BOSTON (Legal Newsline) -- The Environmental Protection Agency says the city of Fitchburg, Mass., will pay a fine of $141,000 for violations of the Clean Water Act.
The city will also do a $100,000 Supplemental Environmental Project worth and is implementing significant remedial measures to minimize future pollutant discharges.
A Consent Decree was entered in federal court and is the product of federal enforcement action brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, on EPA's behalf, as well as the Office of the Attorney General of Massachusetts on behalf of the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection.
The complaint alleged that Fitchburg violated conditions of its permit controlling combined sewer overflows. It bypassed wastewater flows around its secondary treatment system and other violations.
United States Attorney Carmen Ortiz said, "The federal Clean Water Act was established to ensure that everyone is committed to making our rivers and streams safe and healthy for our children and future generations. I am pleased that The City of Fitchburg is dedicating itself to achieving this goal by agreeing to today's Consent Decree, ensuring that the Nashua River is not left behind."
"This settlement ensures that a major source of pollution to the Nashua River will be controlled," said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA's New England region. "It is satisfying that the City will build upon the progress it has already made in restoring the River, once again making it accessible for safe recreation."