Dive summary:
- Customers of the Mount Solo Landfill in Washington might have to pay for landfill monitoring and clean up after the city was unable to get the money from the bankrupt owner of the landfill.
- The landfill closed in 1993 but former owner Robert Radakovich Sr. is still liable for landfill costs, he has no assets the city can seize so possible former customers are being targeted.
- Under state law, landfill customers can be held partially liable for landfill cleanup; notices of potential liability have been sent to 23 companies and meetings have started to reach payment agreements.
From the article:
Some company officials, though, say the county is just looking for deep pockets.
“Who in their right mind would agree to an open-ended check for something that really should have been taken care of through the cost of dumping and fees?” asked Shannon Barnett of Kelso’s JL Storedahl & Sons Inc. “It’s an unfortunate situation, but I don’t agree with the way the county is going about it ... bringing all the prominent taxpayers and job providers of the community in.”
The county still maintains that landfill owner Robert Radakovich Sr. is responsible for restoring monitoring, making repairs and cleaning up any contamination. The unlined, private landfill opened in the 1960s and closed in 1993. ...
