Wheelabrator Millbury Inc., which operates a municipal waste combustion ash landfill at 620 Hartford Turnpike in Shrewsbury, has paid a $14,370 penalty for violating solid waste regulations at the landfill.

During a review of facility operations, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) determined that the company began construction on a new scale house at the landfill before receiving a major post closure use permit. Such a permit is required before construction can begin on a closed portion of the landfill, according to MassDEP.

"Any construction proposed on a closed portion of a landfill must be permitted prior to beginning it in order to ensure the work does not adversely affect the integrity of the landfill capping system," Lee Dillard Adams, director of MassDEP’s central regional office in Worcester, said in a statement. "The supplemental environmental project will help lower heating and cooling costs for the Town of Shrewsbury."

Wheelabrator Millbury Inc. agreed to the penalty, all of which will be used in a supplemental environmental project to help the town of Shrewsbury replace vintage windows from 1966 at the Town Hall with energy efficient windows.