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HomeMy WebLinkAboutUrgent Legal Matter regarding oil spill - Correspondence - 230 ANDOVER STREET 11/13/1997 a COMMONWEALTH of MASSA HUS TTS EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT OF EAR NMEN AL PR N METROPOLITAN BOSMN-NORTHEAST REGIONAL,OFFICE AR Eo PAUL CELLUCCI TRUDY COXE Governor Secretary DAVID B. STRUHS Commissioner - ---.._. URGENT ., AID MATTER: PROMPT oN NECESSARY CERTIFIED MAIL: RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED NOV3 1997 Ms . Helen Robertson RE: N. Andover 230 Andover S . 230 Andover St . N. Andover, MA 01845 R N #3-15685 NOTICE`IC of RESPONSIBILITY; M.G.L. c . 21 310 C R 0 . 0000 Dear" Ms . Robertson: On November 5, 1997at ; o Aid, the Department o Environmental 'rote tion (the Department or D received oral notification that there is or has been a release of oil and/or hazardous material at the above-referenced property which requires one or more response actions . Based on this information, the Department has reason to believe that the subject property or portion thereof is a. disposal site as defined 'n the Massachusetts oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention and Response Act , M.G.L. c . 21 , and the Massachusetts Contingency Plan, 310 CI R 40 . 0000 (the MCP) . The assessment and cleanup o disposal sites is governed y M.G.L. c . 21E and the MCP. The purpose of this notice is to inform you of your legal responsibilities under state law for assessing and/or remediating the subject release . For purposes of this notice, the tees and erases used herein shall acre the meaning ascribed to them by the MCP unless the text clearly indicates otherwise . STATUTORY_ LIABILITIES The Department has reason to believe that you as used in this letter, "You" refers to Ms . Helen Robertson) are a Potentially Responsible Party a R with liability under M.G.L. c. 21 , § 51 for response action costs . Section 5 makes the following parties liable to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts : . current owners or 10 Commerce Way Woburn,Massachusetts 1 9 FAX (617) -7 1 0 Telephone 17) -7 0 TI L ( 1" 3 - 7 Page 2 NOR 3 -15685 operators of a site from or at which there is or has been a release/threat of release of oil or hazardous material.; any person who owned or operated a site at the time hazardous material was stored or disposed of; any person who arranged for the transport, disposal, storage or treatment of hazardous material to or at a site; any person who transported hazardous material to a transport, disposal, storage or treatment site from which there is or has been release/threat of release of such material; and any person who otherwise caused or is legally responsible for a release/threat of release of oil or hazardous material at a site . This liability is "strict" , meaning it is not based on fault, but solely on your status as an owner, operator, generator, transporter or disposer. It is also Joint and several., meaning that you may be liable for all response action costs incurred at the site, regardless of the existence of any other liable parties , The MCP requires responsible parties to take necessary response actions at properties where there is or has been a release or threat of release of oil and/or hazardous material . If you do not take the necessary response actions, or fail to perform therm in an appropriate and timely manner, the Department is authorized by M.G.L. c . 21E to have the work performed by its contractors . By taking such actions, you can avoid liability for response action costs incurred by the Department and its contractors in performing these actions, and any sanctions which may be imposed for failure to perform response actions under the MCP. You may be liable for up to three 3 times all response action costs incurred by the Department . Response action costs include, without limitation, the cost of direct hours spent by Department employees arranging for response actions or overseeing work performed by persons other than the Department or their contractors, expenses incurred by the Department in support o those direct hours, and payments to the Department ' s contractors . (For more detail on cost liability, see 310 CMR 40 . 1200 . ) The Department may also assess interest on costs incurred at the rate of twelve percent 12 , compounded annually. To secure payment of this debt, the Commonwealth may place liens on all of your property in the Commonwealth. To recover the debt, the Commonwealth may foreclose on these liens or the Attorney General may bring legal action against you. n addition to your liability for up to three 3 times all response action casts incurred by the Department, you may also be liable to the Commonwealth for damages to natural resources caused by the release . Civil and criminal. Liability may also be imposed under M.G.L. c . 21 , § 11, and civil administrative penalties may be imposed under M.G.L. c. 21 , § 16 for each violation of N .G.L. C . 21E, the MCP, or any order, permit or approval issued thereunder. Page 3 NOR3-15685 NECESSARY RESPONSE ACTIONS The subject site shall not be deemed to have had all the necessary and required response actions taken unless and until all substantial hazards presented by the site have been eliminated and level. of No Signif-icant Risk exists or has been achieved in Compliance with M.G.L. c . 