EPA IS SLOW IN COMING UP WITH MONEY FOR CLEANUP OF AREA METH LABS

Officials in Vanderburgh and Posey counties said they are behind on making
payments to a local company that handles methamphetamine lab cleanups
because the Environmental Protection Agency has been slow in sending
Superfund money to the area to cover costs.

Eric Williams, chief deputy for the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's
Department, said his office has run up more than $34,000 in bills to
American-Enviro Services (AES).

Posey County Prosecutor Trent VanHaaften, whose office is home to the
county's multi-agency methamphetamine task force, said AES is owed more
than $55,000 for work there.

When local police are alerted to the presence of a methamphetamine lab, the
agencies often call in AES to clean up the hazardous chemicals associated
with crank manufacturing, such as hydrogen chloride and hydrogen sulfide,
Williams said.

Costs for the cleanup have ranged from $500 to $3,600, Williams said.

Once the hazardous materials have been removed, AES - a privately owned
business - then helps the police agency fill out an application to the EPA
for reimbursement to the local government, Williams said. The money comes
from the EPA's Superfund, a program established by Congress in 1980 to
locate, investigate and clean up hazardous chemical spill sites.

"We were getting paid for 100 percent of those forms that we sent in (to
the EPA)," Williams said.

Now, without much reason from the EPA, there is a backlog more than 18
months long, local officials said. Invoices at the Vanderburgh County
Sheriff's Department date one unpaid methamphetamine lab cleanup as June
28, 2000, and AES is owed thousands of dollars.

Williams said he and another employee of the Sheriff's Department have been
trying unsuccessfully to reach EPA officials about the matter.

"It's hard to get them on the phone," Williams said. "When we were getting
reimbursed, it's because we were just calling them all the time, constantly."

VanHaaften said he has had a similar experience in Posey County.

"It's been a long time since we got anything," he said. "We've had 30 or 35
labs since the last one we were reimbursed for."

Messages seeking comment from officials in the EPA's Washington, D.C.,
public affairs office were not returned late last week.

VanHaaften said he called Rep. John Hostettler's office last weekend to see
"if they could provide any assistance."

"I've left messages on (the EPA's) answering machines and don't hear
anything from them," VanHaaften said.

Williams said AES has shown patience in the matter.

"Someone's going to have to pay for all these sooner or later," Williams
said. "(AES) tells us they understand, but we want to see them get their
money."

Phone messages left at the Newburgh company seeking comment were not returned.

Williams said the Sheriff's Department has an allotment of $10,000 in its
annual budget for methamphetamine lab clean-ups, but that money also has
been used to pay AES part of what it is owed. The next step, if the EPA
doesn't speed up its reimbursements, is for Sheriff Brad Ellsworth to
appear before the Vanderburgh County Council and ask for the money,
Williams said.

As for Posey County, VanHaaften said, "AES is the one that is out the
money. It's my duty to assist them in getting that money back. That company
has done us a fantastic service at a time when we didn't have the
technology to handle this problem."