E.P.A. Enforcement Ensures that Solar Company Follows Stormwater Discharge Requirements at Warren, Massachusetts Facility

BOSTON - A settlement signed recently by a company that builds solar power facilities in Massachusetts will remind construction companies that the E.P.A. continues to protect the environment from illegal discharges of stormwater.

Borrego Solar Systems, Inc., of San Diego, Calif., will pay a $90,000 penalty, settling E.P.A. claims that it failed to follow requirements for controlling stormwater discharges when constructing 3 solar power array sites in Warren, Massachusetts

According to the complaint filed by EPA's New England office, Borrego in 2013 and 2014 failed to comply with certain parts of its construction permit when it was directing the construction at the adjacent solar power array sites off Little Rest Road. Work at each of the sites involved disturbing in excess of an acre of land.

E.P.A. alleged that, because of poor erosion controls, during storms between Nov. 2013 and Jan. 2014, about ten to 35 cubic yards of sediments were discharged into wetlands and into Taylor Brooks and Tufts Brooks as a result of the violations.

E.P.A. alleged that Borrego violated requirements of its 2012 Construction General Permit by failing to install and maintain erosion controls and to carry out required "best management" practices for controlling storm water. The requirements were conditions of the Clean Water Act National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) General Permit for Stormwater Discharges from Construction.

"The requirements of a construction permit are meant to minimize the amount of damage caused to the environment by stormwater discharges," said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA's New England office.

Specifically, E.P.A. alleged that the company failed to: construct adequate stormwater detention basins before construction; construct stormwater detention basins in accordance with good engineering practices; install and maintain silt fencing and other perimeter controls; ensure that discharges to surface waters were treated by an area of undisturbed natural buffer or additional erosion and sediment controls equivalent to a 50-foot natural buffer.

The case stems from information provided to E.P.A. by the Warren Conservation Commission, which ordered the company in January 2014 to remove sediments and restoration of the wetlands.

More info on stormwater pollution control: http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/npdes/stormwater/index.cfm

There are currently no comments for this story. Be the first to add a comment!
Click here to add a comment about this story.