Dec. 23, 2008   
Vol. 38, No. 565

For more information, contact Cpl. Casey Fountain, DNREC Environmental Crimes Unit, 302-739-9401, or Joanna Wilson, Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Middletown Man Charged with Discharging Antifreeze into Storm Drain 

About 10 a.m. this morning, Dec. 23, DNREC Environmental Enforcement Officers responded to a call from the Middletown Police Department about a parked vehicle with antifreeze running out into a storm drain in the parking lot of Duke Field on Cleaver Farms Road in Middletown. 

DNREC officers interviewed the vehicle’s owner, who was standing next to the 2000 Chevrolet Camaro, and found that  he was flushing its radiator by dumping antifreeze into the storm drain, which runs into a storm water pond, said Cpl. Casey Fountain of the DNREC Environmental Crimes Unit.

Officers arrested Frank W. Prentice, age 37, of 925 Mulberry Court, Middletown, and charged him with discharging a water pollutant without a permit. The violation carries a fine of $100 to $500 for the first offense and $500 to $2500 for the second offense.

“We’d like to remind citizens that our storm drains connect with larger bodies of water, and dumping hazardous chemicals and pollutants into these drains harms water quality. A good rule to remember is ‘only rain down the storm drain,’” Cpl. Fountain said.