A construction manager of a building renovation pleads guilty to environmental crimes. Workers Improperly removed and disposed of Asbestos.

The project at The Equitable Building in Iowa, pleaded guilty in federal court in Des Moines to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act and for violating the Clean Air Act’s work practice standards related to asbestos removal, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt.

Russell Coco pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James E. Gritzner for the Southern District of Iowa to one count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act and one count of failing to remove all regulated asbestos containing material from The Equitable Building before
commencement of the renovation project.

The Clean Air Act requires contractors who remove asbestos from public buildings to follow federally established work practice standards to ensure the safe removal of the asbestos.

The required standards include providing notice to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) before commencing asbestos removal, adequately wetting the asbestos during the removal
and before disposal, and properly disposing of the asbestos at an EPA-approved disposal site.