Office of the Attorney General: Company Agrees to Complete Cleanup and Reimburse Over One Million in Hazardous Waste Cleanup Costs at Holliston Site

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

June 12, 2008

BOSTON - Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office and Greenview Realty, L.L.C., R & C Realty Trust, and C & R Realty Trust, reached a settlement agreement that will require Greenview Realty and the trusts to dismiss their case against the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). As part of the agreement, Greenview Realty has also agreed to repay $1.25 million in cleanup costs spent by the DEP at an undeveloped hazardous waste site in Holliston if they proceed with the purchase of the property.

“Our office will pursue both the cleanup of hazardous waste sites and the recovery of taxpayer money, to benefit the health and well being of the citizens of the Commonwealth,” said Attorney General Coakley. “We are pleased that the settlement calls for over $1 million to be returned to the Commonwealth to reimburse costs MassDEP has spent towards cleaning up this site.”

Greenview Realty is a company seeking to purchase and develop housing on 52 acres of land located at the intersection of Marshall and Prentice streets in Holliston, which was the site of illegal dumping of hazardous and other solid waste. MassDEP has been involved in enforcement and cleanup activities at the site for many years. In May 2007, after MassDEP placed liens on the property to secure its outstanding cleanup costs, Greenview Realty filed a lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court challenging the liens and asking the court to declare that Greenview Realty was exempt from liability from some or all of the lien amounts.

In a settlement agreement reached earlier this week, Greenview Realty and the trusts have agreed to dismiss their case against MassDEP, and to complete the cleanup and pay the Commonwealth $1.25 million when the company purchases the property. Depending on how the project is financed and constructed, Greenview Realty may make future payments of up to $500,000.

“As a result of this settlement, MassDEP will recover clean up costs incurred on this site. In addition, Greenview has committed to completing the assessment and clean up work required as part of its plans to redevelop this site,” said MassDEP Commissioner Laurie Burt.

Assistant Attorney General Louis Dundin of Attorney General Coakley’s Environmental Protection Division handled this matter along with Kristin LaCroix, Luke Rogers, and Rhonda Russian of MassDEP.