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| Brownfields Weekly |
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January 24, 2002 THIS WEEK:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- If your agency or company isn't yet listed on Brownfields.com well-visited Industry Links page, get listed by sending your home page link and a short description of what you offer the brownfields industry to: Editors@Brownfields.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Environmental Contractor Jailed for
Fraudulent Storage Tank Tests GREENVILLE, South Carolina (ENS) - A former environmental contractor will spend 27 months in jail for defrauding owners and operators of underground storage tanks. James Edward Adams has been sentenced to 27 months in prison and three years of supervisory release for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and related crimes, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday. Adams was the former president and owner of Carolina Upgrading of South Carolina, Inc., a South Carolina environmental contracting business providing testing services for owners and operators of underground storage tanks (USTs). USTs contain petroleum products including gasoline, and UST owners and operators are required by law to have their tanks tested to ensure their systems are not leaking any petroleum into the groundwater or soil. On August 24, 2001, Adams and the company pled guilty to a 15 count Indictment, which charged that from March 1994 through October 1999, Adams directed employees of his company to provide false UST test reports to owners and operators of UST facilities located in South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Virginia and Tennessee. Adams and his employees printed false graphs for improper UST tests, or tests that were not performed. Many of the false tests became known as driveway tests, because employees would generate the tests on a computer in their own driveways, without ever testing the UST facilities. Adams ordered employees to send the false test results and an invoice for payment through the mail to the company's customers. From 1994 through 1999, over 1500 false tests were performed, for at least 400 customers in six states. UST owners and operators who were defrauded ranged from small commercial gas stations to a state college to a federal courthouse building. The total fraud suffered by customers of Adams and the company is about $750,000. Adams was ordered to pay a special assessment of $1,500, but was not fined due to his inability to pay. The company was placed on probation for three years and ordered to pay a special assessment of $6,000. Mark Scruggs and Chris Fletcher, former employees of the company, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud in April of 2000. Each were sentenced to five months of home confinement. Strategies for Purchasing Federal
Brownfields Sites With the end of the Cold War, the federal government is closing or consolidating hundreds of military installations and weapons manufacturing facilities across the country. Military installations can be attractive properties for developers and local communities. These facilities typically have highly-developed infrastructures like paved roads, office buildings and schools. The bases can also come equipped with airports and golf courses. But many of the federal installations have been heavily contaminated with a variety of hazardous substances. Until the 1970's, toxic and radioactive wastes were often dumped on the ground, buried or poured into unlined pits and lagoons. The conversion of military installations to civilian use can be crucial to many local economies and could prove to be sound investments to private developers. Learn how, as a prospective purchaser, to conduct appropriate environmental due diligence and carefully negotiate the covenants regarding the environmental conditions of the property in this detailed article. Click here to read the complete article. Register Now for ENTECH '02 The premier business & technology event for environmental managers and professionsals, EH&S managers and HAZMAT managers, ENTECH '02 combines the "must know" EH&S operating requirements, with a hard look into the future. Attendees will gain new insight, not only about EH&S challenges, but also about how to recognize, plan for, respond to, and recover from threats to Enterprise Continuity. ENTECH '02 provides the forum to get both the best and latest information and training AND to meet the professionals behind the practices and technologies. For more information on ENTECH '02 and to exhibit or register, please
visit: New Report Harmonizes Two Risk Management
Cultures WASHINGTON, D.C. - A new report suggests how the environmental risk management industry can break down the barriers that separate the chemical and radiation risk approaches. Published by The Environmental Law Institute (ELI) and the Johns Hopkins Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute, "Chemical and Radiation Environmental Risk Management at the Crossroads" evaluates six U.S. case studies and examines similarities and differences in approach and decisionmaking between the chemical and radiation risk fields. While the Cold War and its legacy shaped the management of radiological risks, chemical risk management was largely spawned in the 1970's and 1980's in an era of increasing concern about the environmental hazards and an expanding public role in decisionmaking. Separate treatment of these two fields by the scientific and regulatory communities led to the evolution of two "cultures," and the emergence of distinct chemical and radiation risk management strategies. "The lessons learned from these case studies are clear," said Dr. Paul Locke, Director of ELI's Center for Public Health and Law and the study's project manager. "There is much common ground in the management of chemical and radiation risks. Despite the differences in approach, the protection of public health is the fundamental goal at all of these sites." Copies of "Chemical and Radiation Environmental Risk Management at the Crossroads" can be downloaded free from ELI's web site: http://www.eli.org Arizona Brownfields Projects Subject
of PBS Film Series PHOENIX, Arizona - Arizona has been telling others around the country about their successful brownfields projects for years -- now someone else will tell their story. The producers of the Our Urban Environment PBS series have selected Arizona for the upcoming 10-part project entitled "Reclaiming America's Cities." Filming begins this week in Phoenix and Tucson. "Based on conversations with key people, such as Rosanne Sanchez with the City of Phoenix," said series producer and director Dr. John W. Sutherlin, "we did not think this series could be complete without a trip to Arizona." What Arizona and the main cities have done is bridge the gap between environmental protection and economic development through the forging of a unique partnership with conservationists, insurance and financial entities, land developers and regulators. One such project is the MetroNorth Corporate Park in Phoenix. There, an area once known as Deer Valley Computer Park was an under utilized, aging parcel of land with certain environmental and pollution issues. Then, through a massive effort of state, city and federal regulatory agents, along with Dimension Financial & Reality Investments and other corporate partners (i.e., McDonald's, Fry's Electronics) built an attractive complex that used regional landscaping scenes that even included a 520-unit luxury apartment building. Although the project cost more than $200 million, the amount of new jobs, business and additional tax revenue (not to mention the fact that more than 150 acres were cleaned up) will greatly reduce the sting and actually become a profitable investment over time. The crew from Our Urban Environment will travel to other areas this spring including Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Alabama. The series is scheduled for release in the fall of 2003. |