North Adams DPW Worker Guilty of Spilling Diesel Fuel

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A North Adams man pleaded guilty on Wednesday afternoon in Berkshire Superior Court to several charges.

Glenn A. Robert, 63,  pleaded guilty before Judge John Agostini on single counts of violation of the notification requirement of a release or threat of release of oil or hazardous waste, illegal disposal of hazardous waste and discharging a pollutant into the waters of the commonwealth.

Agostini continued the charges without a finding for two years on the condition that Robert pay restitution to the city of North Adams in the amount of $3,868 to compensate it for a environmental report required by the Department of Environmental Protection.

Robert, a North Adams Public Works employee, spilled approximately 20 gallons of diesel fuel at the Department of Public Works garage in North Adams on Oct. 15, 2012.

The investigation was conducted by investigators assigned to the Department of Environmental Protection. Mayor Richard Alcombright said Robert was suspended for a month but the longtime employee will be back to work.

Robert was apparently fueling up a machine when he went inside the office to log the gallons. When he came out, the pump had slipped from the machine and fuel was going into a nearby drain that goes into the river. Alcombright said the city was notified of a strong smell of fuel from Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.

Robert tried to soak up the fuel with Speedi-Dri and booms were put in the river to contain the spill.

Updated on Nov. 14, 2013, with further information.