Press Release  Amesbury Company to Pay Up To $50,000 Over Claims of Illegal Dumping of Construction Waste at Methuen Site

Boston — An Amesbury-based waste hauling firm will pay as much as $50,000 to settle allegations that it illegally dumped multiple loads of construction and demolition waste at an unpermitted site in Methuen, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.

According to the complaint filed today in Suffolk Superior Court, Stockbridge Corp. allegedly violated the state’s solid waste management laws by dumping 34 loads of concrete and other construction and demolition waste debris between October 2007 and June 2008 at an unlawful dump site in Methuen.

“We allege this company violated state law by improperly disposing of construction waste at this unauthorized disposal site,” AG Healey said. “Our office will vigorously enforce the laws that protect public health, safety and the environment in Massachusetts. This settlement will help pay for the evaluation and much-needed cleanup of this site.”

“The illegal dumping of solid waste undermines the laws that have been put in place to protect the Commonwealth and its residents,” said Commissioner Martin Suuberg of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). “The disposal of solid waste materials must be done properly and at facilities that are approved or permitted to accept those materials. MassDEP will pursue companies and individuals that illegally dump solid waste.”

According to the complaint, Thomas Battye, the owner of the Methuen site on Old Ferry Road, never applied for or received the site assignment from the Methuen Board of Health needed to operate a solid waste facility there, and did not receive the necessary solid waste management facility permit from MassDEP.

According to the complaint, inspections by MassDEP in the summer and fall of 2008 revealed vast amounts of solid waste material had been dumped at the site. The inspections revealed the unlawful fill pile contained large amounts of construction and demolition debris, including concrete and asphalt. 

Under the terms of the consent judgment, Stockbridge Corp. will pay the state $36,000 over three years, including a $32,400 payment into a special fund established by the Commonwealth to help with the cost of site evaluation and subsequent cleanup work at the Battye site, along with a $3,600 civil penalty.  However, if Stockbridge Corp. fails to make the payments when due, the company may be responsible for up to $45,000 in evaluation and cleanup costs, and a $5,000 civil penalty.  The consent judgment also prohibits Stockbridge Corp. from unlawfully handling, storing or disposing of construction and demolition waste or other solid waste.

Battye was the subject of a separate action brought by the Commonwealth related to solid waste violations at the Methuen site. The AG’s Office is also pursuing claims against additional waste haulers and demolition contractors who dumped or contracted for solid waste disposal at the Battye site.  In December 2013, Dynamic Waste Systems, Inc., agreed to pay more than $93,000 to settle claims that it illegally dumped multiple loads of construction and demolition waste at the site, and earlier this year W. L. French Excavating Corp. paid $62,500 to the state to settle similar claims.  

Assistant Attorney General Andrew Goldberg of AG Healey’s Environmental Protection Division handled the case, with assistance from MassDEP Environmental Analysts Mark Fairbrother, John MacAuley, Karen Golden-Smith, and Elizabeth Sabounjian, and MassDEP attorney Colleen McConnell, all from MassDEP’s Northeast Regional Office in Wilmington.

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