DEC charges Albion man with illegal dumping of asbestos on wildlife management area
Press Release, Department of Environmental Conservation
Photo from DEC: Asbestos-laden materials are shown at illegal dump site in the Town of Alabama.
TOWN OF ALABAMA – On Jan. 3 DEC conservation officers charged an Albion man for dumping asbestos-laden materials on state land after a seven-month-long investigation.
Carl J. Rivers, 49, was arrested on felony charges of endangering public health, safety, or the environment in the 3rd degree, a class E Felony, as well as a violation level charges of unlawfully disposing of solid waste in Tonawanda Wildlife Management Area in Alabama, Genesee County.
In May 2018, environmental conservation officer Gary Wilson was notified of an illegal dumpsite on Klossen Road. Wilson investigated the dump site and immediately notified the DEC Spills unit and investigators with DEC’s Bureau of Environmental Crimes Investigation (BECI) unit.
Investigators from DEC’s Division of Law Enforcement’s Environmental Forensics Unit (EFU) and the State Department of Labor’s Asbestos Control Team assisted with the case. DEC Spills unit hired a contractor to clean up and remove the hazardous debris, which was brought to a registered facility.
Rivers, already in custody on an unrelated charge, was transported to the Town of Alabama Court for arraignment. The felony charge carries a maximum penalty of up to four years in prison and/or a fine up to $150,000.
The violation carries a penalty of up to 15 days in jail and/or a fine of $1,500 to $15,000.
Rivers is due back in court on March 7. The DEC was assisted in this case by the State Department of Labor – Asbestos Control Bureau, the U.S. EPA, and the New York State Police.
