Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James on May 15th, announced an $8 million order and judgment was entered against Joseph and Rachel Karolys, the owners and operators of three separate properties in the Town of Saugerties. Together with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Office of the Attorney General sued Joseph and Rachel Karolys in June 2020 for repeatedly accepting and disposing of construction and demolition debris.

“The recently secured order illustrates the power of New York’s stringent environmental laws and should serve as a reminder that there are serious consequences for violations of laws designed to protect our environment,” Governor Hochul said. “I am thankful to Attorney General James and the Department of Environmental Conservation for holding these polluters responsible and upholding our solid waste requirements.”

New York State Attorney General Letitia James said, “Our anti-pollution laws are designed to protect New Yorkers and our natural resources. 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.”

The Karolyses accepted construction and demolition (C&D) debris from the New York City metropolitan area at one of their properties, which was only authorized to receive waste from Ulster and Dutchess counties, and disposed of the debris at the other two unauthorized sites. They were also operating the sites without the required DEC stormwater pollution control permits. The Karolyses have since admitted to this illegal conduct and were ordered by the court to completely clean up the three sites and pay $8 million to the Office of the Attorney General.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar 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. Illegal dumping can pose a serious threat to public health and the environment and is not tolerated in New York. I would like to recognize DEC’s legal team, Division of Law Enforcement, and staff for their diligence and dedicated investigative work to support our ongoing efforts to crack down on illegal dumping and thank Attorney General James and her staff for their hard work to help bring these polluters to justice.”

In July 2016, Joseph Karolys registered with DEC to operate a solid waste management facility accepting uncontaminated soil, rock, concrete, brick, and block asphalt 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 the New York City area and a lack of water pollution prevention measures.

Accepting unauthorized solid waste is a violation of State environmental laws and regulations and can put a community’s health and natural resources at risk.

Under the order and judgment announced today, the Karolyses must pay an $8 million penalty and remove and properly dispose of all solid waste at the sites. The Order also requires the filing of deed restrictions on the three properties to indicate that solid waste is present, and the deed restrictions can be lifted only after all solid waste is removed from the properties.

In March 2023, Attorney General James and DEC filed a separate lawsuit against waste haulers and brokers for illegally dumping waste at a Karolys site. Over a period of three years, more than 75 waste transporters and waste brokers unlawfully caused over 3,000 loads — approximately 100,000 cubic yards — of C&D debris to be transported from multiple construction sites in New York City and Long Island to Karolys’ site. Litigation in that case is ongoing.

This case was handled for OAG by Assistant Attorneys General Marie Chery-Sekhobo, Brendan McGrath, and Rachel Maman Kish of the Environmental Protection Bureau under the supervision of Affirmative Litigation Section Chief Morgan Costello, Deputy Bureau Chief Lisa Burianek, and Bureau Chief Lemuel M. Srolovic. Additional support was provided by Legal Assistants Bonnie Maynard-Wilson and Kathleen Yuhas.

The investigation in this matter was handled by Investigators Mark Rudd and Donald Anselmentof the Investigations Bureau, which is led by Chief Investigator Oliver Pu-Folkes.

The Environmental Protection Bureau is part of the Division for Social Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux. The Investigations Bureau is part of the Division for Criminal Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General José Maldonado. Both the Division for Social Justice and the Division for Criminal Justice are overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.