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Stanley Sikorski, of Norwalk in Fairfield County, was charged with discharging sewage in a no-discharge zone, misuse of a marine sanitation device, and littering in the water, police said on Tuesday, Oct. 15.
Norwalk Police were called to a reported diesel spill just before 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 11, at Manresa Island. Officers could see a sheen on the water and smell fuel in the air.
They spotted another spill near the South Norwalk Boat Club, where they found Sikorski cleaning his boat.
He told officers he had filled his boat with 152 gallons of fuel but had accidentally begun pumping diesel into his sanitation tank before he realized his mistake, police said.
After filling up the correct tank, Sikorski left the fuel dock and "intentionally pumped the fuel out of the Marine Sanitation Device tank which included waste mixed with the diesel fuel" into the harbor, Norwalk Police said.
The department added that these spills create hazardous conditions for sea life and humans using the waterways.
The Norwalk Police would like to remind boaters of the environmental ramifications when incidents like this occur. Please be mindful of sea life and the harm of human exposure to these pollutants. 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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