The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection fined Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) of Dallas $22,360 for not reporting the discovery of an oil spill at an abandoned home in a timely manner.
FNMA took ownership of the Southbridge Road property in July 2016 in a foreclosure. In 2017, the company detected oil contaminants in the groundwater, the result of a 2013 spill, but did not report the findings until July 2020, according to a Thursday press release from MassDEP.
The company excavated 376 tons of oil-contaminated soil from the property. Follow-up sampling showed no contamination in groundwater at the site or in nearby wells.
“Under the state cleanup program, property owners must promptly notify MassDEP of oil or hazardous material releases to the environment,” Mary Jude Pigsley, director of MassDEP’s Central Regional Office in Worcester, said in the press release.
