December 9, 2002—United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan and Robert W. Varney, Regional Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency’s New England Office, announced that the United States has reached a settlement with a Boston trash hauler, Allied Waste Systems, that resolves the government’s claims that Allied violated the Clean Air Act.
The proposed Consent Decree requires the company to pay a $782,550 civil penalty and spend $2.3 million on an environmental project that will improve Boston’s air quality at Allied’s Howard Transfer Station in Roxbury. A civil complaint was also filed simultaneously with the Consent Decree.
The settlement stems from violations of provisions of the Clean Air Act that are intended to protect the stratospheric ozone layer from the harmful effects of certain chemicals, known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydro chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). These chemicals, commonly found in coolants, are known to cause the depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer, which protects the earth’s surface from harmful ultraviolet radiation.
