Press Release: 2025-01-28
AG Campbell Announces Settlements Requiring First Deposits Into Environmental Justice Trust
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
1/27/2025
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Sydney Heiberger, Press Secretary
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Call Sydney Heiberger, Press Secretary at (617) 727-2543
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Email Sydney Heiberger, Press Secretary at Sydney.Heiberger@mass.gov
CAMBRIDGE — Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has announced that her office has reached consent judgments that require the first payments, totaling $155,000, into the newly established Environmental Justice Trust.
These consent judgments arose out of a lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court against JDC Demo & Abatement LLC (formerly known as “NewRoads Environmental Services, LLC”), JDC Demolition Company, Inc. (“JDC”), John Moriarty and Associates, Inc. (“Moriarty”), and TRC Companies, Inc. (“TRC”) alleging that the companies violated the Massachusetts Clean Air Act and asbestos regulations through the illegal removal and handling of asbestos-contaminated demolition debris during redevelopment of the former Edward J. Sullivan Courthouse in Cambridge.
The deposits into the Trust are the result of settlements with TRC and Moriarty to resolve the Commonwealth’s claims against the companies. The case will continue with the remaining two defendants.
“I’m extremely proud that funds from these two settlements will be used as our first deposits into the Commonwealth’s new Environmental Justice Trust, advancing environmental and climate justice in communities most impacted by climate change,” said AG Campbell. “When companies fall short of their obligations to protect their workers and the surrounding community, I’m grateful that we now have the ability to redirect those settlement funds back into the communities most harmed.”
Under the terms of the consent judgment with TRC, the company has agreed to pay a $110,000 penalty, $25,000 of which is suspended contingent on TRC avoiding future violations of the Clean Air Act. $42,500 of this penalty will be directed to the Environmental Justice Trust to support on-the-ground projects that address environmental harms in disadvantaged communities across the Commonwealth.
Under the terms of the consent judgment with Moriarty, which is currently pending in Court, Moriarty has agreed to pay a $225,000 penalty, $112,500 of which will be deposited into the Environmental Justice Trust.
The AGO administers the Environmental Justice Trust and provides funding for projects by qualified organizations to benefit environmental, economic, or other health needs of a disadvantaged community. The AGO has not yet determined who will receive the first batch of funding.
The AGO's lawsuit alleges that the four companies violated Massachusetts asbestos regulations at the former Edward Sullivan Courthouse when they improperly caused or allowed the removal and handling of asbestos-contaminated demolition debris, including fireproofing material and insulation, without properly securing the contaminated demolition debris for safe storage, transport, and disposal. According to the complaint, among other violations, the defendants left asbestos-containing fireproofing debris scattered across an exposed fifth-floor roof and allowed asbestos-containing insulation to remain exposed on the exterior of the building. This illegal work risked harm to the defendants’ employees and contractors, as well as the public and the environment in the dense residential and commercial neighborhood surrounding the former courthouse.
Asbestos is a mineral fiber that is used in a wide variety of building materials. If asbestos is improperly handled or maintained, fibers can be released into the air and inhaled, potentially resulting in life-threatening illnesses, including asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma.
AG Campbell has made asbestos safety a priority, as part of her office’s “Healthy Buildings, Healthy Air” Initiative, to better protect the health of children, families, and workers in Massachusetts from health risks posed by asbestos. Since September 2016, the AGO, with the assistance of MassDEP, has successfully brought asbestos enforcement cases that together have resulted in more than $7.7 million in civil penalties.
The TRC and Moriarty matters were handled by Deputy Division Chief Lou Dundin and Assistant Attorney General John S. Craig of the AGO’s Environmental Protection Division with assistance from Northeast Regional Counsel Colleen McConnell, Air and Waste Bureau Deputy Regional Director John MacAuley, Asbestos Program Chief Grady Dante, and Environmental Analyst and Asbestos Inspector Andrew Danikas, all of MassDEP.