MassDEP Assesses $136,500 Penalty to Southbridge Landfill Operator for Nuisance Odor, Solid Waste and Stormwater Discharge Violations

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has issued a Demand to Southbridge Recycling & Disposal Park, Inc. (SRDP) for the payment of $136,500 for violating the provisions of a previous consent order that was executed on October 24, 2018 for violations of various solid waste and air pollution control regulations at the Southbridge Landfill.

During the period from December 7, 2018 through April 23, 2019, MassDEP received inspection reports from Bertin Engineering and Civil and Environmental Consultants, Inc., independent third-party consultants that SRDP was required to hire by previous consent orders, which documented violations of various MassDEP Solid Waste Management regulations. Additionally, MassDEP inspected the Southbridge Landfill on December 21, 2018, January 4, 16 and 25, 2019, February 26, 2019, March 13, 2019, and April 3 and 22, 2019 and observed similar violations of the Solid Waste Management regulations.

The violations observed consisted of off-site odors, incomplete cover on the solid waste, failure to prevent potentially contaminated stormwater from discharging to nearby groundwater, and failure to maintain adequate erosion controls, which constituted failure to comply with the previous consent order.

In 2018, SRDP agreed that if it violated any provision of the previous consent order, the company would pay stipulated penalties to the Commonwealth in the amount of $1,500 per day for each day each such violation continues. In accordance with this agreement, MassDEP issued a letter that demands the $136,500 in stipulated penalties from SRDP. The company has since appealed the penalty demand to the MassDEP Office of Appeals and Dispute Resolution.

“Operation of the landfill has caused odors in the surrounding neighborhoods that are in violation of the company’s operating permits,” said Mary Jude Pigsley, director of MassDEP’s Central Regional Office in Worcester. “The third party consultants will help alert SRDP and MassDEP when those protocols are not followed.”

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