The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority was ordered to pay at least $230,000 for failing to clean asbestos and other hazardous materials from the former South Boston Power Plant.

A judgment in favor of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection in Suffolk Superior Court calls for the MBTA to pay $130,000 to the South Boston Community Health Center’s Asthma Program.

"Mass DEP wanted to ensure that the South Boston community would receive a direct environmental benefit from this agreement," DEP acting commissioner Arleen O’Donnell said in a statement.

The transportation authority will also have to pay the state a $100,000 penalty, which will increase to $326,000 if it fails to stick to a newly established clean up schedule.

According to the DEP, conditions at the former site of the power plant were brought to its attention in 1997 by a citizen complaint. DEP officials found oil, asbestos and other hazardous materials being released into the environment.

According to the department, the MBTA failed to notify it about the conditions and did not properly clean or restrict access to the area.

By 2004 the asbestos had been safely removed from the site, and the MBTA was allowed to begin demolishing the buildings. The authority is also currently cleaning groundwater and soil on the property. The MBTA was also ordered to submit a final outcome report to the state by 2008.

"The T will meet its obligations in the settlement," said spokesman Joe Pesaturo.

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