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ARTICLE · 23 MAY 2024

Clean Energy Developers Beware! EPA Will Prosecute You For Runoff From Your Solar Farm Sites

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
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Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

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EPA issued a press release yesterday that caught my eye and if you're in the business of building things, including solar projects, it is worthy of your attention too.

United StatesEnvironment
Jeffrey Porter
Jeffrey Porter
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EPA issued a press release yesterday that caught my eye and if you're in the business of building things, including solar projects, it is worthy of your attention too. The press release announces a settlement between a solar farm developer and EPA relating to the alleged discharge of "sediment-laden water" from a solar farm site to "a neighbor's pond and well water".

First the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the Office of the Attorney General, and then EPA, have been bringing these cases for years. Often they involve projects that went to some lengths to stabilize the project sites and contain storm water during construction. Strong storms during construction overwhelm the stormwater management systems constructed and stormwater and sediment (what you might call dirt) from the construction site enters nearby waterways. The "sediment", or "dirt" is considered a "pollutant" under the Federal Clean Water Act (and Massachusetts law).

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