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PCB Case Seeks $700,000 In Fines For Illegal Disposal Near Spokane

Release Date: 2/3/1999
Contact Information: Daniel Duncan
[email protected]
(206) 553-6693

February 3, 1999  - - - - - - - - - - - - 99-3


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Five complaints calling for a combined total of almost $700,000 in civil penalties have been issued  by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in an enforcement action involving the illegal disposal of more than 900 tons of soil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in a landfill about 10 miles west of  Spokane.  

The complaints were announced today by Chuck Clarke, EPA’s Northwest regional administrator in Seattle.  They allege violations of  the Toxic Substances Control Act, the federal statute that regulates the handling, storage and disposal of PCB’s. The complaints are summarized below, with the penalty amounts indicated..  

Raecorp Inc. and Larry Biggs	10 violations	$330,000
Joseph A. Esposito and  Esposito, Tombari & George, P.S.	7 violations	$157,100
Graham Road Recycling and  Disposal Facility  Inc	6 violations	$115,000
Western Refuse Company	3 violations	$ 70,000
Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company	1 violation	$ 25,000
Total	27 violations	$ 697,100

           
Except for Burlington Northern, all parties are in the Spokane area.

Clarke said that more than 900 tons of PCB-contaminated soil were buried at the Graham  Road landfill near Fairchild Air Force Base in August 1996, after a chain of events that started in 1994 at a parcel of property in Spokane .  The property (at North 6401 Freya Street), owned by Burlington Northern, had been leased to Raecorp and Biggs who, in turn had subleased it to a  business firm that used the property to store an electrical transformer containing PCBs.  Because the firm had gone bankrupt, the ownership and control of the transformer was in the hands of the Esposito, Tombari & George law firm, the court-appointed bankruptcy trustees.

In September 1994, in what is thought to be the act of vandals, the contents of the transformer were released into the soil at the Freya Street property.  Almost two years later, in August 1996, the soil was  transported by Western Refuse to the Graham Road landfill.

"This is a case where  the parties involved knew better or should have known better," Clarke said.  "Test results clearly showing that the transformer and its contents were subject to regulation by of the Toxic Substances Control Act were known to Biggs and Raecorp, to the operators of the Graham Road landfill and to the bankruptcy trustees."

Acknowledging that EPA rarely takes enforcement action against bankruptcy trustees, Clarke said that the law firm -- because of the authority given to it by the bankruptcy court -- was responsible for the transformer and its contents.

"The trustees, with their knowledge of the PCB concentrations in the transformer, were in a position to insist that Biggs dispose of the PCB-contaminated soil in a manner prescribed by law, " Clarke said.  "The contaminated soil belongs in an authorized disposal facility, not in a landfill that was not designed to handle it."

Of all the parties named in the complaints, Larry Biggs is the individual facing the largest penalty.  The complaint against him asserts  "...at all times and for all purposes relevant to this action, Raecorp  Inc. has been owned and operated  by Larry D. Biggs.  In transacting business affairs, Larry D. Biggs is and has been the alter ego of Raecorp Inc."  

In assessing the penalty against Biggs, EPA considered what the complaint calls "his high degree of willful culpability" as well as the $100,000 that Biggs saved by sending the contaminated soil to the Graham Road landfill instead of a chemical waste landfill authorized by the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  

The smaller  penalties sought from Western Refuse and Burlington Northern reflect what EPA described  as their "low degree" of culpability.  The complaints hold Western Refuse and Burlington Northern accountable to the strict standards of liability under TSCA; according to the complaints, Western Refuse failed to follow procedures prescribed by TSCA when it transported the contaminated soil from North Freya Street to the Graham Road landfill, and --- even though the spill at Freya Street was the result of vandalism -- Burlington Northern bears liability because it is the owner of the property.

The privately-owned Graham Road landfill was established to receive construction debris, and is not allowed by law to receive materials such as PCBs.

As things stand now, the contaminated soil remains buried in a lined cell at the Graham Road landfill.  Depending on the season, the bottom of the cell is sometimes at a level lower than the surrounding water table.  

Even though the cell is lined to keep its contents from leaking, EPA wants the landfill operators to conduct ongoing monitoring to make sure there is no seepage that could cause PCBs or other harmful substances to migrate into groundwater.