By Kathianne Boniello
A Bay Terrace co-op accused of causing a 2001 oil spill which spread nearly 1,000 gallons of heating fuel across Little Neck Bay and damaged parts of Udalls Cove Wetlands Preserve has been fined $60,000 by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
A spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Conservation said this week the $60,000 fine imposed on the co-op was in addition to the cost of cleaning up the oil spill incurred by the state and federal governments.
A lawyer for the co-op accused of starting the spill — Bay Terrace Co-op Section 10 Inc. at 18-70 211th St. — declined to comment Monday.
When the spill was first reported in March 2001, the state DEC and the U.S. Coast Guard, which handled the cleanup, said whoever was responsible for the spill would be forced to reimburse authorities for the cleanup. The city Parks Department and the city Department of Environmental Protection also assisted in the cleanup and investigation of the oil spill.
It was unclear how much damage the oil did to the sensitive wetlands of Udalls Cove, which borders Douglaston, Little Neck and Great Neck, L.I. But city Parks Department officials and local environmentalists have said the wetlands appeared to have escaped significant damage.
The state DEC said the state settled its case and the amount of the fine with the Bay Terrace co-op last Thursday, spokesman Peter Constantakes said. According to last week’s agreement, Constantakes said, the co-op must pay the $60,000 to the state’s Environmental Protection and Spill Compensation Fund by Oct. 1.
“The first $30,000 must be paid immediately and the second $30,000 must be paid to the spill fund on or before Oct. 1,” he said.
First reported on March 27, 2001, the oil spill flowed from the western edge of Little Neck Bay throughout the bay to Udalls Cove, a wetlands preserve that sits on the eastern side of the bay between Douglaston, Little Neck and Great Neck.
The Coast Guard and the state DEC cited the Bay Terrace Co-op Section 10, Inc., at 18-70 211th St. as the origin of the spill Friday.
The state DEC discovered an oil-covered sewer outfall on the western side of Little Neck Bay during the investigation of the Little Neck Bay oil spill and traced the oil back through more than a mile of sewers to the Bay Terrace Co-ops, the DEC said in a statement Friday. The state conducted its sewer investigation with the help of the city Department of Environmental Protection.
Constantakes said the exact cost of the cleanup was still being determined by the Coast Guard.
A spokeswoman for the Parks Department said this week her agency was “cautiously optimistic that no permanent damage had been done” to the wetlands by the oil spill.
Walter Mugdan, president of the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee, said “it appears to us that the cove has recovered nicely. We’re not aware of any long-term problems.”
Mugdan said the group was concerned about the health of mussels in the cove and planned to talk to the state DEC about the issue.
Sitting directly in the North Atlantic Flyway, which is the name of the migratory path of birds on their way to Canada, Udalls Cove acts as an important breeding and feeding ground for several different types of birds.
It was unclear how Bay Terrace Co-op Section 10 was going to pay for the reportedly $225,000 cost of the oil spill cleanup.
Reach reporter Kathianne Boniello by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 146.
