Other LanguagesJudge orders owner to cooperate with cleanup effort
OLYMPIA — In a case brought by Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s Counsel for Environmental Protection, a King County Superior Court judge today adopted the Attorney General’s recommendation and sentenced a Renton man guilty of multiple felony charges to: pay $15,000 in fines, serve 30 days in jail, and to cooperate with authorities’ efforts to clean up the environmental hazards from his illegal dump and wrecking yard. The court set a future hearing determine what Pillon may have to pay to clean up the property, in addition to the fine.
“Those who violate our environmental laws and threaten our waterways must be held accountable,” Ferguson said.
Piles of household, industrial and construction waste are spread and buried over a large portion of Charles Pillon’s 10-acre property, in some places five stories high. The waste includes dozens of wrecked vehicles — including fire trucks, buses and boats — hundreds of tires, and unmarked chemical containers as large as 55 gallons each.
Pillon was convicted of one felony count of Violation of the Hazardous Waste Management Act, one felony count of Wrecking Vehicles Without a License and one gross misdemeanor count of Unlawful Dumping of Solid Waste. Ferguson filed the case in September 2016.
In convicting Mr. Pillon of a felony count of illegal storage and disposal of hazardous waste, the court found, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Mr. Pillon's hazardous waste placed May Creek and Lake Washington in imminent danger of harm. In announcing the verdict, the judge further commented that the evidence supporting the conviction was ‘substantial and overwhelming.’
In addition to the sheer quantity of waste, the contents of the waste present a serious problem. They include approximately 2,000 containers sitting on the surface of the property. These containers are unmaintained, and so present ongoing risks of leaks. EPA sampled nine of the containers on the property; three tested positive for hazardous substances. Two exhibited characteristics of ignitibility — meaning that they may tend to catch on fire.
The EPA report on the property found that "it is reasonable to conclude that dozens, perhaps hundreds, of these vessels contain hazardous substances and waste that include ignitable, corrosive, and/or toxic materials. The lack of control and management of these containers and their contents may present a substantial threat to human health and the environment. ... Given the haphazard waste management practices that have been utilized over the years, it is likely that many hundreds of chemical containers are present under the top layers of debris. These inaccessible containers may be subjected to many thousands of pounds of weight, pressure, and decaying environments that may facilitate a more rapid release of potentially hazardous contents. The known containerized hazardous substances present a threat of release to the environment."
This hazard is compounded by the location of Mr. Pillon's property. The site drains into May Creek and Lake Washington. It neighbors other residential sites, many of which rely on wells for drinking water. And it is only 2,000 feet from Apollo Elementary School in the Issaquah School District. Were the ignitable substances to start a fire on the property, it could present significant health and containment issues.
Following Pillon's conviction, the Attorney General’s Office has reached out to the state Department of Ecology, Public Health - Seattle & King County, King County Solid Waste, and the U.S. EPA to work together to plan the cleanup of the property.
The restitution hearing is set for Nov. 30, 2018.
The Attorney General’s Office prosecuted the case following a referral from the King County Prosecutor’s Office. The prosecutors are Assistant Attorney General Scott Marlow and King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Patrick Hinds.
The investigation and prosecution were conducted with important assistance from the Washington State Patrol, Washington State Department of Ecology, Public Health of Seattle-King County, King County Permitting and Land Use, King County Stormwater Management and the King County Prosecuting Attorney.
Attorney General Ferguson created the Counsel for Environmental Protection in 2016 to protect our environment and the safety and health of all Washingtonians.
-30-
The Office of the Attorney General is the chief legal office for the state of Washington with attorneys and staff in 27 divisions across the state providing legal services to roughly 200 state agencies, boards and commissions. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.
Contacts:
Brionna Aho, Communications Director, (360) 753-2727; brionna.aho@atg.wa.gov