Chelmsford Company Fined $3,000 for Pollution Control Violations

A Chelmsford company was fined recently for violations that took place at a wastewater treatment facility in Lunenburg.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection announced on Friday that Waste Water Environmental Management, Inc., of Chelmsford was fined $3,000 recently.

The fine came to "resolve violations of the Water Pollution Control permitting requirements that occurred at the Woodlands Village at Hickory Hills Lake Condominium’s wastewater treatment facility in Lunenburg. Waste Water Environmental Management is the system operator for this facility," according to the DEP.

MassDEP said its personnel inspected the condominium treatment facility and determined that the it was not being correctly operated and maintained by Waste Water Environmental Management. 

As a result of poorly maintained equipment, the DEP said sewage broke out onto the ground. The DEP added that plans and an operation and maintenance manual for the facility were not present, which is a requirement.

The Chelmsford company as a part of the fine and agreement has agreed to develop a checklist of requirements to make sure a similar incident does not happen again in the future.

“Most wastewater treatment operations depend on contract operators like Waste Water Environmental Management to provide the oversight required to assure proper operation and maintenance of their facilities and compliance with permit requirements,” said Lee Dillard Adams, director of MassDEP’s Central Regional Office in Worcester. “Operators are responsible to comply with these regulations that ensure water quality in the Commonwealth.”