During the summer of 2006, the Community Development Corporation of Kansas City was in the middle of a demolition campaign. To make way for the Citadel Plaza shopping center, the CDC had contracted with Delroy Fadell to tear down a number of houses just north of 63rd Street.
When Thomas Gerleman, an inspector for the City of Kansas City, showed up, he watched men hastily loading building debris into the back of a station wagon. Because of the age of the housing stock, Gerleman knew the wreckage of the homes likely contained asbestos, microscopic fibers that impair lung function when inhaled. When Gerleman started asking questions, though, the workers became "belligerent and threatening."
Within a few months, both the city and the state cracked down on the CDC's sloppy and dangerous demolition practices. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources slapped the developer with a $450,000 financial settlement for failing to properly handle and dispose of the carcinogen and ordered the CDC to remediate the area.
As evidenced in this week's Pitch feature story, the CDC hasn't made good on contracts it signed with area landholders. But property owners aren't the only ones who have been stiffed. More than two years since the CDC signed an environmental settlement with the state, the developer hasn't paid a cent or dealt with the asbestos.
At the end of December, the office of Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster filed a lawsuit against the CDC in Jackson County Circuit Court. The complaint alleged that the corporation had failed to "implement the Soil Land Disturbance Contingency Plan, providing for the safe and lawful removal and disposal of asbestos containing materials." According to the AG's office, the CDC had also failed to pay the first $15,000 of a $50,000 civil penalty by a December 2009 deadline.
Lee doesn't deny the allegations. He simply acknowledges that the CDC doesn't have the money to pay off the fine or start the expensive clean-up. "We are not in a position to meet the agreement that we had with the MDNR," he says.
But the city isn't ready to pick up the tab, either.
Last year, residents watched city employees, wearing haz-mat suits and face masks, clearing debris on the Citadel site. But Mike Schumacher, assistant director of the Neighborhood Services department, says that effort wasn't an attempt to clean up the CDC's mess.
Schumacher says the asbestos remediation was confined to illegal dumping that spilled into the street. The cost to the city was minor: $1,810.
Cindy Circo, a city councilwoman for the fifth district, says the site doesn't pose a danger to residents unless the soil is disrupted. When it comes to a clean-up, the only thing the city will do, she says, is keep the weeds down. "It's irritating enough to do mowing on private property, let alone a project that should have already been worked out."
And the lingering asbestos only makes matters worse. "That's why our mowing is expensive and strategic," she says. "It's too bad we have to take those items into consideration. It should be cleaned up."
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This is an unfortunate situation and another example of the lack of awareness & urgency policymakers have towards asbestos. I'm with a group that recently launched a campaign advocating for asbestos to be banned altogether in the U.S. - not only is it hazardous, but clearly still is being negligently handled. If you're interested in helping, you can learn more at http://www.banasbestosnow.com
- Jonathan w/ B.A.N.
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