Air Force Responsible for Asbestos Clean-Up
A Colorado court has ruled that the Air Force is responsible for asbestos clean-up costs borne by home builders at the former Lowry base, a decision, say experts, which could have expensive implications for the U.S. military.
According to a report in the Rocky Mountain News, Richmond American Homes and other companies involved with building at the Lowry base sued the Air Force after discovering asbestos in the soil and failing to persuade the U.S. government to pay the bill.
The expense totaled about $9 million, parts of which covered construction delays and compensation for homeowners, the builders’ lawyers told the media.
“This case has national importance because of a decision to close 22 major military bases by 2011,†said Michelle Kales, an attorney with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck in Denver.
Kales says the decision will grab the attention of builders nationwide who have built or are considering building on the site of a former military base. “[This] provides assurance they won’t have to bear the potentially significant cost of environmental contamination,” she added.
The article confirms that the group of home builders, which also includes Metropolitan Development, Standard Pacific of Colorado and Touchstone Homes, purchased the property in 2001 and 2002 from the Lowry Redevelopment Authority, a quasi-public entity overseeing the base’s conversion from military to civilian use.
After the builders located asbestos, they contacted the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which temporarily halted all construction at the site. Because the Air Force did not agree to clean up the asbestos, the builders had to take it upon themselves to hire licensed asbestos removal firms to clear the debris.
“It is critical for the insurance, finance and development industries to have strong confidence in these projects in order for them to be successfully redeveloped,” Tom Markham, executive director of the Lowry Redevelopment Group, said in a statement. “Essential to that is the Defense Department’s acknowledgement of its responsibilities to pay for cleaning up hazardous materials such as asbestos.”
