Settlements with two contractors at the former Edward J. Sullivan Courthouse in East Cambridge are set to become the first deposits into the state’s Environmental Justice Trust, attorney general Andrea Joy Campbell said Monday.
Once cleared by a court, the first payments will total $155,000 from two of four companies involved in a lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court against JDC Demo & Abatement (formerly known as “NewRoads Environmental Services”) and JDC Demolition., John Moriarty and Associates and TRC. All were accused of violating the Massachusetts Clean Air Act and asbestos regulations by illegal removal and handling of asbestos-contaminated demolition debris during redevelopment of courthouse.
The former 1970s-era courthouse had been empty since June 2014 because of mold and asbestos concerns. It went on deteriorating under the watch of the state Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance during its disposition to a developer, a lawsuit and appeal, and finally a battle over parking decided by Cambridge’s City Council. The resulting 40 Thorndike office and residential building was declared ready for tenants in October.
The four companies failed to secure contaminated demolition debris for safe storage, transport and disposal, the state said. According to the complaint, among other violations, the defendants left fireproofing debris with asbestos in it scattered across an exposed fifth-floor roof and allowed asbestos-containing insulation to remain exposed on the exterior of the building. This illegal work risked harm to the defendants’ employees and contractors, as well as the public and the environment in the dense residential and commercial neighborhood surrounding the former courthouse, the state said.
A person living in Cambridge in August 2019 went onto the grounds of the former courthouse to take samples of crumbled ceiling tiles to test for asbestos. It tested positive, affirming the reasons the building had been emptied in the first place and its grounds closed to the public. Tests the next month “in response to concerns of there being airborne asbestos around the exterior of the building” found that “all air samples showed levels below the allowable limits,” a state official said.
The settlements are with TRC and Moriarty; state claims remain against the remaining two defendants, Campbell said in a Monday press release.
The deposits will go toward “advancing environmental and climate justice in communities most impacted by climate change,” Campbell said. “When companies fall short of their obligations to protect their workers and the surrounding community, I’m grateful that we now have the ability to redirect those settlement funds back into the communities most harmed.”
Under the terms of the consent judgment with TRC, the company agrees to pay a $110,000 penalty, $25,000 of which is suspended if it avoids future violations of the Clean Air Act, according to Campbell’s office. Of the total, $42,500 will support “on-the-ground projects that address environmental harms in disadvantaged communities across the commonwealth.”
The consent judgment with Moriarty is pending in court. If passed, it obliges Moriarty to pay a $225,000 penalty, $112,500 of which will go into the trust, according to Campbell’s office.
When the first batch of funds arrive is not set, according to Campbell’s office.
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I will note that after the photo op by that former resident, the East Cambridge Planning Team and Rep. Mike Connolly, not him, pushed DEP to show up to assess and secure the building, over a holiday weekend, no less, because we actually care about the residents.
Did the city government have anything to do with this enforcement action?
In other news, TRC and Moriarty receive gentle slaps on the wrists.
“Such naughty boys, pay 10% of what it would have cost for your to handle it properly. Problem solved!”
There are so many more photos and they certainly were submitted to the city. I have them and submitted them. City Council ignored all and instead supported the felonious interloper who trespassed to gain a sample that everyone in the world knew would contain asbestos. It was memorialized in an SJC opinion right down to the weight. That opinion also made absolutely clear that the building posed no threat since the asbestos was not friable.
The City ignored a list in excess of 900 buildings that were on the state list for asbestos removal in Cambridge. Instead, it fed into the hysteria that somehow this courthouse was a huge public threat. Why?? Because it wanted developer Legatt McCall and its ilk to supply tax revenue generating office space and some affordable housing. What do we now have?? An empty albatross and nota Courthouse which was a tremendous asset to every business owner in East Cambridge.