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Two Massachusetts Construction Companies Fined for Storm Water Violations

Release Date: 05/22/2008
Contact Information: Paula Ballentine, (617) 918-1027

(Boston, Mass. – May 22, 2008) – Two Massachusetts residential housing developers have agreed to pay fines totaling $35,109 to resolve storm water release violations that took place at construction projects in Millbury and Kingston.

The settlements stem from construction projects that either improperly discharged storm water or occurred without having the necessary storm water permit coverage for the construction site.

Storm water at the Platinum Building & Design, Inc. development on Cronin Brook Road in Millbury discharges though several swales leading off the site and in to storm drains. Two swales discharge to an unnamed tributary of the Blackstone River, while another swale and the storm drains discharge into waterways that eventually reach the Blackstone River. Platinum failed to have storm water permit coverage for the site since construction commenced in 2003. EPA and the company have agreed to a $22,609 penalty to settle this violation.

In June 2006 and November 2006 storm water from the High Pines Corporation site at Indian Pond Estates in Kingston over-flowed at one of the retention ponds and discharged silt into the wetlands. Storm water at the development is generally controlled on-site through the use of retention ponds with subsurface leaching. Because the site was designed to capture all potential storm water discharges, the developers never applied for a storm water permit for the project. The penalty for High Pines totals $12,500.

“EPA is serious about enforcing storm water regulations,” said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “Controlling storm water runoff from construction sites helps protect our vital wetlands and waterways.”

EPA regulations require a permit for construction sites that disturb more than one acre of land. The storm water permit seeks to protect waters from harmful pollutants that typically run off such sites and discharge into nearby waters. The permit requires that operators of a construction site develop a detailed management plan for minimizing the effects of storm water runoff.

Contractors, developers and others who are responsible for day-to-day operations at a construction site are required to certify that they will properly implement these plans, called storm water pollution prevention plans. The permit also requires personnel who are on the sites to perform regular inspections of storm water controls and to employ management techniques that will minimize the impact of their activities on nearby waters.

More information:

- EPA New England enforcement of the Clean Water Act https://www.epa.gov/region1/enforcement/water/

- EPA storm water issues in New England https://www.epa.gov/region1/topics/water/stormwater.html

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