Iowa Lawsuit Alleges Illicit Dumping and Disposal of Toxic E-Waste

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Iowa Attorney General’s office has sued a former Sioux City Councilman and his recycling business for allegedly involving gin acts of unlawful storage and disposal of tonnes of electronic and hazardous waste.

According to the lawsuit filed by the AG’s office in Woodbury County District Court, Aaron Rochestor had collected waste disposal fees in return for safe disposal of electronic waste, but never did so. Instead, his businesses- Recycletronics, Siouxland PC, and The Name Ministries illegally dumped and stored these wastes at various locations.

The news release issued by Attorney General Tom Miller states that the accused was involved in illegal storage of waste at licensed and unlicensed facilities in Iowa and Nebraska. The volume of waste thus dumped in these sites could be around 17 million pounds, which comprised of waste including crushed lead-containing glass cathode ray tubes and other electronic waste containing toxic materials including lead and mercury. The estimated cost of cleaning up of Iowa sites alone could cost nearly $1.5 million.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified civil penalties against the former Council man and a permanent injunction on the above cited companies in order to prevent them from committing similar violations in future. It also urges the accused to take necessary steps of action to clean up the sites by properly disposing of all the stored waste using safe methods incompliance with the laws of the State.

The AG’s lawsuit also mentions that Rochestor owes the state the unpaid balance of a $75,000 loan granted to Recycletronics in 2011 towards new equipment purchases. Data suggests that no repayment has been made against this loan since August 2015. Further, it alleges that the company had submitted fake disposal reports to the state during the four-year period from 2013 to 2016.

Meantime, Rochestor said that he was unaware that a lawsuit has been filed against him. It is surprising to hear that the state has filed lawsuit to seek civil penalties and repayment of the loan, he added. The cleaning up of the site near Akron is expected to commence by March this year. An agreement has already been reached with the EPA, by which it has been agreed to cleanup six Iowa sites in compliance with state laws.