Syracuse Contractor Charged with Improper Disposal

November 14, 2006 - A Syracuse, NY building contractor who was responsible for demolishing an old Agway building in the town of Dewitt has been charged by the U.S. Attorney’s office for improper handling and disposal of asbestos waste.

The contractor, Everett Blatche, left it up to his employees to dispose of hazardous asbestos as they wished, which included illegal dumping in normal refuse containers and the pouring of asbestos-tainted water down drains that flowed into public streets, notes WSYR NewsChannel 9. 

Because these are all violations of the Clean Air and Water Acts, Blatche faces up to 10 years in prison. 

He is also charged with failure to post notices as to the type of work going on at the site.  No signs indicated that asbestos abatement was occurring, so neighbors were unaware of what was taking place just steps from their front doors.

One neighbor told Channel 9 that he wasn’t told of the work and that the worst part in his mind is that inspectors from both the state Department of Labor and US Environmental Protection Agency had both known about the violations for at least a month.  The agencies say they gave the contractor one warning before taking action.  They thought the violations would cease, but when they didn’t, the EPA stepped in.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Blatche also did not supply his employees with the proper gear for handling asbestos materials.