A construction site in Monroe, New York meant to become a sprawling mixed-use development is now at the center of a major federal safety enforcement action, after inspectors say they discovered a nearly 75-foot-high embankment that was unstable and left without proper shoring or sloping. The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed more than $648,000 in combined penalties against the companies working on the project, citing hazards that could have buried workers alive.
Inspectors Describe a Steep, Unstable Wall of Earth
According to CBIA, the U.S. Department of Labor proposed penalties of more than $648,000 against six construction employers in New York and New Jersey after determining the companies exposed workers to serious safety hazards at the Monroe, New York project. The site in question, known as Monroe Commons, sits on roughly 18 acres and is planned to become a four-story, 408,000-square-foot mixed-use commercial development, as reported by Engineering News-Record.
OSHA said the violations stemmed from excavation work at the site, and the agency investigated reports of struck-by and collapse hazards there, per CBIA. Inspectors ultimately found an excavation with a steep, unstable, inadequately sloped embankment nearly 75 feet high — a finding the same outlet reports was central to the case. The publication Engineering News-Record separately reported that inspectors found the embankment was unstable and not adequately sloped or shored, according to the agency.
Nearly Two Dozen Serious Citations, Plus Five Willful Violations
OSHA issued 23 serious citations and five willful citations connected to the project, according to CBIA. The willful designation is reserved for violations an employer is found to have committed with plain indifference to, or intentional disregard for, worker safety — a notably harsher finding than a standard serious citation.
CBIA reports that OSHA issued citations to general contractor Advanced Plan and Build LLC and five subcontractors, while Engineering News-Record likewise described the citations as going to general contractor Advanced Plan and Build LLC and five subcontractors. The cited violations included failure to protect workers from cave-in, struck-by, and chemical hazards; failure to protect workers from falling or rolling rock and soil; and failure to ensure a competent person conducted daily excavation inspections, per CBIA. The same categories of hazards — including falling-rock and soil dangers — were described by Insurance Journal, which reported citations tied to not ensuring daily inspections of excavations were conducted by a competent person.
Among the more technical findings, OSHA cited Advanced Plan and Build LLC and The Paving Masters LLC for failing to ensure the excavation was designed by a registered professional engineer, according to CBIA. Engineering News-Record reported that the excavation in question ranged from 21 feet to 75 feet deep — a depth range that helps explain why engineering oversight became a focal point of the citations.
Seven Companies Named, Penalties Ranging Into the Hundreds of Thousands
The companies named for penalties include Advanced Plan and Build LLC, The Paving Masters LLC, Parkstone Inc., Obstacle Systems Inc., Century Max Industries Corp., DelValle Contractor, and Prime Structure Inc., according to CBIA. Notably, OSHA’s own news release described six construction employers as cited, while the reported penalty allocation names seven companies, with Parkstone and Obstacle Systems grouped under a single combined penalty amount — a discrepancy that remains unresolved in the available reporting.
Per Engineering News-Record’s breakdown of the proposed penalties, Parkstone and Obstacle Systems together face $198,615, The Paving Masters faces $188,684, and Advanced Plan and Build faces $175,444. Century Max Industries was assessed $46,340, Prime Structure was assessed $19,860, and DelValle Contractor was assessed $19,151. OSHA’s combined proposed penalty figure, as reported by CBIA, totals $648,094.
A Known Industry Danger
Excavation collapses remain one of construction’s deadliest hazards. From 2003 to 2017, there were 373 trenching deaths nationwide, with more than 80% occurring in the construction industry, according to the CDC/NIOSH. Federal excavation standards require that when excavation work endangers the stability of adjoining buildings, walls, or other structures, support systems such as shoring, bracing, or underpinning must be provided to protect employees, according to the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations.
OSHA encouraged employers to learn about complying with federal safety standards and protecting workers around trenches and excavations, CBIA reported. The evidence available does not indicate whether the cited companies have contested the citations or whether the proposed penalties have since been changed or finalized, and no statements from the companies or the project’s owner were included in the available reporting.
