Uxbridge outfit slapped with $54K DEP fine

UXBRIDGE — The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has assessed a $54,600 penalty against Cnossen Realty Trust for violating state wetlands regulations at a property the Trust owns off of Commerce Drive in Uxbridge.

At the request of the Uxbridge Conservation Commission, DEP staff inspected the property and found that the Trust had cleared and altered 2½ acres of land in the floodplain and more than an acre of bordering vegetated wetlands within protected species habitat, without obtaining a permit from the Conservation Commission.

To address the violations, the Trust has reached a settlement with DEP, in which it agreed to restore the altered wetland resource areas, pursue certification of potential vernal pools in the altered area, and pay the full penalty.

“Riverfront area, river bank, bordering vegetated wetlands and land subject to flooding are significant wetland resource areas that provide valuable wildlife habitat and several important functions related to water quality and stormwater protection,” said Mary Jude Pigsley, director of DEP’s Central Regional Office in Worcester.

“It is important that any work in these areas is approved through the wetland permitting process, and conditioned to protect those functions for the benefit of public welfare and the environment,” he said.

MassDEP is responsible for ensuring clean air and water, safe management and recycling of solid and hazardous wastes, timely cleanup of hazardous waste sites and spills and the preservation of wetlands and coastal resources.