Press Release  AG's Office Announces Settlement With Worcester Property Owner Over Clean Water Act Violations

WORCESTER — The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (AGO) today announced a $150,000 settlement with K&M Sales & Leasing, LLC (K&M) in Worcester to resolve allegations that the company violated the Federal Clean Water Act by illegally discharging industrial stormwater into wetlands immediately adjacent to Broad Meadow Brook without obtaining a federal stormwater permit.

The consent decree, entered by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, requires K&M to make two payments of $60,000 each to Mass Audubon and Worcester Common, Inc. for projects that directly benefit water quality in the Blackstone River Watershed, as well as pay for the AGO’s attorney fees. It also requires K&M and its lessees to obtain and comply with a stormwater permit and minimize pollution. 

According to the AGO, K&M owns and leases two industrial properties on Granite Street in Worcester to businesses that conduct automobile salvage and scrap metal recycling. The consent decree resolves allegations that K&M allowed industrial stormwater to discharge from its properties into the wetlands adjacent to Broad Meadow Brook, a tributary of the Blackstone River. Neither K&M nor any of its lessees applied for or received a stormwater permit to discharge industrial stormwater, as required by the federal Clean Water Act. 

Stormwater pollution is regulated under a variety of Federal Clean Water Act permits and is recognized as the largest threat to water quality in the Commonwealth. Under the Act, certain industrial facilities in Massachusetts must obtain specific authorization for stormwater discharges, properly monitor and control stormwater discharges, and comply with state water protection laws.   

The AGO learned about this case through an anonymous letter from a constituent who was concerned about stormwater pollution impacting the Broad Meadow Brook Conservation Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, the largest urban wildlife sanctuary in New England. 

Today’s announcement is part of a civil enforcement initiative out of the AGO’s Environmental Protection Division focusing on combatting pollution by enforcing the requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act, the Federal Clean Air Act, and other federal environmental laws in Massachusetts. Since launching this initiative in 2018, the Division has reached more than 22 settlements and recovered more than $2.8 million for local environmental improvement projects. The Division has also prioritized directing settlement funds from appropriate enforcement actions to support communities that have been impacted by violations and historically overburdened by environmental harm. 

This case was handled by Assistant Attorney General Emily Field of the AGO’s Environmental Protection Division, in coordination with the City of Worcester.

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