SPRING GLEN - An oil spill at the old Homowack Lodge in Spring Glen caused a multi-agency response this past Thursday, with officials from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the Sullivan County Regional Department of Health, and the Sullivan County Department of Public Safety descending upon the dilapidated resort. At approximately 7:45 a.m. Thursday morning, a breather valve attached to a large, in-ground oil tank, began to overflow as maintenance crews, it is believed, were in the process of transferring oil from one tank to another. The oil then spilled over an adjacent curb, running into a storm drain system, before making its way downhill into a drainage culvert on Phillipsport Road. A local resident, who happened to be passing by, noticed the spill and reported it to the DEC.

Fortunately, it appears that the spill was contained within this culvert, and did not seep through to the other side of Phillipsport Road, which would have threatened the Homowack Kill, a tributary of Sandberg Creek. Ironically, the culvert in question is clogged with debris, thereby preventing the oil from escaping into the nearby waterway.

In another ironic twist, the Homowack has come under scrutiny recently by town officials, after a citizens' group, led by local resident Bill Lucas, began pressuring Town Supervisor Robert Fiore to instruct the building department to begin issuing �orders to remedy� for the numerous code violations at the property. The oil spill yesterday is now sure to bring the old resort under even more intense scrutiny.

Sullivan County Commissioner of Public Safety Richard A. Martinkovic said that issues involving code will now fall under the Town of Mamakating's purview - in particular the building department - to ensure that numerous violations are given the needed attention.

�Right now the jurisdiction of responsibility falls under Mamakating code enforcement,� Martinkovic said. �[The building inspector] has given a list of areas of concern, including the sprinkler system, as well as some exit issues. These have been addressed to camp management.�

Martinkovic also said that the dangerous situation at the old resort has been developing for some time, but that it appears that the time for action is now upon the owners, and the town, when it comes to addressing the long list of problems on the property.

�High noon has come,� Martinkovic said.

DEC police who responded to the scene cited the resort for a number of violations related to the oil spill, including: one count of failure to report a petroleum spill; one count of depositing a noisome or unwholesome substance on or near a public roadway; and five counts of failure to register a bulk storage tank. The latter of these charges - all of which are misdemeanors - could result in substantial fines, with the penalty ranging anywhere from $3,750 up to $37,500 per day for each of the five counts.

There is also the issue of the current residents - who are members of a Hasidic sect - operating a camp for children without a special-use permit from the town planning board. The lack of such a permit would mean that the camp is operating illegally and could be creating an enormous liability problem for both the owners and the town. There is also some question as to whether the current occupants have the proper insurance. It appears that the owners will have until Monday to correct the list of as many as ten violations; however, the Journal has thus far been unable to obtain this list as Mamakating offices are closed on Fridays.

And in another late wrinkle to this story, Luzon Environmental Services, a Woodridge company specializing in toxic spill mitigation hired by the owners to handle cleanup of the oil spill, has pulled its work crews off the site. The reason for this, according to Luzon's owner, Robert Halperin, is that the owners of the property still owe Luzon a $15,000 judgment for previous spill mitigation done at the property.

�We were misled last [Thursday] night. We were told that there were new owners, so we took a check for $1,500 and did $1,500 worth of work,� Halperin said.

Halperin went on to say that he would not do any more work until the owners paid the money owed for the previous work.

�We're not going back,� he said.

A spokesperson for the New York State Department of Health said that apparently none of the residents were exposed to the leaked oil. She went on to say, however, that the department has cited several violations of state sanitary code, including improper maintenance of the drinking water supply, improper maintenance of the fire-suppression system, and a lack of hot water for the occupants. There are also concerns about the state of at least one of the buildings on the site, which apparently may have a problem with black mold.

Bill Lucas, spokesman for the citizens' group that has been leading an aggressive campaign regarding the lack of code enforcement in the town, stated that he wasn't surprised by the latest developments, and that he hopes that this incident serves as a wakeup call for town officials.

�This has been a long time in coming,� Lucas said.

Four of the five members of the Mamakating Town Board were also present at the site this past Thursday - Supervisor Fiore, and councilmen Ted Brebbia, Nick Salamone and Dr. Bob Justus - thereby creating a quorum for what turned out to be an emergency town meeting. However, no immediate legislative decisions were made. Instead, the board agreed to let town code enforcement efforts continue on their current path.

Once considered an elegant and exclusive resort, the Homowack, like many resorts in the Catskills region, has fallen on hard times in recent years, changing hands a number of times. The property is currently listed in the tax registry as belonging to Ahavas Chaverim Gemilas Chesed, Inc., a Svker Hasidic sect based in New City, NY. The group purchased the resort several years ago with plans to establish a Hasidic community similar to Kiryas Joel in the Town of Monroe.