Press Release  AG's Office Reaches Settlement with New Bedford Wood Products Manufacturing Facility for Illegally Discharging Stormwater

BOSTON — A New Bedford-based company that owns a wood products manufacturing facility has agreed to pay a total of $95,000 to settle allegations that it illegally discharged industrial stormwater into the creeks and wetlands that flow to the Paskamanset River, a tributary of the Slocum River, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced today. If approved, a majority of the settlement would provide funding to community groups to understand public health concerns related to the New Bedford Harbor and to improve local water quality, stormwater management and wetland restoration. 

Today’s announcement is part of a civil enforcement initiative out of AG Campbell’s Environmental Protection Division that focuses on combatting pollution by enforcing the requirements of the federal Clean Water Act and the federal Clean Air Act in Massachusetts, along with applicable state environmental laws. Under this initiative, the AG’s Office has reached 18 settlements with companies and has recovered more than $1.2 million for local environmental improvement projects. The office has also prioritized directing settlement funds from appropriate enforcement actions to support communities that have been historically overburdened by environmental harm.

“This company’s illegal stormwater discharge put water quality for New Bedford residents at risk,” AG Campbell said. “My office is committed to creating a cleaner environment for all, and with this settlement, we will be able to provide local community groups with the necessary resources to address health threats posed by water quality and better manage local stormwater.”

Pending approval by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the consent decree would settle allegations that BFS Group, which does business as Reliable Truss, violated the federal Clean Water Act when it illegally discharged industrial stormwater into adjacent creeks and wetlands without obtaining and complying with a required federal industrial stormwater discharge permit. The neighborhood surrounding the facility has been identified by the state and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as an environmental justice community disproportionately subjected to environmental harms and risks.

Reliable Truss manufactures prefabricated wood products such as trusses and gazebos at the facility. Stormwater discharges from wood products manufacturing facilities are likely to contain numerous pollutants, including sediment and wood debris, that can damage aquatic ecosystems and contaminate fisheries.

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 state. Certain industrial facilities in Massachusetts, like the one used by Reliable Truss, must obtain specific authorization for stormwater discharges, properly monitor and control stormwater discharges, and comply with state water protection laws. The AG’s Office alleges that the company failed to take these required actions at its New Bedford facility.

Under the terms of the consent decree, if approved, Reliable Truss is required to pay $40,000 to Youth Opportunities Unlimited, a non-profit that provides local youth the opportunity to explore their communities and natural environment on bike, for projects to enhance stormwater management at the organization’s New Bedford property. They will pay an additional $30,000 to People Acting in Community Endeavors - as the fiscal sponsor for Hands Across the River, an environmental justice organization dedicated to monitoring the clean-up of the New Bedford Harbor’s Superfund Site - for technical assistance to understand data gaps and public health concerns related to water quality. The settlement also requires the company to pay the state $25,000 to offset the costs of the AG’s enforcement efforts and for future monitoring of the company’s compliance with the consent decree.

In her inaugural address earlier this year, AG Campbell pledged to create safer and healthier communities across Massachusetts by fighting to protect the environment and ensuring marginalized communities who have been disproportionately and directly impacted by environmental injustices have a role in remedying the injustices.

This case was handled by Assistant Attorney General Emily Mitchell Field, of the AG Office’s Environmental Protection Division.

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