Here's What 10,000 Gallons Of Dumped Cooking Oil Looks Like

DAVENPORT, FL — Polk County Sheriff's Agricultural detectives have discovered oil on a piece of property in Davenport. But no one is celebrating this discovery.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection Hazmat teams have begun the messy task of cleaning up an estimated 10,000 gallons of used cooking oil that was illegally dumped on a swampy piece of property off Sand Mine Road and U.S. 27 in Davenport.

Peter Rodriguez, 50, has been arrested on two counts of commercial dumping after Polk detectives tracked his pump truck to a Dollar General store. Cooking oil was leaking from the drain spout of the truck.

Rodriguez said he dumped the used cooking oil from restaurants on behalf of his employer, Brownies Septic and Plumbing. Brownies Septic. The company, however, said it doesn't know why Rodriguez would dump the oil. The Orlando company sells the used cooking oil to be refined and resold.

The agricultural detectives responded to a call about illegal dumping on a vacant piece of property owned by Walgreens and Duke Energy earlier this week. When they arrived, they discovered a massive sludge pool.

“Our investigators worked quickly to find out where the oil from the ‘Super Spill’ came from,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. “Hazmat tested it and determined it’s not hazardous to the public.”

Images via Polk Sheriff

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