Clark delay results in fine
The April 2006 release of
heating oil at a Clark University-owned house at 75 Florence St. has left Clark officials with some stains to remove.
James Collins, vice president of Planning and Finance at Clark, describes the university’s response to the oil spill at the student-occupied building as “regretful.
“It is safe to say we didn’t know what happened at the time. We were looking at making some improvements to the residence when we were in the basement, and that’s how we discovered the oil. Supposedly, we thought we were doing the right thing. And because we didn’t notify them in time, we were wrong in that situation.”
Because Clark failed to notify the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection about the spill within 72 hours, the DEP levied $16,000 in penalties against Clark.
“The spill occurred in April, and MassDEP was not notified until October,” says DEP Spokesman Ed Coletta. “It’s up to the owners of the property and the people who operate these facilities to come to an understanding that MassDEP meets certain requirements.”
In reality, Clark will only be held to a $4,000 DEP fine. The remaining $12,000 will go to performing a supplemental environmental project, in this case the city’s Brownfields GIS effort, in which Clark will have a major hand.
“Clark has an expertise in geographic systems, so our hope is to not only improve the school’s system, but [complete] a project the city has been waiting to get done,” says Collins.
Fortunately for the three-decker residence, the oil release only impacted the first-floor living space, while the other two floors showed no sign of severe damage. Collins says, “The ventilation procedures actually brought levels on the first floor down to an appropriate threshold, and this is how we were able to alleviate the situation.”
As for Clark officials, they have worked extremely hard with MassDEP over the years, and according to Collins, the last thing the university wants is “to be in violation of their requirements.
“We certainly did everything we could to get rid of the oil spill and we regret this situation happened in the first place,” he says. o
Nick Vorres may be reached at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
