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December 28, 2006

Cumberland firm accused of shipping hazardous waste

PROVIDENCE -- A Rhode Island shipping company is facing more than $100,000 in fines after being charged with knowingly transporting hazardous waste in violation of federal law, the U.S. Attorney's Office said today.

Berkeley Transportation Company, of Cumberland, is accused of illegally shipping hazardous waste on two occasions in 2004 from 155 Amaral St. in East Providence to a transportation depot on Jefferson Boulevard in Warwick.

Prosecutors, in the two-count information filed today in U.S. District Court, Providence, did not detail the type of hazardous waste involved.

The owner of the shipping company, Bradford Dean, 56, of Cumberland, is a partner and an officer for Amaral Street Associates, which had recently sold the East Providence property and hired Berkeley Transportation to truck away waste that had been stored there, according to federal prosecutors.

Berkeley Transportation has agreed to plead guilty to the charges, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. As part of the agreement, the company will pay $35,000 to the state Department of Environmental Management's Environmental Response Fund.

Prosecutors also plan to seek an additional fine of $80,000 and an order forcing the company to establish an environmental compliance program.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples  at 2:09 PM | Permalink

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