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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDEP - 3/5/1996Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs Department of Environmental Protection Southeast Regional Office Wllllarn F. Weld Trudy Coxe Governor Secretary Argeo Paul Celluccl David B. Sttuhs U. Govamor Commissioner March 5, 1996 Mr. William Haynes RE: MANSFIELD--BWSC/SMP-4-0571 532 Adam Street, #127 Hatheway & Patterson Milton, Massachusetts 02186 _15-County--Road NOTICE OF RESPONSIBILITY -� M:`G''L. c. 21E and 3TO CMR_�� 40.0000 URGENT LEGAL MATTER: PROMPT ACTION NECESSARY CERTIFIED MAIL: RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED Dear: Mr. Haynes: The Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup (the Department), has determined that the Hatheway & Patterson Co., Inc. (Hatheway & Patterson), facility at 15 County Street, Mansfield, Massachusetts, is a disposal site (the "Site") as defined in M.G.L. c. 21E, the Massachusetts oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention and Response Act and the Massachusetts Contingency Plan (the MCP), 310 CMR 40.0000. The Site was listed by the Department as a confirmed Disposal Site on October 15, 1988. Massachusetts General Law Chapter 21E and the MCP require the performance of response actions to prevent harm to health, safety, public_ welfare and the environment, which may result from „m this i.iu release and/or threat of release and govern the conduct of such actions. The purpose of this notice is to inform you (as used in this letter, "you" refers to William Haynes) of your legal responsibilities under State law for assessing and/or remediating the release at this property. For purposes of this Notice of Responsibility, the terms and phrases used herein shall have the meaning ascribed to such terms and phrases by the MCP unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. STATUTORY LIABILITIES The Department has reason to believe that you are a Potentially Responsible Party ("PRP") with liability under M.G.L. c. 21E, S 5. Specifically, Section 5 states that this liability extends to current owners or operators of a site from or at which 20 Riverside Drive a Lakeville, Massachusetts 02347 a FAX (508) 947.8557 a Telephone (508) 946-2700 0 Printed on Recyded Paper -2- there is or has been a release or threat of release of oil and/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 a release or threat of release of such material; and any person who otherwise caused or is legally responsible for a release or 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 and/or threat of release of oil and/or hazardous material. By taking the necessary actions yourself, you may significantly lower your assessment and cleanup costs and/or avoid liability for costs incurred by the Department in taking such actions. You may also avoid the imposition of the amount of or reduce certain permit and/or annual compliance assurance fees payable under 310 CMR 4.00. Please refer to M.G.L. c. 21E for a complete description of potential liability. A summary of liability under M.G.L. c. 21E is attached to this notice. If you do not take the necessary response actions, or fail to perform them in an appropriate and timely manner, the Department is authorized by M.G.L. c. 21E to performed the work. By taking such actions, you can avoid liability for response action costs incurred by the Department 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 its contractors, expenses incurred by the Department in support of those direct hours, and payments to the Department's contractors. (For more detail on cost liability, see 310 CMR 40.1200: Cost Recovery.) 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. In addition to your liability for up to three (3) times all response action costs incurred by the Department, you may also be =9n 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. 21E, S 11, and civil administrative penalties may be imposed under M.G.L. c. 21A, S 16, for each violation of M.G.L. c. 21E, the MCP or any order, permit or approval issued thereunder. You should be aware that you may have claims against third parties for damages, including claims for contribution or reimbursement for the costs of cleanup. Such claims do not exist indefinitely, but are governed by laws which establish the time allowed for bringing litigation. The Department encourages you to take any action necessary to protect any such claims you may have against third parties. ACTIONS UNDERTAKEN TO DATE AT THE SITE Information on file with the Department indicates that the following response actions have been performed to date at this site: Product was observed breaking out into the Rumford River from the Hatheway & Patterson property on July 5, 1990. This condition was confirmed by representatives of the Department and the Mansfield Board of Health on the following day. The Department determined that the conditions at the Site constituted an imminent hazard pursuant to 310 CMR 40.542(2)(a) and (f) and required a Short Term Measure (STM) in compliance with 310 CMR 40.542. On January 22, 1991, the Department approved a Short Term Measure Design submitted by Keystone Environmental Resources (Keystone) on behalf of Hatheway & Patterson. The STM design consisted of the installation and operation of an active product recovery system along the east bank of the Rumford River. The system was installed in September 1991. In February 1992, Penney Engineering redesigned