NORWALK, Conn. — A 79-year-old Norwalk man was recently arrested for emptying diesel fuel and waste from his boat into Long Island Sound, according to the Norwalk Police Department.
Norwalk police said Stanley Sikorski has been charged with discharging sewage in a no discharge zone, misuse of a marine sanitation device and littering in the water.
Around 3:50 p.m. on Oct. 11, a diesel fuel spill was reported in the area of Manresa Island in Norwalk. Norwalk Marine Unit officers and the Norwalk Fire Marine Unit responded to the scene and could see and smell the fuel, which Norwalk police said was creating a visible sheen on the water’s surface.
The Norwalk Fire Department said the sheen was also seen near the South Norwalk Boat Club.
Norwalk police said that investigating officers were able to identify Sikorski as the source of the spill. They approached him when he was cleaning his boat.
According to Norwalk police, Sikorski admitted that he was filling his boat with 152 gallons of diesel fuel but accidentally began filling his onboard sanitation tank instead of the fuel tank. When Sikorski noticed the mistake, he said he switched and began to fill the proper tank.
Sikorski then left the fuel dock and appeared to intentionally pump the fuel out of the Marine Sanitation Device tank, the contents of which also included waste, Norwalk police said. The waste and diesel fuel reportedly entered the water, contaminating it.
The U.S. Coast Guard Pollution Response Team, National Response Center and Department of Energy & Environmental Protection Emergency Response & Spill Prevention Division were all alerted.
Norwalk police reminded boaters that there are environmental ramifications when incidents like this occur.
“Please be mindful of sea life and the harm of human exposure to these pollutants,” Norwalk police said. “We encourage all boaters to not only be responsible when operating the vessel, but also be responsible with keeping pollutants from entering our waterways.”
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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