Two companies, Pan Am Railways and Boston and Maine Corporation, are being fined for failing to remove stacks of railroad ties in Western Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection said yesterday that the companies will be fined 90-thousand dollars for not removing the ties in Greenfield, Hatfield and Buckland.
Officials say it's a safety hazard and that fires have occurred in piles of ties in Holyoke, Buckland, Athol and Northfield since 2015.
No word on what the fine money will be used for.