BOSTON (Legal Newsline) – A nonprofit organization concerned with protecting New England's environment alleges a resort in Cape Cod, Massachusetts is discharging pollutants into U.S. waters.
Conservation Law Foundation Inc. filed a complaint on Aug. 24 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts against Wequassett Inn LLP, doing business as Wequassett Resort and Gold Club, and Weston & Sampson Inc. over alleged violation of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
According to the complaint, the defendants operate a sewage disposal system at the resort that consists of collection pipes and pumps, a treatment system or systems, and a soil absorption disposal field that disperses treated wastewater through Pleasant Bay and Round Cove. The plaintiff alleges that the defendants discharged sewage in volumes that exceeded the treatment capacity of the system in 2015, causing improperly treated and/or untreated sewage to discharge through the disposal fields.
The plaintiff also alleges the system discharges and adds pollutants, including nitrogen, to the bodies of water without authorization under any National Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits.
The plaintiff holds Wequassett Inn LLP and Weston & Sampson Inc. responsible because the defendants allegedly failed, and continue to fail, to obtain permit coverage under any NPDES permit.
The plaintiff seeks award for civil penalties, costs, any such other and further relief as the court may deem appropriate. It is represented by Zachary K. Griefen of Conservation Law Foundation Inc. in Montpelier, Vermont.
U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts case number 1:18-cv-11820-DPW