EPA Fines Demolition Contractor for Asbestos Violations

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that BCS Enterprises, a Gilbert, Ariz. demolition contractor, and the Arizona Department of Transportation will pay a $36,410 penalty to resolve alleged violations of Clean Air Act asbestos removal and other requirements.

According to the EPA, ADOT hired BCS Enterprises in March 2006 to demolish a structure in Florence Junction, Ariz. that included about 2,800 square feet of transite asbestos-containing roofing shingles.

During the demolition, BCS Enterprises and ADOT allegedly violated federal law by failing to remove the asbestos shingles before demolition; failing to maintain and provide proper waste shipment records; and failing to properly notify the EPA and the local air pollution control agency of the demolition and asbestos removal operations.

In 2003, ADOT paid about $116,000 in penalties, and implemented a compliance program to settle a judicial case against itself and four other defendants involving notification and inspection violations at four demolition sites in Arizona.

In 2005, ADOT settled two administrative enforcement actions for notification violations involving demolitions of an abandoned fuel island in Show Low, Ariz. and a bridge at Interstate 10 and Loop 202 interchange south of Chandler, Ariz. To settle these two administrative actions, ADOT paid a penalty of about $10,000 and funded more than 30 training seminars at a cost of about $45,000.