The federal Environmental Protection Agency has ordered Public Works to clean up the wetlands area next to the Bovoni dump or face penalties. EPA will closely monitor the cleanup.
For the past 20 years the PWD has used the wetland area east of the landfill as a junk car, appliance and tire depository — for the last three and a half years against the orders of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
After Hurricane Marilyn the corps discovered the violations and ordered Public Works officials to stop filling the wetlands, but they didn't. In 1997 the corps asked EPA to take legal action to stop it, according to a release Thursday from EPA.
EPA conducted an investigation and concluded PWD was violating the federal Clean Water Act. Earlier this month EPA and DPW signed a consent agreement that orders Public Works to clean up the sensitive tidal salt flats and mangrove wetlands.
