BOSTON (Legal Newsline) — Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced April 12 that EQ Northeast Inc. will pay $150,000 after allegations of illegally transporting hazardous waste and storing it at an unlicensed facility.
“Companies that transport hazardous waste are expected to comply with rules that protect public safety and the environment,” Healey said. “By illegally unloading and storing different types of hazardous waste at an unlicensed site, this defendant created a significant risk to the environment and a risk of fire, explosion, or violent reaction threatening public safety.”
According to allegations, the Wrentham-based waste transport business stockpiled a large amount of hazardous waste in a single tractor trailer at a facility it owned. The company purportedly failed to acquire proper storage licenses and did not take proper safety precautions while dealing with the waste. On at least 10 occasions, EQ Northeast purportedly violated the Hazardous Waste Management Act by illegally transporting hazardous waste directly to its facility rather than through licensed designated facilities in Michigan and Oklahoma.
“The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection works to ensure that human health, public safety and the environment are protected when hazardous waste is managed and stored,” said MassDEP Commissioner Martin Suuberg. “To that end, we will continue to work with our partners so that applicable regulations are followed, and identify for appropriate enforcement those who violate the law.”
Handling the case for Massachusetts was assistant attorney general Jillian Riley of the Environmental Protection Division. She was assisted by MassDEP attorney Daniel d’Hedouville of the Office of General Counsel and MassDEP Environmental engineers Daniel DiSalvio and Michael Whiteside.