Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer recently joined with Deputy Supervisor Tony Martinez and Councilman Tom Donnelly to recognize officials from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the New York State Department of Environmental Control (DEC) for their roles in cleaning up our area following Superstorm Sandy. The representatives were given Proclamations from the Town honoring their work, which was detailed in a brief presentation.
The New York State DEC assisted the Town of Babylon in cleaning up over 300 oil spill locations throughout the Town of Babylon that resulted from Sandy. These spills were mainly a result of home heating oil tanks that had broken loose during the storm. The New York State DEC deployed their fleet of trucks to help vacuum up the oil and pump out damaged tanks and basements.
The EPA worked with the Town of Babylon’s Department of Environmental Control on a joint program to recover and pump out oil tanks, drums and containers, as well as other household hazardous wastes, from Superstorm Sandy. Residents were encouraged to place such items at curbside to be picked up by the Town to be disposed of correctly. This highly effective program helped keep thousands of gallons of hazardous material out of our waste stream and waters.
Pictured from left to right are Dilshad J. Perera, On-Scene Coordinator, United States EPA Region II; Karen Gomez, New York State DEC Spill Response; Peter Scully, Regional Director, New York State DEC Region I; Rich Groh, Town of Babylon Chief Environmental Analyst; Supervisor Schaffer; Ron Kluesener, Town of Babylon Chief of Staff; Deputy Supervisor Martinez; and Councilman Donnelly.