DEC ANNOUNCES $44,000 CIVIL PENALTY PAID BY OWNER/OPERATOR OF MOBILE HOME PARK IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY TO RESOLVE WATER QUALITY VIOLATIONS

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced that the owner and operator of a mobile home park in Montgomery County recently paid $44,388 for violations related to failures of the park’s wastewater system that resulted in the unlawful discharge of wastewater into a tributary to the Mohawk River. Ahmed S. Shah owns and operates the Pattersonville Mobile Home Park in the town of Florida. 

 

“The protection of water quality is critical to sustain healthy communities, safeguard aquatic habitats, and support local economies,” DEC Region 4 Director Anthony Luisi said. “DEC took decisive action in this case to hold the owner of a Montgomery County mobile home park accountable for numerous violations of Environmental Conservation Law and we will continue to ensure all water quality violations are thoroughly investigated and addressed for the protection of our communities and the region’s natural resources.”  

 

On Aug. 5, 2022, DEC’s Divisions of Water and Law Enforcement, along with staff from the New York State Department of Health, conducted an inspection of the mobile home park and determined its owner had failed to properly operate the facility’s septic and treatment systems. As a result, untreated wastewater was bypassing sand filters and discharging directly into a Mohawk River tributary for at least four days, a violation of the facility’s State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit.  

 

Additionally, the facility owner/operator failed to report the discharge to a regional water engineer within 24 hours of becoming aware of it, failed to have a backup pump for the system installed at the facility, failed to conduct seasonal effluent disinfection at the facility, and failed to keep proper records, including written operations and maintenance plans, all of which are required by DEC regulations.   

Shah is working to resolve the violations of the facility’s SPDES permit and environmental laws and regulations. DEC executed an Order on Consent with Ahmed Shah on Jan. 17 that included the civil penalty and requires Shah take the necessary corrective actions to bring his facility into compliance. DEC will continue to closely monitor the implementation of the actions required to ensure the violations are addressed 

To contact an ECO to report an environmental crime or to report an incident, call 1-844-DEC-ECOS for 24-hour dispatch or email (for non-urgent violations).