The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has fined two naval contractors for violating pollutant runoff sections of the Clean Water Act. The contracting companies, Pettini Contracting Corp., Mystic, Conn., and M.A. Mortenson Co., Minneapolis, have been working on projects at the Navy's submarine base.

The EPA said it fined Pettini and M.A. Mortenson for failing to implement and maintain storm water controls, conduct and document storm water inspections and amend to storm water pollution control plans. The fine totaled $17,000 for the two companies, although the EPA could have levyed a much higher fine under the Clean Water Act.

The project the contracting companies have been working on is a submarine escape trainer, a tower that can be filled with water for teaching submariners how to get out of disabled subs and ascend to the surface. The new tower, which replaces an outdated model that long since has been demolished, is set into the side of a steep slope.

The project is nearly complete, but related construction and demolition projects have been ongoing at the base, which stretches along the banks of the Thames River. The naval base's storm water systems channel water into the river.

The EPA Region 1 office in Boston handled the case against Pettini and M.A. Mortenson.

Source: The Hartford Courant