EPA v. COULOPOULOS, CONSTANCE

Case summary

THE WESTERN SCRAP DRUM SITE IS ASSOCIATED WITH A SCRAP YARD LOCATED AT 6901 WEST CHICAGO AVENUE, GARY, INDIANA. THE SITE IS APPROZXIMATELY 20 ACRES IN SIZE, IN AN INDUSTRI- AL AREA, WITH AN ENTRANCE ON INDUSTRIAL HIGHWAY. SEVEN TANKER TRAILERS, APPROXIMATELY THREE HUNDRED (300) 55-GALLON DRUMS AND NUMEROUS SMALLER CONTAINERS WERE FOUND ON SITE. THE DRUMS AND TWO OF THE TANKERS CONTAINED HAZARDOUS WASTES, INCLUDING PLATING WASTES, PAINT SLUDGES, INKS AND SOLVENTS. SAMPLES TAKEN REVEALED THE PRESENCE OF CYANIDES, ACIDS, POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS (PCBS) AND SOLVENTS WITH DANGEROUS LY LOW FLASH POINTS. THE WASTES WERE IN BADLY DETERIORATED CONTAINERS, WITH DRUMS CONTAINING ACID NEXT TO DRUMS CONTAIN ING CYANIDE, THE APRIL 7, 1986, LETTER REPORT OF THE TECHNI- CAL ASSISTANCE TEAM (TAT) WHICH MADE THE SITE ASSESSMENT ON AUGUST 12 AND 15 OF 1985. THE WESTERN SCRAP CORPORATION (FORMERLY WESTERN SCRAP INC.) CONDUCTS AND AT ALL RELEVANT TIMES CONDUCTED A CAR CRUSHING OPERATION ON A PORTION OF THEIR PROPERTY. THE RE- MAINING PORTION OF THE POROERTY IS A DEGRADED WETLAND COVER- ED WITH CATTAILS, BRUSH, STANDING WATER, OLD TIRES, RUBBLE, CANS, DRUMS AND TANKERS. THIS PORTION OF THE WESTERN SCRAP PROPERTY LIES ADJACENT TO THE NORTHERN BOUNDARY OF PROPERTY LEASED BY THE CONSERVATION CHEMICAL COMPANY OF ILLINOIS (CCCI). CCCI ACCEPTED LARGE VOLUMES OF HAZARDOUS WASTE FOR DISPO- SAL FROM MANY INDUSTRIAL CLIENTS FOR YEARS. CORRESPONDENCE FOUND IN CCCI FILES INDICATES THAT CCCI AND ITS NEIGHBORS HAD AN ESTABLISHED PRACTICE OF EXCHANGING WASTES (E.G., SCRAP LUMBER FOR SCRAP METAL, DRUM REMOVAL FOR PERMISSION TO POUR SLUDGE IN PONDS ETC. CCCI'S PROPERTY WAS NOMINATED FOR INCLUSION ON THE NATION- AL PRIORITIES LIST (NPL) AND CEASED OPERATIONS IN 1984. THE PROPOSED LISTING ON THE NPL WAS FINALIZED ON OCTOBER 4, 1989 54 FR 41000. A GRAVEL ACCESS ROAD THAT LEADS FROM INDUSTRI- AL HIGHWAY TO CCCI RUNS THROUGH THE WESTERN SCRAP PROPERTY. A SECOND ACCESS ROAD BRANCHES OFF WESTWARD THROUGH WESTERN SCRAP'S PROPERTY TOWARD A SMELTER. THE ABANDONED TANKERS AND THE LARGEST PILE OF DRUMS FOUND ON WESTERN SCRAP'S PROPERTY WERE ALL LEFT ALONG THE VERGE OF THIS SECOND ROAD. THE WESTERN SCRAP CAR CRUSHING OPERATION IS RUN BY PETER COULES, WHO CLAIMS THAT HIS NEIGHBOR, CCCI, WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR PLACING ALL WASTES FOUND ON THE LAND HE RENTS. MR. COULES RENTS THE WESTERN SCRAP PROPERTY, (BOTH PORTIONS) FROM AN ATTORNEY IN BOSTON, MRS. CONSTANCE COULOPOULOS. ACCORDING TO MR. COULES, THE RENTAL AGREEMENT IS VERBAL AND UNDOCUMENTED. THE MAJORITY OF DRUMS (OVER 250) AND TANKERS FOUND WERE CLUSTERED NEAR THE JUNCTURE OF THE TWO GRAVEL ACCESS ROADS. MOST OF THESE DRUMS WERE FULL. TWO OTHER AREAS OF DRUM DEPOSITION WERE FOUND FIFTY TO SEVENTY FIVE YARDS NORTH AND SOUTH OF THIS PRINCIPAL AREA OF DEPOSITION. THE DRUMS IN THE LATTER AREAS (REFERRED TO IN THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TEAM'S (TAT) REPORT AS THE NORTH AND SOUTH DRUM PILES) WERE FEWER IN NUMBER. THOSE IN THE SOUTH PILE WERE EMPTY, OPEN, RUSTED AND BADLY DETERIORATED. BECAUSE OF THE CONDITION OF THESE DRUMS, TAKEN TOGETHER WITH THE FACT THAT A CCCI EM- PLOYEE HAS REPORTED THAT THE WESTERN SCRAP PROPERTY WAS STREWN WITH DRUMS AS EARLY AS 1973 INCLUDING DRUMS LABELED GENERAL ELECTRIC, TAKEN TOGETHER WITH THE FACT THAT AT LEAST ONE DRUM IN THE SOUTH PILE BORE A GENERAL ELECTRIC (GE) LAB- EL AND WAS OF THE SAME TYPE (EQUIPPED WITH A PLASTIC LINER) AS THE DRUMS IN WHICH GE SENT FERRIC CHLORIDE TO THE CCCI SITE ONE MAY SURMISE THAT THE PRESENCE OF THESE DRUMS IN THE SOUTH PILE MAY DATE BACK TO THE 1970S WHILE IT IS MORE LIKE- LY THAT THE DRUMS IN THE CENTRAL PILE (WHICH WERE FULL, CLOSED AND NOT AS DETERIORATED) WER

Defendants (14)

• GENERAL ELECTRICNamed in complaint
• WESTERN SCRAP CORPNamed in complaint
• AMERICAN INKS AND COATINGS CORP.Named in complaint
• AMERICAN TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH INC.Named in complaint
• CONSERVATION CHEMICAL COMPANYNamed in complaint
• CONSERVATION CHEMICAL COMPANY OF ILLINOINamed in complaint
• COULES, JOHNNamed in complaint
• COULES, PETERNamed in complaint
• COULES, TEDNamed in complaint
• COULOPOULOS, CONSTANCENamed in complaint
• FRANKLIN, ALAN / FRANKLIN MAINTENANCENamed in complaint
• HJERSTED, NORMAN B.Named in complaint
• U.S. POLYCHEMICAL CORP.Named in complaint
• WAGONNER, WAYNENamed in complaint

Facilities (1)

• WESTERN SCRAP CORP

  6901 W CHICAGO, GARY, IN, 46406

  Registry ID: 110009284577

Statutes cited

• CERCLA 104E2 — Information and/or Access
• CERCLA 122E3B — Violation of 122(e)(3)(B) Subpoena
• CERCLA 107C3 — Treble Damages
• CERCLA 107A — Cost Recovery

Timeline (5 milestones)

• 1989-11-25Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 1990-06-29Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 1991-10-01Complaint Filed With Court
• 1993-07-01Concluded
• 1993-07-01Enforcement Action Closed