Company Owes $225K For Illegal Work On Braintree Asbestos Water Mains

BRAINTREE, MA — A Massachusetts construction company and its president will pay up to $225,000 after conducting illegal work on asbestos water mains in Braintree, the Office of the Attorney General said.

According to a lawsuit filed in July, GTA Co., Inc. and its president, Gregory T. Antonelli, violated the state’s Clean Air Act and Solid Waste Management Act when they removed and demolished asbestos-containing municipal water pipes.

The Everett-based company did so without complying with required asbestos abatement work practices as part of the water main replacement projects in Everett and Braintree, officials said.

GTA Co. left the "excavated uncontained asbestos-contaminated pipes and debris on the ground and in open dumpsters in Everett and Braintree," officials said.

The AG’s complaint also alleges that they arranged for the transport of asbestos-contaminated waste that they failed to safely contain from the Everett projects, and the illegal storage of the waste at a site in Revere, further endangering public health in the process.

This payment agreement settles the lawsuit from July.

GTA and Antonelli will pay up to $225,000 in civil penalties, $50,000 of which will be suspended pending compliance with the settlement, officials said.

GTA is also required to notify MassDEP weekly of any upcoming projects that will involve asbestos abatement and provide a trained supervisor if the work is performed by GTA for the next two years.

The company will also train any employees who worked on the Everett and Braintree projects how to properly and safely work with asbestos. For the next two years, GTA must also have at least one trained supervising employee present at projects where it conducts asbestos work.