Action On Remediation Agg Industries, Saugus, Mass.

Although all 43 Aggregate Industries-NE operations fall under the umbrella of a recent settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and EPA, the 23

Although all 43 Aggregate Industries-NE operations fall under the umbrella of a recent settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and EPA, the 23 locations cited in the court-filed complaint began remediation plans long before the August fine was announced.

Among operations named in the complaint was the Saugus facility, which includes a quarry with ready-mixed and hot-mix asphalt plants, plus an equipment maintenance facility. According to the citation, the plant was discharging through three outfalls to the municipal system. An EPA inspection in April 2006 revealed turbid [effluent] with a visible oil sheen and plume of synthetic iron oxide discharging to catch basins leading to the municipal system. The filing also claims that between January 2000 and January 2005, untreated sanitary waste waters from a holding tank at the scale house÷were being pumped out and discharged onto the pavement.

As a result, to better control TSS (total suspended solids) levels in the facility’s stormwater discharges, Agg Industries implemented a major re-engineering of the site’s drainage system, including demolishing buildings and regrading site contours; providing stormwater pump stations and stormwater treatment units; installing new drainage lines and infrastructure; and, constructing a wall and landscaping along the front entrance.