The Peru Gazette

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) enforce the 71 Chapters of NY Environmental Conservation Law, protecting fish and wildlife and preserving environmental quality across New York.
In November, ECO Jennifer Okonuk began an investigation into the complaint of waste tires being stored at an auto repair facility in the town of Dickinson. After an inspection was completed with assistance from DEC staff, multiple Petroleum Bulk Storage (PBS) violations were documented in addition to more than 1,000 waste tires being stored on site. In December, ECO Okonuk and DEC staff conducted a follow-up site inspection and discovered additional violations, including the illegal disposal of lead-acid batteries, which had been buried on the property. The case is now being handled jointly by the Division of Law Enforcement and DEC’s Office of General Counsel.
In 2015, the 268 ECOs across the state responded to 25,000 calls and issued 22,000 tickets for crimes ranging from deer poaching to corporate toxic dumping and illegal mining, black market pet trade, and excessive emissions violations.