BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced a $170,000 court order on Wednesday against the owner of an East Boston-based auto repair business for allegedly failing to clean up hazardous waste.
Manuele Scata, the owner of D & M Auto Doctor in East Boston, previously signed consent orders with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection in 2005 and 2006. In the orders, Scata agreed to clean up petroleum contamination on his property, but allegedly failed to perform meaningful work under the orders.
Scata's property is adjacent to the Belle Isle Marsh Reservation, a salt marsh managed by the state's Department of Conservation and Recreation.
"By failing to meet his commitments to the MassDEP time and again, the property owner has put the public at serious risk due to the contamination on his property," Coakley said. "We are pleased that the court has officially ordered him to eliminate the contamination that is impacting this valuable natural resource."
Coakley's office filed suit against Scata in May after MassDEP discovered debris in the neighboring wetlands during 2010 inspections. MassDEP also found hazardous waste storage violations on Scata's property. Scata did not respond to or comply with the lawsuit.
Under the terms of a final judgment issued on November 15, Scata must remediate the groundwater contamination and gasoline-contaminated soil on his property, remove demolition and construction debris that was dumped in the reservation, pay $170,000 in civil penalties and pay close to $10,000 in costs and fees.
The court found that Scata violated the Hazardous Waste Management Act, the Solid Waste Management Act and the Wetlands Protection Act.
Mass. AG announces $170k order against East Boston auto repair shop owner
