Meth cleanup law in effect

By Bill Robinson
Register News Writer

July 18, 2008 11:15 pm

— If property has been contaminated by methamphetamine and has not been cleaned by a certified contractor, the owner must give written notice before the property is sold, rented or leased.
The requirement, enacted by the General Assembly this past year, took effect July 15, according to Kim Leingang of the Kentucky Division of Waste Management.
Violation of the statue is a Class D felony, subject to a fine of up to $25,000 and/or one to five years in prison, she said.
The division’s Web site, waste.ky.gov/branches/sf/Meth.htm, lists 18 certified contractors, including two from out of state.
The nearest to Madison County are two in Lexington, two in Frankfort and one in London.
The new legislation also sets up a four-tier cleanup system based on the level of meth production and the potential contamination.
The levels range from Tier 1, a small-scale, short-term meth lab, to Tier 4, a mass production lab where large amounts of meth are produced and large volumes of wastes were generated.
Requirements and application forms for contraction certification also are available on the Web site.
Before passage of the legislation, the Madison County Health Department and local law enforcement agencies had established a protocol to government cleanup of meth sites, said Capt. Ken Clark of the Berea Police Department.
“The Madison County protocol appears to be similar to the new legislation,” Clark said.
The law sets statewide standards for contractors and clean up and establishes criminal penalties for violations.
“Chemicals and equipment used to ‘cook’ meth in illegal makeshift labs create an immediate danger of explosion and fire and leave waste that poses a threat to the health of future occupants and to the environment,” said Tony Hatton, director of the waste management division.
Based on evidence and observations made at crime scenes, the Kentucky State Police or other law enforcement will determine if the property is contaminated and make a recommendation regarding the tier level, Hatton said.
The recommendation is final unless the certified contractor provides clear justification for the property to be assigned to a different tier, he said.
Meth cleanup contractors applying for certification will post financial assurance in the amount of $100,000 for a Tier 1, 2, or 3 cleanup and $250,000 for a Tier 4 cleanup.
Current contractors will be “grandfathered in,” Hatton said.
Certification is administered by the waste management division’s Superfund Branch, which is drafting decontamination requirements for the cleanup response tiers and modifying the cleanup guidance document to comply with the revised law.
The new legislation also allows law enforcement officials to post a meth contamination notice at the request of state or local health departments. Removing a notice without authorization will be a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up a year in jail and/or a fine up to $500.
The new law also specifies that a process for appealing a posting be established.
More information about contractor certification, can be obtained from Kim Leingang with the Superfund Branch at 1-502-564-6716.
Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 623-1669, Ext. 267.