SWEET HOME, OR — The owner of Western States Land Reliance Trust will see his asbestos case continue into 2010 after a judge decided to reconvene the hearings January 11, 2010, according to
Business & Finance News.
According to the story, Desler was arrested in April on multiple felony air pollution charges stemming from his alleged mishandling of asbestos-related material.
Desler, who faces seven counts of first-degree air pollution, must also answer to three counts of second-degree air pollution, supplying false information and reckless endangerment, the story noted.
Desler, who claims innocence, was performing work on a site, but stopped work in 2007 after the 153-acre property was found to contain asbestos, the story added.
According to the article, Desler immediately stopped work once the asbestos was discovered, but left 4 million pounds of asbestos-tainted debris, which was later cleaned by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at an approximate cost of $1.1 million, uncovered on the site.