the system to allow it to operate on a full time basis. The redesign also included treating the effluent with carbon and discharging the treated water to the Rumford River. The discharge from the treatment system was diverted to the municipal sewer system in October 1992. During a year of operation by Penney Engineering, the recovery system collected less than ten gallons of product. Following H&P's bankruptcy in February 4, 1993 and subsequent abandonment of the Site, pumping and treatment activities were discontinued. Also, as a result of useable equipment being removed during an auction at the Site in August 1993, the pump and treat system may no longer be operable. Releases of contaminated oil to the Rumford River and surrounding wetlands may continue intermittently. The Site was referred to the United States Environmental Protection Program (USEPA). Based upon conditions at the Site, the USEPA determined that a removal action was necessary to mitigate the threats to human health and the environment posed by hazardous substances at the Site. -4- USEPA personnel met personnel from the Department at the Site on November 23, 1993, for a walkthrough of the Site. Following that meeting, a general agreement was made between the Department and USEPA. USEPA would address the time -critical threats including removal of bulk chemicals in tanks, vessels and drums, as well as address any contamination in surface soils that may pose a threat to public health. By September 1995, the USEPA had emptied all tanks, pipes, sumps and pits containing hazardous material and shipped the contents off -site for proper disposal or re -use. The USEPA also delineated areas of contaminated surficial soils and covered the areas that met or exceeded the removal criteria with geotextile and compacted gravel and, in some areas, asphalt. In addition, the USEPA repaired the fence around the site and posted the area with hazardous materials warning signs. During the removal action, the Department hired a State Contractor to remove approximately 268 gallons of petroleum product and sludge from an above ground tank and removed 50 gallons of waste oil from two drums. The Department is currently planning to address sub -surface soils, groundwater, and surface water contamination from past wood treatment operations and disposal at the Site. NECESSARY RESPONSE ACTIONS AND APPLICABLE DEADLINES This site shall not be deemed to have had all the necessary and required response actions taken for it unless and until all substantial hazards presented by the release and/or threat of release have been eliminated and a level of No Significant Risk exists or has been achieved in compliance with M.G.L. c. 21E and the MCP. You must employ or engage a Licensed Site Professional ("LSP"), to manage, supervise or actually perform the necessary response actions at this site. You may obtain a list of the names and addresses of Licensed Site Professionals by contacting the Board of Registration of Hazardous Waste Site Cleanup Professionals by telephone at (617) 556-1145 or in person or by mail at One Winter Street, 6th Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02108. In addition, the MCP requires persons undertaking response actions to perform Immediate Response Actions in response to sudden releases, Imminent Hazards and Conditions of Substantial Release Migration. Such persons must continue to evaluate the need for Immediate Response Actions and notify the Department verbally and within the applicable timeline, of any 2 or 72 hour conditions which are determined to exist at the site as described in 310 CMR 40.0310. Specific approval is required from the Department prior to the implementation of all Immediate Response Actions ("IRA"), or Release Abatement Measures ("RAM"), pursuant to 310 CMR 40.0420 and 310 CMR 40.0443, respectively. Assessment activities, the construction of a fence and/or the posting of signs are actions that are exempt from this approval requirement. -5- The MCP requires persons undertaking response actions at a site to submit to the Department a Response Action Outcome Statement prepared by a Licensed Site Professional upon determining that a level of No Significant Risk exists or has been achieved at the site. The MCP requires that a fee of $750.00 be submitted to the Department when a Response Action Outcome ("RAO"), statement if filed greater than 120 days from the date of notification. PROCEDURES TO FOLLOW TO UNDERTAKE RESPONSE ACTIONS You should notify the Department in writing no later than 5:00 p.m. on March 12, 1996, if you intend to undertake response actions at this disposal site. If you fail to provide a response to this notice as requested, or fail to undertake the necessary response actions in accordance with the MCP, the Department may perform the necessary response actions and take appropriate legal action against you. All future communications regarding this release must reference the following Release Tracking Number: 4-0571. Si ely, r erard M. Martin, AC ng Chief Site Management and Permitting GMRM/cb CERTIFIED MAIL NO. P 606 844 589 RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED cc: Board of Selectmen Town Hall 50 West Street Mansfield, MA 02048 ATTN: Dianne Royle, Chairperson Board of Health Town Hall 50 West Street Mansfield, MA 02048 ATTN: Henry Austin, Chairperson DEP-SERO ATTN: Andrea Papadopoulos, Deputy Regional Director Jonathan Hobill, Acting Regional Engineer Kevin Kiernan, Deputy Regional Counsel DEP-SERO-Data Entry