21E and the MCP . In addition, the MCP requires persons undertaking response actions at disposal sites to perform Immediate to Response Action IRAs in response to "sudden releases" , Imminent Hazards and Substantial Release Migration. ,such persons rust continue to evaluate the need for IRAs and notify the Department immediately if such a need exists . The Department has determined that an IRA is necessary at the subject site to respond to the sudden release of up to 300 gallons of #2 fuel oil from a copper oil supply line. The Department has authorized you to use absorbent materials to collect petroleum from your sump and temporarily store both petroleum and petroleum contaminated absorbent material.s at the site of generation. You are authorized to conduct only the specific response actions for which you received oral approval from the Department at the time you provided oral notification to the D P of the subject release . All additional Immediate Response Actions require D P approval in accordance with 310 CMR 40 . 0420 . You must employ or engage a Licensed Site Professional LSP to manage, supervise or actually perform the necessary response actions at the subject site . In addition, the MCP requires persons undertaking response actions at a disposal site to submit to the Department a Response Action outcome Statement (RAO) prepared by an LSP in accordance with 3 .0 CMR 40 . 1000 upon determining that a level. of No Significant Risk already exists or has been achieved at a disposal site or portion thereof . [You may obtain a list of the names and addresses of these licensed professionals from the Board of Registration of Hazardous waste Site Cleanup Professionals at There are several other submittals required by the MCP which are related to release notification and/or response actions that may be conducted at the subject site in addition to an R o, that, unless otherwise specified by the Department, must be provided t D P within specific regulatory timeframes . The submittals are as follows : 1 information is obtained after making a oral or written notification to indicate that the release or threat of release didn' t occur, failed to meet the reporting criteria at 310 CMR 0 . 0311 through 40 . 0315, or is exempt from notification pursuant to 310 CMR 40 . 0317, a Notification Retraction gust be submitted within 60 days of initial notification pursuant t 310 CMR 0 . 03 ; otherwise, Fame 4 NOR3-- 8 2 If one has not been submitted, a Release Notification Forty N rust be submitted to DEP pursuant to section 310 CMR 40 . 0333 within 60 calendar days of the initial date of oral notification to DER of a release pursuant to 310 CMR 40 . 0300 or from the date the Department issues a Notice of Responsibility (NOR) , whichever occurs earlier; {3) Unless an RAO is submitted earlier, an Immediate Response Action (IRA) Plan prepared in accordance with 310 CMR 40 . 0420, or an IRA Completion.etion statement (310 CMR 40 . 0427) must be submitted to DEP within 60 calendar days of the initial date of oral notification to DER of a release pursuant to 310 cM 0 . 0 3 0 0 or from the date the Department issues an NOR., whichever occurs earlier; and Unless an RAO is submitted earlier, a completed ted "ier Classification submittal pursuant to 310 CMR0 . 10, and, if appropriate, a completed Fier I Permit Application pursuant to 310 CMR 40 . 0700, must be submitted to DEP within one year of the initial date of oral notification to DEP of a release pursuant to 310 CMR 40 . 0300r from the date the Department .issues an No , whichever occurs earlier. Pursuant to the Department ' s "Timely Action schedule and Fee Provisions" . 310 CMR 4 . 00, a fee of $750 must be included with an RAO statement that is submitted to the Department more than 120 calendar days after the initial date of oral notification to DEP of a release pursuant to 310 CMR 40 . 0300 or after the date the Department issues an NOR, whichever occurs earlier, and before Tier Classification. A fee is not required for an RAO submitted to the Department within 120 days of the date of oral notification to the Department, or the date the Department issues an NOR, whichever date occurs earlier, or after 'bier Classification. It is important to note that you must dispose of any R.emediation waste generated at the subject location in accordance with 310 CMR 40 . 0030 including, without limitation, contaminated soil. and/or debris . Any Bill of Lading accompanying such waste must bear the seal and signature of an LSP or, if the response action is performed under the direct supervision of the Department, the signature of an authorized representative of the Department . The Department encourages parties with liabilities under M.G, . . c. 21E to take prompt action in response to releases and threats of release of oil d r hazardous material . By taping prompt action, you may significantly Lower your assessment and cleanup casts and avoid the imposition of, or reduce the amount of, certain permit and annual compliance.ce fees for response actions payable under 310 CMR 4 , 00 . Page 5 NOR3-15685 r If you have any questions relative to this notice, you should contact Timothy J. Boyle at the letterhead address or 17 2- 0 0 . All future communications regarding this release must reference the Release Tracking Number R N contained in the subject block of this letter. Very truly yours, ohy won to Engineer t4l- er Chu Branch Chief Emergency c Response Section cc : Board of Health Fire Department P data entry/file Attachment : Release Notif ica i Release Retraction Form, B SC 103