Raytheon Company Penalized $45,750 for Wetlands Violations in Andover  

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BOSTON – The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) penalized Massachusetts-based Raytheon Company $45,750 for unauthorized destruction of approximately 5,000 square feet of bordering vegetated wetland during site work at the company’s 178-acre Osgood Street facility in Andover.

 Raytheon had originally requested that the Andover Conservation Commission grant an emergency certification that would allow the company to clear and remove from a designated wetland resource area the presence of an obstruction, a beaver dam. Raytheon contended at that time that the beaver dam posed a danger to public safety due to flooding impacts to Raytheon land that included a fire-suppression system that consisted of valves and electronic controls. The Commission granted the emergency certification to Raytheon on April 25, 2018.

 On May 31, 2018, MassDEP received a complaint that the work by the company was in violation of the Emergency Certification. That same day, the Conservation Commission issued an enforcement order finding the work done under the emergency certification was excessive and unauthorized.

 “The authorization of any work performed in a wetlands resource area is prescribed; it is not a blank check to do additional work,” said Eric Worrall, director of MassDEP’s Northeast Regional Office in Wilmington. “To its credit, the company quickly recognized that the work was not authorized and has agreed to restore the impacted area and pay an appropriate penalty.”

 Raytheon Company has agreed to cease activity within the impacted area, install erosion controls along the edge to prevent further damage and submit a restoration plan for approval. Once approved, a wetland scientist will be on-site while the work is conducted and completed no later than May 31, 2019. In addition, the restoration work must be monitored for five continuous growing year cycles concluding on August 31, 2023. Raytheon Company will pay $20,000 of the penalty, and MassDEP has agreed to suspend the balance of $25,750 provided all terms of the order are met.

 MassDEP is responsible for ensuring clean air and water, safe management and recycling of solid and hazardous wastes, timely cleanup of hazardous waste sites and spills and the preservation of wetlands and coastal resources.