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Spill Investigated by RvK Leads to Arrest

After Riverkeeper received an anonymous report through our “report a polluter” hotline that 17,000 gallons of diesel fuel had been spilled at Metro North’s Croton-Harmon facility, we contacted the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). We were informed that the spill had been reported by Metro North as being only 5 gallons. Riverkeeper’s report of the true size of the spill led to a DEC spills investigator visiting the site. On May 1, Westchester County Police Director of Environmental Security, Ron Gatto, brought criminal negligence charges against Metro North Commuter Railroad Company and arrested Metro North’s Assistant Director of Environmental Compliance and Services for violating New York’s Environmental Conservation Law. The charges stem from the deliberate disconnection of a spill containment system at a Metro North pump house during construction which resulted in the diesel fuel spill. A cleanup of the spill is ongoing.