DEEP Cites Housatonic Railroad With Violations

State regulators have issued a notice of violation to Housatonic Railroad and Newtown Transload in connection with its property at 30 Hawleyville Road, a site that has been embroiled in controversy for years.

The notice, which was issued earlier this month, follows a Sept. 30 inspection from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in which officials found several violations, including what appears to be an alteration of its solid waste operations without the necessary state approvals.

The state also cited the railroad and its operators with failing to unload waste within an enclosed structure, failing to exclude hazardous materials and other restricted materials, failing to maintain fire protection equipment and failing to post appropriate signs and monthly summaries.

The site has been a thorn in the side of Hawleyville residents, who have been lobbying to get the railroad to shut down its operations, particularly the solid waste component.

Last year, to the railroad to clear illegally dumped fill material on the property but denied plans to add a rail spur.

The railroad uses the property to receive lumber, plywood and other similar products by rail, storing them briefly on site before placing them on trucks and shipping them out to regional distributors or retail outlets.

The larger issue, however, is with the solid waste transfer business in which the facility receives construction and demolition debris by truck, and then loading the material onto railcars for transport to landfills in other states, primarily in Ohio. The railroad is in the process of applying for a permit to expand that business from the state.

These recently issued violations appear to indicate the railroad is not complying with state regulations, a situation that Newtown Land Use Director George Benson said local officials have brought to the state's attention previously.

"We've been telling them that for years," Benson said.

In addition to the violations, state officials said a significant amount of flies were found in the area, which may indicate a public safety hazard with the breeding of insect vectors.

The railroad and its representatives must submit a compliance state by Nov. 7, according to the state notice of violation.

"Until the DEEP has received such a statement, the DEEP will presume you remain in violation," according to the notice.