by Maria Pinaud, 617/292-5909, Maria.Pinaud@state.ma.us

This column focuses on noteworthy enforcement actions taken by MassDEP's Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup from January through March 2007.  The statements of fact below are MassDEP allegations and have not necessarily been admitted to by the parties subject to enforcement.  Additional information about enforcement actions is available on MassDEP's web page: www.mass.gov/dep/public/press/curren03.htm

Failure to Notify

MassDEP entered into an agreement with a transporter of hazardous materials for a $11,000 penalty for failing to report the release to the environment of six gallons of 50% hydrogen peroxide solution during a delivery.  Hydrogen peroxide is used at the site as part of a soil and groundwater cleanup that has been ongoing for several years. While the company took immediate and appropriate action to address the spill and minimize hazards, timely notification was not provided. MassDEP became aware of the release after reviewing a remedial monitoring report submitted in late August 2006. In addition to paying the penalty, the company has agreed to perform required response actions.  ACOP-WE-06-3016

Illegal Discharge

MassDEP issued a $20,477.20 unilateral penalty to a contractor for failure to report and immediately address a spill of #2 fuel oil at a commercial property.  In June 2006, after a significant rainstorm, MassDEP was notified by the local fire department that a spill of fuel oil was discovered discharging from a brook into a canal that eventually discharges to the Connecticut River.  After an investigation by inspectors from the town and MassDEP, the spill was determined to have originated from the property.  Oil was discovered in a storm drain located behind the property, and oil-contaminated soil was present around the drain.  MassDEP personnel interviewed the owner of the commercial property and discovered that earlier in the week the owner had retained a contractor to remove an unused aboveground oil storage tank from the basement at the property.   Based upon the investigation, MassDEP believes that the fuel oil was spilled into the storm drain at the time of the tank removal.  The property owner arranged for complete cleanup and closure of the spill.  In a meeting and several follow-up telephone conversations with MassDEP, the contractor denied that a spill occurred during the tank removal, and was unwilling to meet a second time with MassDEP to resolve the matter.  PAN-WE-07-3001

MassDEP entered into an agreement with a trucking company for a $10,000 penalty for the illegal dumping of hazardous waste into a storm drain.  The company admitted that one of its employees dumped an undetermined amount of kerosene and "tack coat", an asphalt emulsion that the company was using to repair a driveway surface. MassDEP's Emergency Response Division and the MassDEP Environmental Strike Force responded in November 2006 to a reported oil sheen on a nearby river.  The sheen was subsequently traced to the source by following a trail of spillage that led from the storm drain to the work site.  In addition to paying the penalty, the company agreed to hire an LSP to contain and fully remediate the spill, and to train and supervise its employees in order to prevent a recurrence.  A portion of the penalty was suspended pending compliance with the agreement.   ACOP-BO-07-D003-A

Release Prevention

MassDEP entered into an agreement with an oil-delivery company for a $15,000 penalty in connection with a home-oil leak. The leakage was not detected until it began seeping out of the ground and through the basement floor of a residence where a spike in oil deliveries should have indicated an evident problem.  The customer had, for five years, been enrolled in an automatic fuel-oil delivery program.  Under the agreement, the company will review its records to locate any unexplained spike in oil usage among its customers beyond 20 percent of normal consumption, taking into consideration conditions such as colder weather, increased heating needs due to home additions, etc.  In addition, as part of the agreement, the company will implement a MassDEP-authorized Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP). Under this SEP, at least 100 customers will have their current copper oil feed lines connecting their oil tanks to their boilers replaced at no charge with double-walled feed lines or oil shut-off safety valves.  The costs of installing double-walled feed lines typically run from $125 - $150.  The cost of installing a shut-off safety valve is approximately $50.  Both these devices help to prevent oil leaks from damaging basements and contaminating the environment.   These efforts will be geared towards homes in Environmental Justice (EJ) communities (areas that include many densely populated urban neighborhoods in and around the state's oldest industrial sites). These neighborhoods encompass only a small portion of the land area of the Commonwealth (less than 5 percent), but they are home to a large percentage of the state's population (nearly 29 percent).  ACOP-NE-06-3A037

Enforcement from Audits

MassDEP entered into an agreement with the owner of a commercial property for a $10,000 penalty involving Waste Site Cleanup violations.  The violations were discovered in a MassDEP audit conducted in 2005.  A Notice of Noncompliance was previously issued.  The violations include failing to notify MassDEP within 72 hours upon detecting petroleum contamination in its water supply well serving the facility, failing to notify MassDEP of the need for an immediate response action to clean up the contamination found, and failing to meet the performance standards for submitting a Remedial Action Outcome (RAO).  The class C RAO submittal was deficient in several required elements. Specifically, it failed to consider the on-site drinking water supply well as an exposure point, it did not adequately delineate contaminants of concern in the bedrock aquifer, and it did not provide a plan of definitive and enterprising steps for achieving a permanent solution at the site.  Also, the solution implemented was not the solution selected in an earlier Remedial Action Plan previously prepared for the site.  In addition to paying the penalty, the company has agreed to comply with applicable requirements in the future.  ACOP-CE-07-3A011

