DOH says it is focusing on mitigating the crisis rather than sanctioning the Navy.
Summary
- “The DOH typically has the authority to take enforcement actions when there is a discharge of a pollutant to a storm drain system,” she said.
- Halsey Terrace resident Laura Warfold said she first saw men in uniform flushing water from fire hydrants into the grass in her backyard on Nov. 29.
- She noticed puddles with an oily sheen near a storm drain by her home.
- “I smelled gasoline outside.”The DOH confirmed that the Navy illegally flushed contaminated water.
- In general, discharges into any storm drain system are not authorized without the written consent of the owner of the storm drain.