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Hanson, Mass. Developer Will Pay Fine for Clean Water Violations

Release Date: 01/08/2009
Contact Information: Paula Ballentine, (617) 918-1027

Boston, Mass. – (Jan. 8, 2009) - A residential developer and a construction company in Hanson, Mass. will pay a penalty of $22,500 for storm water discharges from a construction site.

Dunham Farm Condominium is an eleven-acre residential development owned by Dunham Farm, LLC and run by contractor Callahan, Inc. On March 27, 2007, an EPA inspector discovered that these parties violated the NPDES General Permit for Storm Water Discharges from Construction Activities, issued to the companies under the Clean Water Act.

In its Complaint filed against the companies in April 2008, EPA alleged that Dunham Farm, LLC and Callahan, Inc. failed to document routine facility inspections at the development site and failed to properly implement and maintain “best management” practices, which include erosion and sediment controls, such as drainage basins, silt barriers and berms, at the site.

Consequently, during storm events that occurred in the summer of 2006, storm water laden with sediment flowed from the development site into a bordering vegetated wetland. A stream forms in this wetland that ultimately reaches the Taunton River and flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

The developer and builder have since taken steps to remove the silt that traveled to the bordering wetland and are now in full compliance with the Clean Water Act.

More Information: Storm water issues in New England (https://www.epa.gov/region1/topics/water/stormwater.html )