MassDEP entered into an agreement with a manufacturing company for a $3,500 penalty to resolve violations discovered at the conclusion of a MassDEP audit.  An audit of the class C RAO conducted by MassDEP in February 2006, found that the recovery system was implemented without conducting the required evaluation of different cleanup technologies to demonstrate that the selected system would be the most effective (Phase III and Phase IV were not completed in support of the RAO).  The violations include failure to properly select and operate an oil recovery system for an ongoing cleanup at the manufacturing facility.  MassDEP issued a Notice of Noncompliance to the company in 2004 for failing to submit a plan to select a cleanup technology for a release of #6 fuel oil at the site. In response, an oil recovery system was installed as a temporary solution. In addition, MassDEP discovered that the person responsible for maintaining the remedial system was not certified for the required health and safety training, that a site-specific Health and Safety Plan had not been developed, and that emergency contact information was not posted as required.  In addition to paying the penalty, the company has hired properly trained personnel to operate the current recovery system, and has agreed to perform an evaluation of remedial alternatives.  ACOP-CE-06-3A025

Deadline Enforcement

MassDEP entered into an agreement with a municipality for the reimbursement of past costs associated with response actions conducted by the Department at a commercial property now owned by the town.  Beginning in July 1985, the Department conducted preliminary response actions at the site including: pumping, cleaning and excavation of numerous underground storage tanks; excavation, transport and disposal of contaminated soil; transport and disposal of additional hazardous materials such as automobile batteries, drums, hydraulic fluids, paints, oils and capacitors; various site assessment field activities (including monitoring well installation and sampling, soil screening and sampling, surface water sampling and private well sampling); and report preparation to document response actions.  In February 1987, the Department placed a lien on the property to recover past response action costs. The town acquired the property in November 2003 by means of tax foreclosure, and the town is currently conducting response actions with intentions of divesting the property, possibly for Chapter 40B housing.  The agreement establishes deadlines for the performance of required comprehensive response actions and a Response Action Outcome or Remedy Operation Status. In addition, the agreement requires the town (within 30 days of closing with a new property owner) to reimburse MassDEP the amount of $149,556.47 for past costs incurred by the Department.  ACO-SE-06-3P004

MassDEP entered into an agreement with a private school for a $33,000 penalty for failing to perform timely cleanup of oil-contaminated soil and groundwater at the school's location.  Leaking underground oil tanks were first uncovered and reported to MassDEP during removal activities in July 2000. Approximately 91 tons of contaminated soil were removed and recycled under an Immediate Response Action plan that MassDEP approved in 2000. Thereafter, the school failed to make required submittals prompting MassDEP to issue a Notice of Noncompliance to the school in July 2005.  In addition to paying the penalty, the school has agreed to perform required response actions under compliance deadlines.  MassDEP has agreed to suspend a portion of the penalty pending compliance with the agreement.   ACOP-NE-06-3A029

MassDEP entered into an agreement with a limited liability corporation for a $35,000 penalty for waste site cleanup violations.  The corporation is the current owner of a brownfields site where the violations found included failure to comply with a previous Consent Order requiring the submittal of a Phase IV Report or Response Action Outcome.  In addition to assessing the penalty, the agreement extends the compliance deadlines for submittal of a Phase IV to December 2007 and an RAO to December 2008.  MassDEP' s enforcement actions and subsequent involvement prevented the construction of commercial buildings over soil and groundwater contaminated with vinyl chloride, metals and petroleum.  MassDEP agreed to suspend a portion of the penalty pending compliance with the agreement.  ACOP-NE-06-3A026

MassDEP entered into an agreement with the owner of a commercial property for a $30,000 penalty for failure to perform timely response actions. The site is undergoing review for redevelopment including residential use in a neighborhood of other residential properties. Previous construction and demolition activities at this location resulted in elevated levels of asbestos in the soil as first reported to MassDEP in July 2002. However, a failure make required status reports prompted MassDEP to issue a Notice of Noncompliance for missed deadline.  The agreement requires completion of response under a compliance schedule. If all terms of the agreement are met, MassDEP has agreed to suspend a portion of the penalty.  ACOP-NE-06-3A042