someone dumped motor oil

[Jenn]

There is an oil change's worth of motor oil on the side of the road at the top of our 6 acres. Maybe I invited it by not yet policing up a few vinyl gloves and a bit of other trash that has surfaced in the bags of leaves and garden waste I put there to compost and stop erosion (I got all the stuff I could see but more was buried until this week). The leaves and grass clippings (and brush) has really stopped the erosion there so I don't plan to stop putting recycled mulch down on my right of ways where centipede grass hasn't taken hold.

It is a side road so it is more likely one of the nearby neighbors than someone driving country roads looking for a place to dump used motor oil. THink I could prevent a recurrence if I send the neighbors notices saying something like "Let the police [or me] know if you have seen anyone suspicious- EPA and groundwater laws were violated this week when motor oil was dumped on right of way near the intersection of CR 37 and CR 22...."

There may be a prior thread on this, but searching for oil, motor, spill, or dump/-ing on this site doesn't get me close to it! Thanks all for any advice.

[Jenn]

Gee- http://earth911.com/recycling/the-im...oil-recycling/ - "One gallon of motor oil can:
Create an oil slick on surface water up to 8 acres in size
Contaminate 1 million gallons of freshwater (one year’s supply of water for 50 people)
Render a 4-acre area of soil unusable for planting for decades"

Guess I'll go dig up and bag that dirt! Certainly not the first gallon oil dumped on this area though.

[unregistered5595]

I'd be rather upset about it. Sending notices to the neighbors is probably a good idea. You may want to mention in the notice, to get the license plate of the offending oil spiller.

Just so you know you are not alone.
http://billingsgazette.com/news/stat...9bb2963f4.html
An oil spill found, 7 acres worth. Estimated cost of the clean up $4 million.

[geo in mi]

"Dear Neighbor,

I will be making a run to the Crystal Flash motor oil recycling tank next week, on Wednesday. If you have any used motor oil to get rid of, call me at 555-5555, and I will gladly stop on my way to take it for you.
Your neighbor
xxxxxxxxxxx"

A note hung on each mailbox......?


geo

[simi-steading]

Once you dig and bag that dirt, then what are you going to do with it?

Is this on your property? or on the roads right of way? If it's on the road, call the county.. if it's your property, then I think I'd bag it and buy it and keep my mouth shut...

[davel745]

Originally Posted by simi-steading

Once you dig and bag that dirt, then what are you going to do with it?

Is this on your property? or on the roads right of way? If it's on the road, call the county.. if it's your property, then I think I'd bag it and buy it and keep my mouth shut...

sent it to tink so he can fill in his discovery

[copperkid3]

He hasn't really "discovered" anything . . .yet.

And what about his wife's lost flashlight?

Who's going to break the news to her?!!!

Not me mister . . . not me.

[Wayne02]

Originally Posted by Jenn

THink I could prevent a recurrence if I send the neighbors notices saying something like "Let the police [or me] know if you have seen anyone suspicious- EPA and groundwater laws were violated this week when motor oil was dumped on right of way near the intersection of CR 37 and CR 22...."

Actually I think that's a pretty good idea, it's not directly threatening and more of a general notice. You could deliver the same message with a personal visit to the neighbors. It kind of depends on your current relationships with the neighbors I suppose.

I suspect you are correct in that it's highly likely to be someone local and alerting them to the fact that you've taken notice to the illegal dumping on your property may be just enough to make them stop.

One thing I would be cautious of if this doesn't work and you need to proceed with some sort of legal remedy is to think long and hard about directly involving the three letter agency you mentioned. If additional steps are required beyond the notice it might be best to approach this with local LEO and treating it more as 'illegal dumping'.

[Jenn]

legal in my state to dispose of the dirt in regular trash. The state envir. dept sugg I let folks know who'll recycle oil. Express Oil does, for free. The Dept Env Man is going to send someone out when able (next week even) but wants me to dig it up before the next rain to protect my well and the river.

