10M Gallons of Raw Sewage Spilled Around Plymouth: DA

PLYMOUTH, MA - A wastewater treatment plant operator is being sued for allegedly discharging ten million gallons of raw, untreated sewage late last year and earlier this year, Attorney General Maura Healey announced Thursday.

The complaint, filed in Suffolk Superior Court against Veolia Water North America-Northeast LLC (Veolia) and related companies, alleges the operator failed to properly maintain and operate the Town of Plymouth’s wastewater treatment plant and collection system.

Veolia currently operates Plymouth’s treatment plant and collection system, pursuant to a contract with the town.

The negligence allegedly caused raw sewage to be discharged into wooded areas around Plymouth between December 2015 and January 2016.

The complaint alleges the operator also discharged untreated wastewater into Plymouth Harbor in 2012.

Shellfish beds in parts of Kingston Bay and Duxbury Bay were forced to temporarily shut down due to high fecal coliform levels in the water. Consuming shellfish contaminated by sewage can pose a serious risk to human health.

“It is critically important that wastewater treatment facilities, like the one operated by Veolia in Plymouth, are adequately maintained and properly operated,” Healey said in the announcement. “This is a case involving repeated, serious violations of state laws that threatened public health and our invaluable water resources.”

The complaint also alleges that the facility was inadequately staffed.