For Release: Friday, September 25, 2009
DEC Joins International Effort to Crack down on Illegal Transportation of Hazardous Waste
Two-day Operation Focuses on Bridges in Buffalo-Niagara Region
Working with INTERPOL and Canadian authorities, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recently participated in an international initiative targeting the illegal transportation of hazardous waste, Commissioner Pete Grannis announced today.
The two-day operation (Sept. 23-24) focused on major transportation routes in the Buffalo-Niagara region, with NYS Environmental Conservation Officers and investigators checking transporters entering the U.S. at the Peace Bridge and the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge. Canadian agencies checked transporters on the other side of the border. The operation targeted vehicles potentially carrying waste of all forms - including industrial and chemical waste.
As a result, the agencies combined to check 350 trucks, identify 140 violations and launch eight investigations. (INTERPOL's news release can be accessed at www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/PressReleases/PR2009/PR200987.asp.)
DEC's role centered on checking for environmental violations, determining whether vehicles were properly characterized as carrying hazardous or non-hazardous waste, searching for signs of leaking wastes and testing vehicle emissions. During the two-day operation, DEC officers stopped 108 trucks and identified 21 violations and misdemeanors. Most of the enforcement actions involved leaking vehicles and emissions violations.
"This operation sends a signal to those that would flout the law that the environmental police are on the beat," Commissioner Grannis said. "This multi-agency, international effort was a success thanks to all the partners involved."
INTERPOL, the world's largest international police organization, coordinated the enforcement detail. It included the cooperation of DEC, New York State Police, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Transportation Department, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, Environment Canada, the Ontario ministries of environment and transportation and the Canada Border Services Agency.
