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Route 16 Auto fined by DEP
BY JOYCE KELLY
Webster Times Staff Writer
WEBSTER — The state Department
of Environmental Protection (DEP) has fined LKQ Route 16 Used
Auto Parts, Inc. $4,000 for violating the Wetlands Protection
Act — the third area company in the past two months to be found
in violation of environmental regulations.
The company, located at 4 Old
Douglas Road near the Webster-Douglas line, altered and filled
wetland resource areas, according to Ed Coletta, DEP
representative.
Last September and October, the
DEP conducted inspections at the site and found that the company's
operations were causing erosion of on-site soils, which resulted
in the alteration of wetland resource areas located both on the
property and off-site. Sediment-laden water was observed flowing
through a stream and associated wetland resource areas and into
Webster Lake.
"Business properties that drain
to wetlands and small streams need to ensure that their sites are
stable during normal operations to avoid impacts to wetlands after
storm events. This will result in the avoidance of enforcement
actions after the fact," said Martin Suuberg, director of
operations at DEP's Central Regional Office in Worcester.
Subsequently, the owners of LQK
Route 16 Used Auto Parts have agreed to pay the fine, and conceded
to several new mandates by the DEP.
Richard Cazeault, the president
of Webster Lake Association, said that the association has been
testing the lake water since the summertime, with about a dozen
member splitting off and testing three portions of the lake every
week.
They have all been trained, and
perform a series of tests, including measurements of the PH
levels.
Volunteers are progressing
upstream, testing the streams that come into the lake, Cazeault
said.
While he said the town is
fortunate that Webster Lake is in good condition, the group has
come across some issues since it began doing research.
One of the tough things facing
the Last Green Valley, he said, came about when volunteers started
to try to protect the lake’s water and weeds.
“We found that everything that
effects the lake comes from the surrounding watershed,” Cazeault
said.
At that point, questions about
high development — about companies like LQK — and density were
raised.
“It’s a complicated problem, and
something we’ve come to realize in the last two years – we’ve got
to protect the watershed.
“You can’t stop progress, but in
the course of progress, you’ve got to make sure you do things
correctly,” said Cazeault.
According to Coletta, LKQ has
stabilized the sources of erosion and agreed to develop a storm
water management plan designed to prevent additional discharges
and better stabilize the site.
The company is also required to
submit a wetlands restoration plan to the DEP to restore the
damaged areas.
All restoration work will be
conducted under the direction of a wetlands specialist.
A portion of the $4,000 penalty
will go towards a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP).
With the money from the SEP, the
company has proposed to fund a volunteer water-monitoring program,
to be conducted by the Webster Lake Association.
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