Pennsylvania AG Charges Men with Dumping

Pennsylvania Attorney General Mike Fisher announced that agents from his Environmental Crimes Section have criminally charged a Berks County, Pa.,  businessman, his company's general manager and a private contractor with burying nearly 200 fifty-five gallon drums, some of which contained hazardous wastes including lead and silver.

The drums were allegedly buried at the former Reading Industrial Scrap Yard site in Berks County. The charges allege that the illegal pit, dug on the property, also contained asbestos and other solid wastes.

According to the criminal charges, the defendants between June 2001 and August 2002 knowingly and intentionally buried nearly 200 drums that in some cases contained liquid that tested positive for lead and silver.

Fisher said one of the men and his company were each charged with two felony counts of illegally disposing and storing hazardous waste and three counts of Unlawful Conduct under Pennsylvania's Solid Waste Management Act.

Fisher said Fred Snyder, one of the accused, in September 2000 purchased the former RISCO site through his company Group Two Properties. The charges allege that Snyder hired another accused to haul the hazardous waste and other materials on the property to several legal waste sites, including the BFI Landfill in Morgantown, Pa.

According to the Affidavit of Probable Cause, after accepting waste for 12 days in June and July 2001, BFI denied Group Two Properties access to the waste site, claiming that Snyder was behind on his payments to the landfill.

Afterward, according to an announcement by the Attorneys General office two of the accused decided to bury everything on RISCO site.

Fisher said the criminal investigation was referred to his Environmental Crimes Section by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) after the agency received a tip that hundreds of drums were buried at the site. As part of the investigation, Fisher's agents between August 21 and 26, 2002 conducted a search of the property.

"During the search, my agents and DEP personnel unearthed nearly 200 large, and in some cases leaking drums," Fisher said. "Tests on some of the materials found inside several drums determined the presence of significant levels of lead and silver, which are two known hazardous materials. Creating a potential environmental disaster to save money is not the way we do business in Pennsylvania. Those who chose that route will be arrested and prosecuted."

Fisher said, "In our view, these defendants had no permission, no permits and no legal right to bury hazardous materials in the ground."

Investigators said Snyder in March 2002 sold the property to another company. The agreement of sale, signed by the new owner and Snyder, stated that the property was free of any "hazardous substances" and that the seller has no knowledge of "hazardous substances" on the premises. Snyder claimed that he conducted an environmental assessment and that the site was completely clean.

Fisher said separate charges of Unlawful Conduct were filed against Snyder and Group Two Properties accusing both parties of falsely claiming that the property did not contain hazardous waste at the time of sale. In September 2002, Group Two Properties was ordered by the DEP to clean the site.