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Worcester property owner to pay for water pollution claims

  • Posted by Worcester News Jun 14 - Filed in News - #Worcester  #Mass. Attorney General  #Clean Water Act  #Granite Street  - 5,615 views


    195 Granite Street is one of the parcels owned by K & M Sales (City of Worcester photo)

    WORCESTER — A Worcester property owner will pay $150,000 to settle allegations that industrial stormwater was illegally discharged into wetlands near Broad Meadow Brook, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell’s office said.

    The settlement with K&M Sales & Leasing resolves allegations that the company violated the federal Clean Water Act by allowing industrial stormwater from 2 Granite Street properties to enter wetlands adjacent to Broad Meadow Brook without a required federal stormwater permit.

    According to the attorney general’s office, K&M owns and leases the properties to businesses that conduct automobile salvage and scrap metal recycling. Broad Meadow Brook is a tributary of the Blackstone River.

    The consent decree, entered by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, requires K&M to make 2 $60,000 payments, 1 to Mass. Audubon and 1 to Worcester Common Inc., for projects that directly benefit water quality in the Blackstone River Watershed. The company also must pay attorney fees.

    The decree also requires K&M and its lessees to obtain and comply with a stormwater permit and take steps to minimize pollution.

    The attorney general’s office said it learned of the case through an anonymous letter from a constituent concerned about stormwater pollution affecting Broad Meadow Brook Conservation Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, which the office described as the largest urban wildlife sanctuary in New England.

    The settlement announced Friday is part of a civil enforcement initiative by the office’s Environmental Protection Division focused on enforcing federal environmental laws in Massachusetts. Since 2018, the office said the initiative has produced more than 22 settlements and recovered more than $2.8 million for local environmental improvement projects.

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