County gives Freon documents to EPA

Adrienne Packer

Thursday, Feb. 22, 2001 | 11:41 a.m.

Clark County documents requested by the Environmental Protection Agency for its probe into the mishandling of refrigerant were submitted this week to the federal agency's regional headquarters in San Francisco.

The county took advantage of a 30-day deadline extension offered by the EPA last month.

"We submitted everything that was requested of us by the EPA," county spokesman Doug Bradford said. "We'll wait to hear from them now. If they need any clarifications, our attorneys will sit down with them."

EPA investigators asked for inventory documents, receipts, invoices related to Freon and paperwork detailing repairs done to county equipment that uses the ozone-depleting chemicals.

An internal audit was conducted last fall to determine what happened to $200,000 worth of Freon that was reportedly missing. During the investigation, auditors relied mostly on interviews with employees because documents could not be found.

County officials conceded they will not be able to locate all of the documents requested by the EPA because they do not exist.

EPA investigator Jeff Darcy has called allegations that refrigerant might be missing and that the county's record-keeping procedures are shoddy "very serious." If the county is found in violation of EPA laws, it could face fines of up to $25,000 a day for the two-year period being investigated.