Monday, August 8, 2016

North-Central Iowa Man Pleads Guilty To Unlawfully Storing Hazardous Waste

Richard Delp, 62, from Cedar Falls, Iowa, pled guilty August 3, 2016, in federal court in Cedar Rapids, to a charge of unlawfully storing hazardous waste.

Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing revealed Delp, from about January 1, 2004, and continuing to on or about October 23, 2012, knowingly stored, or caused the storage of, hazardous waste by storing drums, tanks, totes, and vats containing corrosive and toxic hazardous waste at his now defunct Cedar Valley Electroplating facility in Cedar Falls, Iowa, without a permit authorizing the storage. Delp continued to unlawfully store the hazardous waste despite being alerted to the problem in 2005 and, again, in 2010 by civil inspections conducted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”). Instead of addressing the problem, he abandoned the hazardous wastes when he closed the business in September 2011. This resulted in the public paying more than $789,138.03 in clean-up costs.

The case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal investigation Division and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.

• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)