Contractor Fined $300,000 for Illegal Asbestos Dumping at Wisconsin Federal Prison
On February 7, 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin filed criminal charges against Texas-based Brazos Urethane, Inc. for conspiracy to defraud the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) at a lockup it operates in the state.
BOP hired the company in 2014 to replace roofs at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Oxford, under a contract worth almost $4 million. Since the roofing materials contained asbestos—a known carcinogen—Brazos agreed to use “special removal and disposal procedures to guard against asbestos contamination.” The firm also promised to follow laws regarding hazardous waste disposal and obtain necessary state permits.
But instead, Brazos disposed of asbestos-contaminated materials from FCI-Oxford on residential property it had purchased near the prison. Corporate officials “concealed this illegal dumping” from BOP and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the criminal complaint alleged. They also lied about the improper disposal when the roofing materials were found. But after DNR ordered it to remediate the problem, Brazos spent $480,000 to remove the contaminated waste in 2022.
“Brazos’ dumping hazardous material on a residential property wasn’t just dangerous for the community, it was defrauding the [U.S.] government,” stated William J. Hannah, with the Office of the Inspector General in BOP’s parent agency, the federal Department of Justice.
The U.S. Attorney agreed to deferred prosecution, with Brazos paying a $300,000 penalty and entering a three-year compliance program to ensure no future contract and environmental violations. Should the company remain violation-free during that period, the criminal charges will be dismissed. No individual company officials were charged. It wasn’t clear whether any prisoners at FCI-Oxford had suffered asbestos exposure. See: United States v. Brazos Urethane, Inc., USDC (W.D. Wisc.), Case No. 3:24-cv-00017.
Additional source: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
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