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Westborough – Ocean State Job Lot (OSJL), was recently honored by the town of Westborough for its commitment to appropriately mitigating storm water runoff and maintaining water quality on its property and beyond. Westborough is the only town in the commonwealth to conduct private inspections of this kind.
According to Derek Saari, Westborough’s conservation officer, more than 250 sites are inspected annually to ensure that businesses are properly mitigating how storm water is drained from commercial property and parking lots and returned back to the environment.
“When we conduct inspections throughout the town, we are looking to see how responsive a company is and how they handle the complexities of putting a plan in place to ensure proper handling and maintenance,” said Saari.
Ocean State Job Lot a leading discount closeout retailer headquartered in Rhode Island with 131 stores throughout New England, New Jersey, and New York. It’s Westborough location is at 180 Milk St. in a critical area just east of the Assabet River which is a Zone II aquifer.
“With the river so close to our facility and with drinking water wells nearby, we understood that we had to address any drainage issues as soon as possible,” said Glenn Anderson, OSJL Senior Property Manager.
According to Saari, OSJL inherited existing drainage issues from the previous tenant, including leaking structural issues, parking lot flooding and ineffective gutters. The company was quick to address all structural and drainage issues which included expensive underground drainage mitigation.
“My job is to keep Westborough as clean as possible,” said Saari. “Ocean State Job Lot has more than done its part to ensure that its property and the surrounding land is in compliance and we appreciate what good neighbors they are.”
OSJL was presented with the award during the Board of Selectmen meeting July 10 at Town Hall.
