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LOWELL — Two separate but minor incidents at Boott Hydropower electrical plant on Pawtucket Street have shut down the facility temporarily, according to a representative at the privately-owned corporation. And there is no hiding the cleanup efforts from local residents, as a fleet of environmental waste transport trucks has been at the location for more than two weeks.

“We just want to know what’s going on,” said one resident who asked not to be identified. He, and thousands of students from UMass Lowell, pass within 50 feet of the plant every day as they walk from campus to the dorms and back.

“But there is nothing to worry about,” said a representative from Central Rivers Power, the parent company of Boott along with another 44 similar plants across the country. The representative, who asked not to be identified, has clarified the event and the ongoing presence of maintenance crews.

“On Sept. 1 we had a piping failure that caused water to enter the pumphouse,” the representative said Wednesday. He said there was no release of anything toxic into the river or the environment.

“There was no public safety issue or incidents involving workers,” he said.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were immediately notified and inspectors had cleared the area for operation, the company representative said. But normal operations will not resume yet.

In a second incident six days later during the cleanup, the environmental company had a hose leak.

“MassDEP’s Emergency Response staff is aware of and responded to a release of 125 gallons of lubricating oil at the Boott Hydro plant on Sept 7,” DEP spokesperson Ed Coletta wrote in response to The Sun’s inquiries. “The release was called in during the early morning, and we had personnel there later that morning. By the time we got to the site, contractors had the spill contained.”

According to the responding official’s preliminary report: “Caller indicated that the generator room of the plant had flooded, releasing Mobil DTE 26 lubricating oil. Arrangements had been made to have ACV Enviro pump the room out and through a fractionation tank and carbon filter with authorized discharge to the canal. During the pump-out process, a cam lock on a hose became unlocked, allowing the hose to decouple and pump oily water out onto paved surfaces and the roofs of two buildings housing the lock/generator facilities.”

“We don’t yet have the documentation that the oil has been completely removed, but that is likely just because it was so recent,” said Coletta.

According to a summary of a follow-up report filed Thursday, “recovery efforts had appeared to have stabilized the situation and waste was being handled in accordance with MCP (Massachusetts Contingency Plan).”

“After the incident, we decided to use the shutdown as an opportunity to do some maintenance,” the CRP representative said, explaining why the environmental waste-removal tanker trucks remain onsite. The plant, which when fully operational produces 15 megawatts of clean renewable energy, has not produced any electricity since Sept. 1.

Without offering a firm timetable, the spokesperson said, “We will reopen when all the maintenance is complete.”

Central Rivers purchased the Boott plant, which first went online in 1985, from Enel Green Power in February 2020. Although a privately held subsidiary of Central Rivers Power, the Boott hydroelectric plant is physically located on National Park property along the south banks of the Merrimack River.

The DEP gave the “all clear” following a visit after the second incident, according to the Central Rivers representative. He said an official incident report was not made or filed by DEP of the initial event because it was “a nonmaterial event.” This refers to incidents of minor financial implications or little to no damage to the community.

Neither Boott Hydropower nor Central Rivers Power were levied with any penalty, fine or further investigation, according to the company representative.

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