The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has fined a Boylston property maintenance firm $28,560 for its role in the illegal dumping of plowed snow into the Merrimack River earlier this year.
But National Facility Services, Inc. won't have to pay that fine if the company does not violate an "administrative consent order with penalty" handed down in the case April 21.
If the company does get in trouble with environmental authorities during the year-long time frame, the $28,560 must be paid in 30 days, according to the order.
The DEP investigation and subsequent fine stem from a Jan. 31 incident when Mayor William Lantigua personally caught truck drivers dumping loads of snow into the Merrimack River behind 60 Island St.
Footage from a nearby surveillance camera revealed 42 loads of snow were dumped there during a three-hour period that night.
Lantigua called Police Chief John Romero who notified DEP since dumping plowed snow — which is contaminated with salt, sand, trash and oil — is a violation of the federal Clean Water Act and numerous state laws and violations. The river is also a major drinking water source for the Merrimack Valley.
This is the second suspended penalty DEP has handed down over the incident.
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