[simi-steading]

It might be legal to dump dirt in the trash, but I bet it's not legal to dump oil soaked dirt in the trash... I'd just make sure it's hidden well if you do that..

Getting the EPA or state enviro involved probably isn't in your best interest..

[Harry Chickpea]

I wouldn't get overwrought. The concept of keeping used oil under control is a good one, but a lot of the reaction is over the top. When I was growing up, the highway department used to oil the roads with used oil to pack the dirt and prevent dust. That oil was a LOT dirtier, with lead and other contaminants. To the best of my knowledge, they haven't removed the roads. It did NOT:
Create an oil slick on surface water up to 8 acres in size
Contaminate 1 million gallons of freshwater (one year’s supply of water for 50 people)
Render a 4-acre area of soil unusable for planting for decades"

I loathe sites like the one quoted as the overstatements induce fear and panic and are hyperbole at best. Pure horsedung that anyone older than a child should recognize as same.

I like the idea of collecting for recycling, and FWIW, diesel engines were DESIGNED to operate on a variety of oils. Particle filter the used oil and it can be used as fuel, especially in an old hit-n-miss.

The oil on the ground near the road is an annoyance, but if you do nothing, in the next dozen years or so the soil bacteria will digest a lot, some will evaporate, and life will go on.

[simi-steading]

I agree.. In Illinois most of their back roads were oil and chip.. they spray oil, then cover with rock chips... They would spray thousands of gallons of oil on a few miles of roads.. The corn and wheat fields along the roads looked just fine..

[rambler]

The way they dispose of spilled oil is....

To spread it on the ground and let the natural microbes and sun eat it away.

Of course that only works when it is heavily regulated by govt agencies to get their seal of approval and tax collections/ fines.

But seriously, the way to get rid of that is to spread it thinly and let nature eat it away over a couple years. The nearby coop had a spill 10 years ago, they spread it in my neighbors field under direction of the govt.

Paul

[fatrat]

Jenn,

If you dump it in the trash where it will get buried in a land fill and drain into the ground water then you may have done worse than the person who dumped it on the road. Leaving it on the road where much of it over time will be eaten by bacteria during the warm months would probably be an okay solution. I think I would spread it very thinly over the back field and forget it. Nature will take care of it. The next best might be burning it.

[wannabechef]

The next fire you have dump the oil saturated soil in it.

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[wannabechef]

Originally Posted by Jenn

Gee- http://earth911.com/recycling/the-im...oil-recycling/ - "One gallon of motor oil can:
Create an oil slick on surface water up to 8 acres in size
Contaminate 1 million gallons of freshwater (one year’s supply of water for 50 people)
Render a 4-acre area of soil unusable for planting for decades"

Guess I'll go dig up and bag that dirt! Certainly not the first gallon oil dumped on this area though.

Ive seen grass grow where oil was dumped...and surely more than a gallon of oil per day enters any recreational lake used daily by fisherman and pleasure boats from exhaust to spilling...

A bit of oil on the surface does help prevent mosquito larvae from surfacing and breathing....

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[wannabechef]

Originally Posted by fatrat

Jenn,

If you dump it in the trash where it will get buried in a land fill and drain into the ground water then you may have done worse than the person who dumped it on the road. Leaving it on the road where much of it over time will be eaten by bacteria during the warm months would probably be an okay solution. I think I would spread it very thinly over the back field and forget it. Nature will take care of it. The next best might be burning it.

Landfills have plastic liners....

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[Jenn]

It was thick tarry stuff which did not soak in- less than 20 shovelfuls of dirt only a few inches deep. My husband does not believe it's black paint but I could still be convinced of it. A small amount not a whole 5 quarts of some heavy weight oil? Smells like pain thinner more than gasoline- what does oil smell like? I never notice a smell except of BURNING oil.

[simi-steading]

Pull the dipstick on your car and smell it.. that's the only way I can think of to tell yo what oil smells like.. If it smells like thinner, then I'd guess it's paint..

[Stephen in SOKY]

I'd think very carefully before threatening my rural neighbors with anything related to the EPA.