Asbestos nearly gone at 2 motels

PROVO — Removal of asbestos-contaminated debris is nearing completion at demolition sites of a Howard Johnson hotel and a Super 8 motel in Provo's East Bay business sector.

No official notices or violations of noncompliance advisories were issued after Utah's Division of Air Quality completed environmental-hazard inspections three weeks ago.

But the companies ripping down the motels — Provo-based MKP Enterprises, which was hired by General Growth Properties in Chicago, Ill. — were notified of asbestos findings and advised to stop the demolition and removal work.

The companies had failed to adequately evaluate asbestos levels in the materials of the buildings before demolition started, said Bryce Bird, an EPA environmental program manager and hazardous air-pollutants section manager.

Since the first inspection in March, the owners have brought in a certified asbestos abatement contractor to remove what asbestos it can and take the rest of the asbestos-contaminated debris to an approved landfill.

"The demolition contractor and the building owner have submitted a compliance plan," Bird said. "They did stop demolishing and hired someone to help remove the asbestos. Now that they've cleared the site, they've continued razing."

By law, companies are required to hire a certified asbestos contractor to provide a report and proof that any asbestos was removed and properly disposed of prior to demolition.

Bird said the inspection of the motel sites was not done properly by the company.

"We put them on notice that we found things wrong with the demolition process," he said. "How much they'll be fined, in the end, will depend on how they've responded to our notices and inquiries."

Once the demolition process is complete, the state air-quality division will again evaluate the motel sites and base penalties on what kind of compliance the companies have achieved. "It was just a misunderstanding between the owner and the people that did the testing," said Mark Powell, owner of MKP Enterprises.

"I think that we've gone to numerous means to meet the standards the EPA set," he said. "So far everything looks good. We should be all done in one week."

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