BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has assessed a penalty of $38,000 to Black and Boucher LLC of Watertown, Connecticut, to settle the company’s alleged violations of the Massachusetts Oil Spill Cleanup regulations that occurred at a property in the City of Taunton. MassDEP determined that the company failed to timely notify the agency following the release of an estimated 150 gallons of diesel fuel from a piece of company equipment being stored at 354 Winthrop Street, Taunton.

On July 13, 2021, a fuel company pumped diesel fuel into a paving machine’s water tank, and upon discovering the mistake, a Black and Boucher employee drained the fuel onto the ground. After the fuel was discovered by a nearby property owner, MassDEP ordered the company to assess and clean up the impacted pavement and soil at the site. The company was also required to pay $35,000 of the assessed penalty and to train all operating engineers on the requirements for notification and response to releases of oil and hazardous materials into the environment.

“Entities like Black and Boucher LLC must notify MassDEP of oil releases within the required timelines, obtain all necessary cleanup approvals, and assess the extent and impact to public health, safety, welfare, and the environment,”said Millie Garcia Serrano, Director of MassDEP’s Southeast Regional Office in Lakeville. “The dumping of diesel fuel into the environment is never an appropriate action, especially in an Environmental Justice community like Taunton. Therefore, training of company personnel on the proper manner to report and respond to an oil spill and hazardous materials spill was a necessary requirement of our settlement.”

MassDEP’s mission is to protect and enhance the Commonwealth’s natural resources – air, water and land – to provide for the health, safety and welfare of all people, and a clean and safe environment for future generations. In carrying out this mission, MassDEP commits to address and advance environmental justice and equity for all people of the Commonwealth, provide meaningful, inclusive opportunities for people to participate in agency decisions that affect their lives, and ensure a diverse workforce that reflects the communities served by the agency.

###