SALEM — A Salem oil dealer has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a civil complaint alleging that the firm illegally removed, transported and disposed of waste oil from old tanks, the attorney general's office said.
Clarke Brothers Inc., on Derby Street, was accused by the Department of Environmental Protection of violating the state's hazardous waste and tank removal laws by improperly collecting and transporting waste oil without obtaining permits from local fire departments, contracting with an unlicensed waste transporter to dispose of the oil, and providing inaccurate information in permit applications to perform tank removals.
Both the civil complaint and the settlement were filed yesterday in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston.
For Clarke Brothers President Tim Clarke, it was a costly mistake that started out with good intentions.
"Our primary business is delivering heating oil and servicing our customers' equipment," Clarke said yesterday afternoon.
The company decided about four years ago to start a side business replacing oil tanks, an effort to accommodate some customers, Clarke said.
But the company didn't fully understand all of the permitting requirements of such a venture, Clarke said.
Over about a two-year period, the company removed 26 old oil tanks, Clarke said, and arranged for disposal through a company that, as it turns out, lacked the proper license to handle the volume of oil being transported.
In 2008, after learning that they were in violation, they hired a firm, Compliance Management Inc., to advise them on how to remain in compliance with the law.
Under the terms of the settlement, Clarke Brothers will be required to submit to and pay for twice-a-year audits for environmental compliance by an outside expert who will be required to submit reports to the DEP for the next three years.
Clarke said those audits will be done by Compliance Management.
The company stopped removing oil tanks two years ago, after the violations were brought to its attention, but if the company decides to get back into tank removal, it will be subject to four audits per year, Attorney General Martha Coakley said.
"We made a mistake, and I think once the DEP brought it to our attention, we came right into compliance," Clarke said. "We did what they asked."
"Because of the health and environmental risks associated with waste oil, the law requires strict adherence to specific hazardous waste management methods when handling expired fuel tanks and their contents," Coakley said in a press release. "We are pleased that the defendants have agreed to work with the state to ensure future compliance with environmental laws."
DEP Commissioner Laurie Burt said the requirements "are essential to the protection of air and water quality, as well as public health."
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