BOSTON -The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) penalized an out-of-state corporate owner of a redevelopment project due to violations of the cleanup regulations during work on conjoining lots in Cambridge. The work was conducted on a parcel of land that borders Binney, Rogers and Sixth streets during 2012 and 2013.
ARE-MA Region No. 34 LLC, a California-based company that has a local office in Cambridge, was penalized $23,010 for failing to notify MassDEP that additional contaminants were found during utility-related work and cleanup of the site, and two other violations of state regulations.
“MassDEP strongly supports and encourages the redevelopment of sites like this – commonly known as ‘Brownfields’ – but there are still requirements that must be met when doing these redevelopments to ensure that they are conducted safely and in compliance with state law,” said Eric Worrall, director of MassDEP’s Northeast Regional Office in Wilmington.
This section of Cambridge has a long commercial and industrial history that preceded environmental regulations and as a result, the presence of oil and hazardous materials in the environment from historic spills may be encountered during redevelopment. MassDEP’s waste site cleanup program today has strict requirements to ensure that the agency is notified when such historical contamination is discovered. MassDEP’s site clean-up requirements help ensure that public health and the environment are protected, while allowing the redevelopment to proceed.
ARE-MA Region No. 34 LLC has built a life science building on the site and will pay the entire $23,010 penalty for the violations committed during the construction work.
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.