The Attorney General’s Office has filed a lawsuit against David Padellaro and his now defunct company, Lawrence-based Merrimack Street Redevelopment Authority LLC, for alleged violations of the state’s asbestos and hazardous materials laws.
The court issued a temporary restraining order yesterday prohibiting Padellaro from conducting further work at the property, unless necessary for the authorized demolition of unsafe buildings that have been damaged by a series of fires. The city of Lawrence has issued demolition orders for several buildings at the site.
The court order halts all demolition and salvage work at the site, with the exception of an approved plan from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) to finish demolition work at the fire-damaged buildings, in accordance with asbestos, waste cleanup and hazardous materials laws, as ordered by the city of Lawrence.
Padellaro acquired the South Canal Street property located along the Merrimack River site in 2010. It contains numerous vacant and structurally unsound and asbestos-containing buildings that have been repeatedly subject to fire and vandalism, many of which are in danger of potential collapse. The site has also been subject to several releases of oil and hazardous materials.
Despite issuance of two administrative orders by the MassDEP, Padellaro has continued metal salvaging operations over the last several months without implementing legally-required safety measures including wetting building areas to prevent the release of asbestos, monitoring the air during such operations and properly disposing of asbestos-containing waste material at the site.
According to the complaint, Padellaro has also allowed the illegal storage of solid waste at the site, such as concrete, brick, metal and other debris, and has failed to give MassDEP required notice of his metal salvaging and demolition activities on numerous occasions over the past three years. He also allegedly repeatedly failed to implement protective asbestos emission control measures, including sealing off of the work areas to prevent exposure to asbestos from his activities. To date, MassDEP has incurred more than $86,000 in contractor and oversight costs at the property.
The complaint seeks civil penalties, as well as costs incurred for the assessment, containment, and removal of hazardous material at the site.
Between the late 1800s and 2005, the 3.4-acre site was used by the Merrimac Paper Co. as a paper processing and finishing plant. The site contains at least 28 interconnected buildings or structures, ranging in size and up to four stories above ground, as well as various subsurface components. The buildings have been damaged by fires in November 2009 and August 2010, and most recently, a five-alarm fire in January that severely damaged several buildings on the site.
