The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has fined Lincoln & Mechanic Realty Trust $8,630 for violations of waste site cleanup requirements at a Marlborough property.

The property, which is owned by the trust, is located at Lincoln and Mechanic streets. MassDEP audited the trust’s ongoing cleanup of petroleum contamination, and identified violations which the trust failed to correct.

The extent of petroleum contamination had not been delineated adequately, and the proposed cleanup remedy of monitored natural attenuation was not being conducted consistently in accordance with state, federal and industry guidelines, MassDEP said. Subsequently, the trust conducted additional testing of soil vapors and groundwater to fully delineate the extent of contamination, and to show vapors from the spill were not affecting neighboring properties.

A consent order with MassDEP requires the Trust to submit a Response Action Outcome statement by April 22, closing out the site, and to pay $1,500 of the penalty. The remaining $7,130 is suspended as long as the trust does not violate cleanup requirements within the next year.

"Monitored natural attenuation is an acceptable cleanup option for some sites," said Mary Gardner, deputy director of MassDEP’s central regional office in Worcester. "The use of this cleanup option requires a complete understanding of the contamination’s extent, control of any public health risk, and a demonstration that the contamination is decreasing."