Franklin County Company To Pay $230,000 To EPA

A Franklin County tool maker has agreed to pay nearly $230,000 to settle claims by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that it illegally discharged tainted wastewater into the local treatment facility.

Federal regulators say Mayhew Steel Co. discharged wastewater that contained more zinc and a higher acidity than is allowed by federal standards between 1985 and 2008.

The EPA said Mayhew failed to meet reporting requirements for discharges to a public sewer system, failed to obtain a permit for storm water discharges into the Deerfield River, and failed to develop a prevention plan.

Mayhew President John Lawless tells The Recorder of Greenfield the violations occurred after the company decided to do its metal finishing in-house, rather than out-source the work to a contractor, un intentionally becoming a "chemical processor."