If you still get no action, send copies of the video to the media. Nothing like having the TV stations documenting that you don't do your job to get some action out of a bureaucrat. If even that works, you may have to sue. I'm assuming that you mentioned the heavy rainfall to indicate that chemical tests of the water won't document the dumping. If the video isn't enough, you can use biomonitoring of the benthic macroinvertebrates to show that there has been an impact. I'd suggest hiring me but I'm sure there are cheaper ways to get the survey run.
submit it to them, leave a copy and upload it on youtube so that the people and the environmentalist will know
If you have a video, you can talk to a lawyer about a Civil Suite, but that takes money. If you contact the local chapter of a major environmental lobby such as the Sierra Club, they may want to help. Also, call the local TV stations, they love video. Also, send a letter to the state environmental agency so that there is a written record of your complaint. A phone call won't do it. The problem with discharging to a creek like that is that the evidence flows down stream very quickly. If you catch them in the act you need to get the police involved while they are still dumping. Also keep in mind that the owner of the Truck Stop is potentially criminally liable for the disposion of his waste. (Cradle to Grave Liability under RCRA) You may want to pursue action against them as well. They may not know about the dumping and certainly dont want to appear on the six o'clock news. It is very likely he paid the environmental company for proper disposal and got ripped off..