State dissolves B&E corp

PALMER — A judge issued a $375 fine Monday against the owner of a Meadow Lakes gravel pit that had been operating for months without an appropriate permit.

District court magistrate judge David Zwink fined Steven Bargabos, one of two listed members of former Chugiak-based B&E Construction LLC, for a extracting earth materials without a required permit, according to borough officials familiar with the case and court records. The owners of the 120-acre site along Pittman Road had faced a maximum non-criminal penalty of $500.

The company had operated under a contract with the borough to provide materials for road construction in Wasilla, which was awarded to another company following the discovery.

The fine comes amid preparation at the site to remove landfill materials potentially containing asbestos starting Wednesday. Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation issued a permit for cleanup at the site late last week to the Anchorage-based company, BGES Inc., which provides environmental consulting services, according to its website.

Borough and state officials had rejected administrative permits for the company to continue operating the gravel pit and landfill along Pitman Road earlier this year.

Construction and demolitions materials are presently stored on the property in a pile that is 50-feet wide by 170-feet long and 25-feet tall.

The cleanup permit application issued to BGES, and provided by state officials describes a sampling process involves spreading out the stockpiled materials and then separating out those likely to contain asbestos.

“Our personnel will then walk along the perimeter of the material and take notes and photographs of observed potentially asbestos-containing materials (PACM) that will be targeted for sampling,” the cleanup permit application reads in part.

Materials sampled for collection will be sent to a California-based laboratory for testing.

The permit for the site lists two conditions for the cleanup. First, only clean, untreated lumber can be burned, and B&E must obtain necessary permits before burning anything at the site. In addition, B&E must provide a plan for handling or removing materials found to contain asbestos from the site by Oct. 31, according to the state documents.

Borough officials remained satisfied that the clean-up plan would help the borough achieve its goal for the property, said development services manager Alex Strawn.

“Our goal is for them ultimately to clean it up,” he said.

However, a potential additional complication exists. The state office commissioner of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing database records show the state “involuntarily dissolved” B&E Construction LLC on Aug. 18 after the company failed to meet a statutory requirement to file a report once every two years with the state. The company applied Oct. 9 to reconstitute, a possibility for up to one year after an involuntary dissolution.

Borough officials weren’t aware of the issue until a Frontiersman reporter called Monday afternoon to inquire, Strawn said.

In the event that the company vacated the property without cleaning it up, the borough could hold the listed owners of the business — John Emmi and Steven Barbagos, according to B&E’s business license — liable for the cost of property clean up, Strawn said.

Borough officials would play a role in monitoring the beginning stages of the cleanup process, however the ultimate liability for monitoring clean up would fall with state officials, Strawn said.

“I believe the state Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry ultimately regulates that,” he said. “The DEC may also have a dog in that fight.

The fine may not serve as much of a disincentive, Strawn admitted.

“I think the fine is probably small potatoes compared with having their contract shut down,” he said. “I think it would be a good idea for borough officials to look at their fine schedule. Some things are too low, some are too high.

“Ultimately, it’s up to the borough assembly to revise that,” Strawn added.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269 or brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com.