Two Oregon Businesses Guilty of Negligent Endangerment for Discharging Asbestos into the Environment

An Oregon construction company and a property management company face hefty fines and possible imprisonment for discharging asbestos into the environment, violating the Clean Air Act.

On Friday, the companies and their owners pleaded guilty to violating asbestos work practice standards and negligent endangerment by discharging a hazardous pollutant.

Possible Imprisonment and Hefty Fines

Chamness Dirt Works Inc., the construction and demolition company from Hood River, and company owner and president Ronald Chamness (58), together with the property management company, Horseshoe Grove, LLC, and its owner Ryan Richter (44), from The Dalles, each face a maximum sentence of one year in prison, a $100,000 fine, and five years of supervised release.

The companies face a maximum sentence of five years probation and a fine of $500,000.

According to court documents, the property management company purchased a mobile home rental site with 30 tenanted spaces in November 2022. Two dilapidated structures, close to the mobile homes, were situated on the property.

Richter received an asbestos survey undertaken the previous year, showing that the structures contained over 5,000 square feet of asbestos. He also received an estimate from Chamness Dirt Works to demolish, sample, test, and remove asbestos-containing materials. The quoteb did not include the cost of asbestos abatement.

In February 2023,  Richter and his company, Horseshoe Grove, hired Chamness Dirt Works to demolish the two structures. Later that month, Chamness received a quote from an asbestos abatement contractor for the removal and disposal of asbestos-containing materials.

According to court documents, Richter and Chamness and their companies knowingly violated the Clean Air Act.

Despite the knowledge that the two structures contained asbestos, the buildings were demolished without employing a certified asbestos abatement contractor or implementing precautionary measures mandated by federal regulations when handling hazardous pollutants.

The two men and their companies were charged in November 2024.

As part of a plea agreement, they have agreed to have asbestos remediation work undertaken on the property, and will appear before U.S. District Court Judge Marco A. Hernández for sentencing on 23 April.

The case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency and was prosecuted by Bryan Chinwuba, Oregon Assistant U.S. Attorney.