Paul Lukashuk, the former owner of a large parcel of land in Leominster and Sterling, was indicted by a Worcester Grand Jury for failing to report the presence of environmental contamination on his property to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP).

The properties, located along Route 12 at 1537 Central St. in Leominster and Sterling (33 acres), were for decades the site of a scrap yard and recycling facility, according to a statement. In 2001, an engineering firm hired to assess the environmental condition of the property by a potential purchaser determined that a four-acre parcel on the Leominster portion of the property was contaminated with PCBs, cadmium and lead.

Lukashuk allegedly was notified of the report and the contamination on his property, but failed to report it as required by the Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Material Release and Prevention Act, according to a statement. It is also alleged that when Lukashuk sold the property to another purchaser in 2005, he did not record a notice at the Registry of Deeds reporting that hazardous waste was disposed of on the property, as required under the state’s Hazardous Waste Management Act.