MassDEP fines transfer station for ‘failing to prevent rat infestation’ after fire

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WLNE) — The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection said it fined E.L. Harvey & Sons, Inc. for failing to prevent a rat infestation after a fire at the company’s waste transfer station on Shawmut Avenue on May 14.

MassDEP said the fire at the station “compromised the structural integrity of the building where solid waste was handled, and the material could not be removed.”

Rats were then seen around the area of the fire, and caused the playground near New Bedford Regional Airport to shut down.

MassDEP said the company was fined $29,980, instructed it to take “immediate action” to control the infestation, and ordered it to not accept waste at the transfer station until authorized.