BOSTON — MassDEP has assessed a $51,000 penalty to AMPM Restoration LLC of Hanson for violating hazardous waste and waste site cleanup regulations while attempting a cleanup of an oil spill in a basement in Gardner.
In February 2024, the Gardner Fire Department reported that about 30 gallons of heating oil had leaked from a basement storage tank at a private residence. AMPM was initially hired to clean up the spill.
MassDEP said that the company transported about 70 partially filled drums of hazardous waste from the site to its unlicensed transfer facility in Hanson without a hazardous waste transporter license.
The company also did not respond to MassDEP’s written request for information about how the waste was transported and disposed of.
Once the drums were removed, the Gardner homeowner hired a licensed site professional, who informed MassDEP that AMPM had taken the drums from the residence.
Under the licensed site professional’s oversight, the same drums of waste were later properly transported from AMPM’s unlicensed facility and disposed of, with required documentation and manifests.
“Waste oil and debris generated during an oil spill cleanup must be transported by a licensed hauler to a permitted receiving facility,” said Andrea Briggs, acting regional director of the MassDEP Central Regional Office in Worcester. “Failure to follow regulated procedures for managing hazardous waste endangers public health and safety.”
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