Wellsville salvage yard faces EPA scrutiny, possible fines

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The operators of a Wellsville-area salvage yard — which has been the subject of a forced cleanup in recent months — have been ordered to protect a nearby creek.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency issued what is known as an administrative order that will require the owners and Kansas Department of Transportation, which is in charge of the cleanup, to take immediate steps to protect Rock Creek near the site.

Rock Creek flows into Hillsdale Lake, which is the water source for Miami County Rural Water District No. 2.

The EPA has ordered that all discharges of hazardous waste, oil and other pollutants halt immediately at the site of Truck Wholesale, 22640 Pleasant Valley Road, Wellsville. The yard is a 20-acre site along Interstate 35.

The order names property owners Mark Lambeth and Joel Lambeth and former salvage operator Danny Lambeth, in addition to KDOT.

Specifically, the order requires:

• Immediately develop and implement a plan to prevent discharges of oil and other pollutants into Rock Creek.
• Identify all solid and hazardous wastes currently being generated at the facility.
• Restrict access to areas where oil, solid and hazardous wastes have been disposed.
• Obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit from the State of Kansas.
• Develop a plan to determine where hazardous wastes have been disposed at the facility, including an investigation to determine the extent of off-site migration of waste.
• Clean up the property and any surrounding areas that may be contaminated.

In 2007, the Supreme Court of Kansas denied a request by the Lambeths to review a 2004 abatement order issued by the Miami County Circuit Court.

In January 2009, KDOT, through its contractor, Gibsons Recycling, began to dismantle and remove vehicles, parts and other materials from the site.

 The order notes that on at least four occasions between March 10, 2009, and July 24, 2009, EPA representatives visited the site to investigate reports of releases of diesel fuel, antifreeze, oils, battery wastes and other hazardous wastes on the property, and discharges of polluted stormwater from the site into nearby drainage ditches and Rock Creek.

On at least three occasions during that time, the order says, EPA or the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) directed KDOT and its contractor to take specific actions to contain the wastes and keep them from moving off the property.

But on a September 22, 2009, return visit, EPA representatives witnessed scrap metal, tires, wheels, truck parts, used oil and fuel filters, and dismantled batteries still littering the site or in drainage ditches, as well as oily sheens in puddles, and stormwater discharging from the site into ditches flowing into Rock Creek, the department said.

The EPA said in a news release that it believes that soil and stormwater runoff from the property may be contaminated with various hazardous materials.

 Under the order, the respondents have five days to certify to the EPA how their waste storage and management activities are being conducted in compliance with the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

The respondents are prohibited from resuming any waste handling, excavation, grading or other salvage activities until EPA has reviewed and approved the RCRA certification.

 Within seven days, the respondents must select an EPA-approved contractor to carry out the cleanup of the property, and within 30 days, they must submit to EPA a Site Characterization Work Plan to assess on-site contamination and off-site migration of waste, along with a schedule for completing the work. The respondents are also required to submit a final report to EPA within 45 days of all cleanup work being done.

The respondents could face civil penalties of up to $6,500 per day for any violation of the order.