Attorney General's News Release

December 21, 2007

Kansas City non-profit agency will complete $400,000 in environmental projects, pay $50,000 penalty to resolve concerns about asbestos removal at Citadel Plaza project

Kansas City, Mo. — A non-profit agency that improperly removed asbestos during demolition at the Citadel Plaza Redevelopment Project in Kansas City will undertake several environmental projects worth an estimated $400,000 as part of a settlement with Attorney General Jay Nixon. Nixon said the settlement with the Community Development Corporation of Kansas City (CDCKC), which also includes a $50,000 penalty, resolves the state’s concerns about notification, removal and disposal problems with asbestos at the project at 63rd Street and Prospect Avenue. The settlement was also signed by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

Under the agreement, CDCKC must continue implementation of a plan approved by the DNR to clean up and properly dispose of asbestos-containing material from soil at the Citadel Plaza project. The cost on this clean-up is estimated at $300,000.

The agency also is committed undertaking at least $100,000 in other environmental projects to benefit the community. This innovative approach to include environmentally beneficial projects in the resolution of environmental cases is part of Nixon’s Missouri Supplemental Environmental Performance Projects (MOSEPP) policy.

“The other projects that are part of this settlement agreement are going to have environmental benefits that go far beyond this specific asbestos situation,” Nixon said. “MOSEPP is a way for the responsible party to improve the environment through projects that might otherwise not be done.”

The MOSEPP portion of the settlement requires CDCKC to spend at least $100,000 to:

• Create and disburse five in-kind grants to assist community-based development organizations that operate in the urban core of Kansas City with removing asbestos-containing materials from at least five residential properties those organizations are working to develop;
• Produce written information for those urban core community organizations that will focus on innovative ways to identify and manage environmental risks on urban core and brownfield properties. The Environmental Protection Agency defines brownfields as property where the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant may complicate the property’s expansion, redevelopment, or reuse. The CDCKC also will sponsor a series of meetings with the general community and with community-based organizations that do development work in Kansas City’s urban core. These meetings will be done with the support and participation of the Brownfields Office of the City of Kansas City;
• Create and maintain for no less than two years a Web site designed specifically to highlight the environmental challenges faced by community-based organizations such as CDCKC. The Web site also will be designed to propagate solution steps and guidance for managing typical environmental risks typical of redevelopment projects in a way that complies with applicable regulations; and
• Incorporate several energy-savings components at the Citadel Plaza Redevelopment Project, including ensuring that the project will be energy efficient in its design.

The CDCKC will pay a civil penalty of $50,000 to the Jackson County School Fund in two annual installments. If the CDCKC fails to certify that it has spent $100,000 toward implementing the MOSEPP within two years, the agency has agreed to pay the remaining balance of that $100,000 in a civil penalty to the school fund as well.

The MDNR issued five notices of violation to the CDCKC in December 2006 and January 2007 for failure to submit an asbestos project notification at least 10 days prior to the start of a project; failure to inspect for asbestos prior to starting a demolition; failure to remove asbestos from facilities being demolished; failure to adequately wet or maintain adequate wetting on material or debris containing asbestos that had been removed or stripped, or packages containing such materials; failure to maintain a competent onsite person trained in the requirements of the state regulation on asbestos removal; and failure to deposit the asbestos material at an approved landfill as soon as practical after demolition.

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to the Press Secretary.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818