Source: http://www.gazettenet.com, July 14, 2016
By: Dan Crowley
State environmental regulators have pinned responsibility for the illegal dumping of more than 100 yards of concrete debris along the Connecticut River on a Hadley contractor who was in charge of a construction job in Northampton.
The Department of Environmental Protection issued an order Thursday against Christopher J. Baj, of Hadley Concrete Service, alleging violations of the state’s solid waste, wetlands and waterways laws. The state agency requires Baj to hire a consultant to develop cleanup and restoration plans at the site and remove the debris by Aug. 31.
The dump site is along the Connecticut River off Route 47 near Stockwell Road. It came to the attention of local officials in May through an anonymous complaint.
Baj did not return calls seeking comment, but his lawyer, Mark T. Brennan, of Pittsfield, said his client denies any wrongdoing and does not even own a dump truck.
“He denies any dumping of any project materials anywhere,” Brennan said. “I don’t know how they came to the conclusion that it’s him.
“He doesn’t do any digging or disposal or any of that,” he added.
The DEP determined that the 2,860 cubic feet of concrete rubble, reinforcement bar, pipes, conduit and painted wood shards came from the demolition and reconstruction of a sidewalk and structures at 64 Gothic St., where a long, concrete handicapped-access ramp has been installed. The address is home to a variety of professional offices and owned by the Gothic Street Condominium Association. The work remains unfinished.
“It’s still a matter under investigation,” DEP spokeswoman Catherine Skiba, a said. “He (Baj) was the general contractor who was on the job where the material came from.”
Baj has a right to appeal the order.
The debris was discovered by town officials after Select Board member Donald Pipczynksi said he received an anonymous email alerting him to the pile. It came to the attention of the DEP on March 23.
The DEP inspected the site on May 24 and on two more occasions in June. In addition, Hadley Police and the Massachusetts Environmental Police were involved in the investigation. The three agencies connected the debris to the construction site on Gothic Street in Northampton, according to Thursday’s order from Steven Ellis, deputy regional director of DEP’s Bureau of Air and Waste.
The DEP declined to specify how investigators ultimately connected the debris to the Northampton job.
“It’s sad,” Hadley Building Commisioner Timothy Neyhart, said of the situation.
A Gazette review of building permits for the 64 Gothic St. job shows that another company may also have been involved with disposal of materials from site.
An undated solid waste disposal affidavit on file with the Northampton Building Department states that debris from the site was to be transported by truck and received by “Meehan Concrete/Construction” and taken to Valley Recycling.
The Gazette contacted James Meehan, of Meehan Construction in Westhampton, Thursday, who directed questions about the job to Hadley Concrete Service.
Northampton Building Commissioner Louis Hasbrouck said the solid waste disposal certificate is an important part of the permitting process.
“There has to be a place where the debris is going to go and the whole point of the certificate is you have an audit trail,” Hasbrouck said.
According to the DEP order, Baj and a hired environmental consultant must coordinate a restoration plan with the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species program to protect any endangered species at the site and erect adequate erosion and sedimentation controls during removal of the debris, among other measures.
The DEP did not impose any fines on Baj, but he could face fines of up to $25,000 and $50,000 for not complying with the department’s conditions, according to the order.