Unscrupulous septic haulers dumped hundreds of millions of gallons of sludge illegally

Evidence

Investigators reported that unregulated disposal of sludge and scum was a serious source of water pollution. A few officials had pointed to the problem in the early 1960s. On Long Island, one reported, septic-tank “scavengers” simply deposited their haul at landfills and waste dumps. Though no one had evaluated the consequences, the official concluded, the groundwater in the vicinity of the disposal sites undoubtedly was “grossly contaminated.” But the studies of the 1970s went beyond anecdote to demonstrate the magnitude of the problem. The quantity of sludge and scum was enormous, and the collectors held to few standards. In New England alone, over 400 million gallons of waste were pumped out of septic tanks every year, and much of that waste was simply poured by unscrupulous haulers into abandoned sand and gravel pits, buried in landfills, or dumped along roadways and streams. — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside, 430