$8M Judgment Against Saugerties Property Owners For Repeated Pollution

SAUGERTIES, NY — New York Attorney General Letitia James and Governor Kathy Hochul today announced an $8 million judgment against Joseph and Rachel Karolys, the owners and operators of three separate properties in Saugerties, for repeatedly violating pollution laws.

Under the judgment announced Thursday, the Karolyses must pay $8 million to the state and clean up the pollution and other environmental hazards and violations at the sites. The funds will be used to address air, land, and water pollution in Ulster County.

Together with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, James sued the Karolyses in June 2020 for repeatedly accepting construction and demolition material from the New York City metropolitan area at their main site, 1446 State Route 212, which was only authorized to receive waste from Ulster and Dutchess counties, and disposing of the C&D at two other unauthorized sites.

The other two dumps are located at 90 Goat Hill Road and 33/43 Fel Qui Road. By 2019, the DEC estimated roughly 165,000 tons were on the sites, Hudson Valley One reported.

The Karolyses were also operating the sites without the required state water and pollution control permits.

The Karolyses have since admitted to the illegal conduct and have now been ordered by the court to completely clean up the three sites and pay $8 million to the Office of the Attorney General, James said.

“Our anti-pollution laws are designed to protect New Yorkers and our natural resources,” she said. “Joseph and Rachel Karolys flagrantly violated those laws with no concern for the impact their illegal conduct would have on the surrounding Saugerties community, and now they must clean up the mess they made. My office will always uphold our environmental laws and protect New Yorkers’ health and safety.”

Meanwhile, Joseph Karolys awaits trial on a manslaughter charge, the Times Union reported. He is accused of beating a man to death in 2022.

In July 2016, the couple registered with DEC to operate a solid waste management facility accepting C&D waste from Ulster and Dutchess counties.

During inspections of the site, DEC noted activity that violated the registration and New York’s environmental laws, including the presence of unauthorized waste accepted from New York City and Long Island and a lack of water pollution prevention measures.

In March 2023, James and the DEC filed a lawsuit against waste haulers and brokers for illegally dumping waste at a Karolys site. Over a period of three years, 29 waste transporters and waste brokers unlawfully transported more than 3,000 loads — approximately 100,000 cubic yards — of C&D waste from multiple construction sites in New York City and Long Island to the Karolyses’ site.

The 2023 lawsuit is ongoing, a spokesperson told Patch.

C&D waste from highly urbanized areas like New York City is more likely to be contaminated with petroleum or hazardous substances than waste material from less urbanized areas. Accepting unauthorized materials puts the community’s health and environment at risk, officials said.

“Joseph and Rachel Karolys repeatedly demonstrated a willful disregard for New York State law, and DEC took aggressive actions to protect our communities and hold these polluters accountable,” said DEC Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar. “Illegal dumping can pose a serious threat to public health and the environment and is not tolerated in New York."