(cloudy brook)
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For the second time in four months, the school department has acknowledged that paint originating from a custodian’s sink at Congin School trickled into a brook that runs from near the school on Bridge Street down into the Presumpscot River. The incident occurred Monday. According to City Council President Brendan Rielly, the sink was supposedly fixed by a plumber in March, after Cumberland Street residents reported the cloudy-colored brook to the Department of Environmental Protection. Neighbor Jen Wescott said she has already spoken to officials at the Department of Environmental Protection and school department, as well as city councilors and code enforcement officer, about this latest spill. Eric Hamlin, of the department’s solid waste division, said in March that penalties handed out by the DEP are determined by the severity of the impact, the history with the department and whether the offender knowingly broke the law. Hamlin said the department’s first concern before considering a monetary penalty is that action is taken to fix a problem. Rielly said the city was not fined after the first incident.
Photo courtesy of Jen Wescott
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