EPA threatens huge fines over Freon

Adrienne Packer

Friday, Jan. 19, 2001 | 11:11 a.m.

Federal officials investigating whether Clark County employees mishandled refrigerant said Thursday the county could face a maximum fine of $25,000 a day for a two-year period if it's found in violation of federal laws.

Last month the Environmental Protection Agency requested inventory documents, receipts and invoices related to the Freon. It also asked for documents detailing repairs done to county equipment that uses the ozone-depleting chemical.

EPA investigator Jeff Darcy said Thursday that the allegations lodged against the county are not being taken lightly.

"Because of the size of the county and the number of buildings involved and the amount of refrigerant, it's pretty serious," said Darcy, who is based in the EPA's regional office in San Francisco.

County officials already have conceded they won't be able to turn over all of the documents requested, because they do not exist. County spokesman Doug Bradford reiterated the county's position this morning.

"We'll supply whatever records we can supply," Bradford said. "We take it just as seriously as the EPA. (The request) goes far beyond what our internal audit did; it takes time to get it all together."

The internal audit, released in October, said more than $200,000 worth of Freon reported missing had been accounted for. However, the auditing team partly relied on interviews with employees because documents supporting their claims could not be found.

The audit said internal controls are nonexistent, and inventory records are incomplete in the facilities division, which maintains all county-owned buildings.

Darcy said the county was granted a 30-day extension on its Jan. 22 deadline. The EPA rejected the county's request for a six-month extension.

"We said 30 days is reasonable, six months is not reasonable," Darcy said. "If the records are not available, tell us they're not available. Don't go making up paperwork."

Darcy said most government agencies have computer systems to track refrigerant usage and disposal.

A 1996 memo from the head of the facilities refrigerant crew to facilities chief Bill Barrett refers to a mock audit conducted two years earlier that showed inefficient record-keeping. New software designed to keep refrigerant records was reportedly put into place in 1995.

But the most recent internal audit indicates the software was inefficient.

"At this point we'll review what we get," Darcy said of the requested paperwork. "If there are large gaps, we'll find out why."

Environmental Support Solutions Inc., the Arizona-based group that conducted the mock audit, has been called back to Clark County to help come up with documents requested by the EPA.

Lisa Fasano, a spokeswoman for the EPA, said the federal agency acted upon a private citizen's tip. Phone calls were placed to the county and the records were requested.

"The allegations merited a further investigation," Fasano said. "We understand they changed their record-keeping procedure at some time. We can't explain why they might have some missing records."