July 2, 2009
The owner of the old El Rancho Motel property in Bettendorf has been fined $6,500 for failing to inspect the vacant buildings for asbestos prior to demolition, failing to notify the Iowa Department of Natural Resources prior to the demolition work and improper handling and disposal of the motel demolition debris containing asbestos.
K.J. Excavating of rural LeClaire was ordered to pay the Iowa DNR $1,300 and the Scott County Conservation Board $5,200 as part of the consent agreement issued June 23. Robert Holst is the owner of K.J. Excavating L.C., which purchased the dilapidated motel and property at 2205 E. Kimberly Road in 2008.
The city of Bettendorf recently approved a 10-year Tax Increment Financing agreement with Hometown Harbor L.C., which plans to build a 116-unit low- and moderate-income senior housing complex on the old motel site. Hometown Harbor investors include David Smith, president of Equity Growth Group, LLC and Ryan Companies.
According to the consent agreement, the DNR received an anonymous complaint July 10, 2008 regarding demolition of the vacant motel at 2205 Kimberly Road.
When a state inspector investigated, he found one of the motel structures demolished and demolition work underway on several other buildings. Three of the four samples taken by the inspector were found to contain regulated amounts of asbestos.
The administrative consent order noted K.J. Excavating had previous knowledge of asbestos regulations and had been cited for a notification violation just two months earlier in conjunction with a motel demolition in Davenport.
In addition, another company owned and operated by Holst, Holst Trucking Company, Inc., was issued an administrative consent order in 2008 for open burning and improper solid waste disposal of demolition debris.
"Asbestos is known to cause cancer and is a hazardous air pollutant," the consent order states. "Failure to follow proper procedures to remove and dispose of the regulated asbestos containing material may create an environmental hazard to the workers and general public through the likely release of asbestos fibers."
A total of $1,000 was assessed for notification and inspection violations, $2,000 for work practice violations, $1,000 for disposal violations and $2,500 for violating the asbestos regulations less than two months after being issued a notice of violation in the previous motel demolition work.
