INVESTIGATION: MA’s Top Environmental Penalties

Monday, March 05, 2012

Jaclyn Cashman GoLocalWorcester News Editor

A GoLocalWorcester investigation uncovered that a Central Massachusetts Company owes the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) more than $170,000, making the list of “Top 10” outstanding environmental enforcement cases.

Earthworks Site Development and Utilities of North Grafton, owes the MassDEP about $170,000 for a 2007 demolition job in Worcester where asbestos was released.

GoLocalWorcester contacted the owner, Chris Etre for comment and he said he thought he only owed about $50,000. According to DEP’S Edmund Coletta, the original penalty was $55,937.50. Coletta told GoLocalWorcester, that since the case has gone into default state law allows the MassDEP to fine a company three times the penalty, which is $167,812.50, plus interest of $4,009.02.

Etre said, “The fines were ridiculous for what happened. Everything that happened on the site is in question and the issue needs to be resolved. We have tried to resolve it with the MassDEP, but they are an authority that moves on their terms. All asbestos has been cleaned up.”

Christina Andreoli, City Manager Michael O’Brien's Communications Director, told GoLocalWorcester, “DEP has the authority to enforce, to fine, to revoke the license, etc., if not in compliance (specific to environmental hazards). We do not have that authority. When they applied for the permit, they provided appropriate paperwork for hazardous materials prior to the issuance of any permit. They applied for a demolition permit with all the required sign-offs, including an Asbestos Notification Form ANF-001. The permit was issued on 11/2/07. “

The total amount of enforcement case penalties assessed in FY2011 is $3,918,599. The total amount of fines paid to the DEP in FY2011 is $2,678,562. Coletta said you can’t compare fines issued to money collected. Coletta said “Remember, that penalties assessed in one year do not directly correlate to penalties collected in that same year, as in many cases, the violators are on a payment schedule that could stretch past the current year of the violation. Also, we continue to try to collect funds on cases that stretch back for more than a year– it’s really an apples to oranges comparison."

Coletta said the MassDEP collects fines from businesses and corporations, individuals, institutions (such as schools, colleges, hospitals, etc.), local municipalities, and state agencies. Coletta said, when it comes to collecting monetary fines, many enforcement cases have penalty payment schedules that spread out over many months or go over from one calendar year to the next in scheduled payments.

Coletta said, the MassDEP recently formed a group within the agency to begin litigation where DEP lawyers go to court for collection of these old debts, but this process is new and has not been finalized to date.

“Top 10”MassDEP List for Enforcement Case Penalties Currently in the Debt Collection Process:

#1) Norris Demolition, 10 Smith Street, South Hadley, MA 01075. Williams Norris, President.
Amount Owed: $269,173.42
Details: Case dates back to October 2002; concerns the illegal removal of asbestos materials from 4-6 Braddock Street in Springfield.

#2) E-Y Construction and Development, Inc., 20 Holm Court, Malden, MA 02148. Edmund Yu, President.
Owed: $218,469.96
Details: Case dates to May 2006; asbestos removal and handling violations at 58 Beach Street and 22 Price Street, both in Quincy.

#3) 27-29 Mt. Vernon Street, LLC, 51 Thorny Meadow Way, Hanover. James E. Paskell, Resident Agent.
Owed: $191,672.17
Details: Case dates to April 2006; concerns asbestos violations at building located at 27-29 Mt. Vernon Street in Boston.

#4) Brazilian Community Christian Church, Inc., 74 Pearl Street, Framingham, MA 01702. Elias Monteiro, President.
Owed: $181,266.16
Details: Case dates back to August 2005; concerns asbestos violations at a building located at 125 Irving Street in Framingham.

#5) Earthworks Site Development and Utilities, Inc., 2 Village Lane, North Grafton, MA 01536.
Owed: $171,821.52
Details: Case dates to November 2007; concerns the release of asbestos-containing materials during a building demolition at 747 Main Street in Worcester.

#6) GFI Shirley LLC, 133 Pearl Street, Suite 400, Boston, MA 02110. Stephen E. Goodman, President.
Owed: $ 170,610.27
Details: Case dates to March 2007; concerns erosion and sedimentation problems at the Apple Orchard Estates subdivision in Shirley.

#7) OHC Walnut Place LLC, 8 Walnut Street, Peabody. Albert Ellis, Owner/Operator.
Owed: $145,577.71
Details: Case dates back to December 2006; concerns failure to do site assessment and cleanup of hazardous materials on the site and to submit required reports.

#8) James Kelly, 647 Revere Beach Blvd., Revere, MA 02151.
Owed: $125,808.80
Details: Case dates back to June 2006; involves asbestos handling and release violations from project performed at 62 Boylston Street in Boston.

#9) M. Sugarman & Co., Inc., 299 Centre Street, Quincy. David I. Sugarman, President.
Owed: $83,768.28
Details: Case dates back to April 2000; involves demolition and solid waste handling and disposal violations at 299 Centre Street in Quincy.

#10) Road Scholar Transport, Inc., 130 Monahan Ave., Dunmore, PA 18512.
Owed: $43,526.68
Details: Case dates to March 2005. The company was the operator of the property at 864 Hartford Turnpike in Shrewsbury when there was a release of 55 gallons of methyl naphthalene #5 from a truck bay to the ground and the environment.