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Oil Leak on the Banks of the Lackawaxen
By Pat Camuso
LACKAWAXEN TOWNSHIP – A piece of PennDOT equipment, parked for weeks at a popular Pike County fishing spot, has local fishermen grousing because it leaked what seems to be hydraulic fluid or oil just feet from the Lackawaxen River.
A significant amount of fluid has leaked out of the machine pictured here; enough to completely contaminate a large mud hole directly behind it. The location is known by local fishermen as “Molly’s Hole” and those who have inadvertently stepped in the mud told this reporter that their boots smelled like oil for days afterward.
Immediately following a recent downpour, this reporter witnessed water glistening with rainbow petroleum-type sheen heading down the bank towards the river that is about 30 feet from the broken machine. This tell-tale sheen is pictured here. Vegetation that is apparently coated with an oily substance is withering brown in places around the spot can also be seen here.
A hydraulic hose appeared to be attached in a makeshift fashion with yellow straps. The source of the leak appears to be at a broken fitting attached to this hose.(See photo)
We talked to several fishermen who say the machine had been parked there for about 3 weeks before we called PennDOT who promptly removed the “brush hog” the day after Pike County Press’ call.
According to PennDOT, crews also removed contaminated soil from the site to be properly disposed of. The contaminated mud hole was filled with stone after the soil was removed.
In recent years this reporter has exposed several incidents of environmental indifference on the part of Pike County PennDOT these include; dumping garbage and wastes off all descriptions while burying toxic wastes on state gamelands 180 in Shohola Township; and scrapping old bridge paint into the Sawkill Creek in Milford Township and Blooming Grove Creek in Blooming Grove Township.
PennDOT was compelled to perform a major clean up of the Shohola gameland site to the tune of nearly 1 million dollars.
According to Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission Waterways Officer Bob Plum, Pike PennDOT was made to clean up the paint chips in the creeks by the state Department of Environmental Protection and pay a $1500 fine to the fish commission. However, high waters occurred between the scrapping work and the cleanup hampering any affective efforts.
Louis Chervenak of Stillwater is a master fly fisherman and a regular visitor to Molly’s Hole. “PennDOT just doesn’t care,” said Chervenak. “There’s no excuse for this; it should have been pulled out of here immediately, not parked by the river to bleed out for days. They just don’t care; that’s obvious.”
Editor’s Notes: A response from PennDOT to the online story at www.pikecountypress.com is printed in our July 10 edition. Pat Camuso’s July 10 column directly addresses the PennDOT response letter. Clearly PennDOT and Mr. Camuso are not in agreement.
Did anyone contact the Fish & Boat Commission or are we just gonna slam them without knowing, Austin? They’ve been responsive in the past. What makes you think they’re being unresponsive to this?
Great work Pat! Thank you for not being afraid of PennDOT and not letting up on them. Their arrogance and gross negligence in their dealings regarding Pike County’s precious resources is cause for great alarm. As an avid outdoorsmen, I scornfully reject PennDOT’s explanation of their corrective actions. Quite bluntly, PennDOT has demonstrated time and time again that the environment is not one of their priorities. Furthermore, the lack of comment of any kind from our County and State officials speaks volumes about their character and the nature of their interests. They may be afraid to rock the bureaucratic boat, but we as citizens and outdoorsmen must never be.
“The wildlife and its habitat cannot speak, so we must, and we will.” -Theodore Roosevelt
PennDot could care less about hydraulic fluid running into a river, just like they don’t care about garbage removal on their roads. Take a look at route 2001 or route 84. They also don’t care about potholes, trimming of trees by signs,removal of vegitation by guidrails,etc. In fact the only thing they care about is trying to find another hiding place to get out of doing anything that requires anyone to do the job they were hired for. Oh don’t forget all the deli and coffee stops and all the riding around all day doing nothing. PennDot should be fazed out and all work should go to private contractors and save the taxpayers a lot of money.