HomeMy WebLinkAboutMiscellaneous - 56 Glenncrest Road i
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Daniel S. Greenbaum � I&W0/&0/ �
Commissioner
June 21, 1991
Mr. James Plant
RE: NORTH ANDOVER - ERB-N91-0701
P.O. Box 177 56 Glen Crest Road
Frisco, CO 80443 NOTICE OF RESPONSIBILITY
REQUEST FOR TECHNICAL --
INFORMATION PURSUANT TO
M.G.L. CHAPTER 21E and
310 CMR 40.000
Dear Sir:
On May 23, 1991, Department personnel investigated reports concerning
the release of an undetermined amount of #2 home heating oil discovered upon
the removal of a 330 gallon underground storage tank located at the above
address. Approximately eight cubic yards of contaminated soil was stockpiled
at the site as a result of said removal.
Such incident is governed by The Massachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP) ,
310 CMR 40.000 and Chapter 21E of the General Laws of Massachusetts
(hereinafter "M.G.L. Chapter 21E") , the Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous
Material Release Prevention and Response Act, which was enacted on March 24,
1983.
Chapter 21E and the MCP identify as responsible parties the current
owner or operator of a site at which there has been a release or threat of
release of oil or a hazardous material; the past owner or operator of a site
where a release of hazardous material has occurred; any per"son who directly or
indirectly arranged for the transport, disposal, storage or treatment of
hazardous materials to or at such a site; and any person who caused or is
legally responsible for a release or a threat of release of oil or a hazardous
material at such a site. Such parties are liable without regard to fault; the
nature of this liability is joint an!..' several. (M.G.L. C.21E, Section 5a) .
This letter is to inform you in writing that:
(1) The Department has determined that a release of #2 home heating -
oil has occurred at the subject site.
(2) Information available to the Department indicates that Mr. James
Plant (hereafter referred to as "you/your") caused or are legally
responsible for the release and are a liable and "responsible"
party pursuant to Section 5(a) of Chapter 21E. Department
personnel notified you verbally of your responsibility on May 23,
1991 and you accepted such responsibility at that time.
Original Printed on Recycled Paper
i
( F
Mr. James Plant
Page 2
I
(3) Additional information is needed to better evaluate the need for
further emergency response action at this site. Please, refer to
page 3 for the requested information.
(4) Should you fail to implement those actions deemed necessary by
this Office, the Department may, pursuant to M.G.L. Chapter 21E,
take or arrange for any and all necessary actions at the site. If
public funds are expended under such conditions, Chapter 21E,
Section 11 stipulates that the Attorney General of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts may initiate legal action against
the responsible party(s) to recover all costs incurred by the
Department in the assessment, containment, and removal of any
release or threat of release of oil or hazardous materials.
(5) The liability of responsible parties in (4) above includes:
a. Administrative costs incurred by the Department in handling this
matter;
b. Interest charges on the total liability at the statutory rate of 12%
compounded annually;
c. Treble costing (i.e. , three (3) times the total amount of response
costs the Department incurs) ; and
d. All damages for the injury, destruction or loss of natural resources
due to the release.
This liability constitutes a debt to the Commonwealth. The debt,
together with interest
creates a lien on all your property in the
Commonwealth. Lien placement will increase your administrative cost
liability. This liability will further increase if the Department is required
to go to court to recover its costs. Administrative and legal costs for
simple spill cases which reach this stage total at
g least $3,300.00. In
addition to the foreclosure remedy provided by the lien, the Attorney General
of the Commonwealth may recover that debt or any part of it in an action
against you. You may also be liable under M.G.L. C.21E Section 11 for up to
$100,000 in fines or penalties for each violation of C.21E as well as for
additional penalties or damages pursuant to other statutes or common law.
On May 23, 1991, at approximately 1:45 P.m. , Department personnel
verbally notified you pursuant to Section 40.160 of the MCP of your
responsibility for such release/threat of release. You accepted such
responsibility at that time.
Mr. James Plant
Page 3
Your acceptance of responsibility for such release means that: (1) You
have entered into a contract with a cleanup contractor, approved by the
Department named, NEET of Groveland, Massachusetts to (a) perform the spill
site assessment and cleanup as deemed necessary by the Department; (b)
perform necessary analyses of the waste material and make arrangements for its
'. appropriate treatment/disposal; (c) perform analysis of the soil impacted by
the release to determine contaminant conditions at the site after the initial
response to the incident; and (d) submit a report of their findings for review
by the Department. And (2) you will pay for all response costs incurred by the
Department due to such release.
Pursuant to the Department's authority to perform information-gathering
activities and its authority to investigate, sample and inspect records,
conditions, equipment, practices or property under M.G.L. C.21E Sections 2, . 4
and 8, you are directed to provide to the_Department, within seven (7) days of
the date of this letter, an incident report to include the following
information:
(1) a brief account of why, how and where such release occurred; and
(2) a brief description of all emergency remedial actions that have
been and/or will be taken relative to such release/threat of
release; please include field screening data and/or analytical
data (soil/groundwater) describing contaminant conditions at the
site; and
(3) an estimate, to the best of your knowledge, of the quantity of
oil/hazardous material released; and
(4) photocopies of all waste manifests for the oil released; and
(5) diagrams and tables indicating locations of tanks, test pits,
soil/groundwater sampling points, and laboratory results of
soil/water samples taken from the "cleaned up" environmental media
impacted by the release; and
You are hereby notified that failure to respond to this letter in a
timely manner, is a violation of 310 CMR 40.008 and the submission of false
and inaccurate information is a violation of 310 CMR 40.009 and 40.011.
Any such violations may subject you to legal action including criminal
prosecution, court-imposed civil penalties, administrative orders and/or civil
administrative penalties assessed by the Department pursuant to M.G.L. Chapter
21A.
It is to your advantage to respond to this request for information in an
adequate and timely manner, demonstrating that you have acted appropriately in
taking necessary response actions relative to this release of #2 oil.
r
Mr. James Plant
Page 4
Depending on the information generated by the above work, the Department
may require additional investigations, studies and response actions in
conformance with 310 CMR 40.000. If you fail to take these actions or if you
fail to perform these tasks in accordance with the standards of the
Department, the Department may perform response actions in your stead and
recover its costs from you in accordance with the provisions described above.
Your cooperation in this matter in `promptly accepting responsibility and
initiating emergency remedial measures relative to this release is
appreciated. Please excuse the legalistic tone of this letter, we are
compelled by regulatory policy to outline statutory provisions relative to
your potential liabilities at this site.
Your response to the requested information and any further questions
regarding this matter should be directed to Brad Stewart at the letterhead
address or 935-2160 and refer to case num -
number ERB N91-
0701.
Very truly yours,
Brad Stewa t
q
onmental nalyst
,I
� c
y R. uarci riello
Chief, Emergency Response Branch
RJC/BS/ae
cc: DEP, BWSC, Div.of Response & Remediation, Boston
D
II EP, BWSC, Div.of Fiscal M mt.
g /COS t, Recovery, Boston
North Andover BOH
North Andover Fire Dept.
Mr. James R. Lafond, c/o R.C. Lafond Ins. Agency, 396 Andover St. ,
N. Andover, MA 01845