Grimy Times

Crime Report

James Powers, Environmental Crime, District of Columbia 2016

James Powers, 59, of Falls Church, Va., was sentenced to 20 months in prison for his role in a scheme to improperly remove asbestos from a historic building in the District of Columbia.

The sentencing, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was announced by the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips of the District of Columbia.

Powers pleaded guilty on September 7, 2016, to a charge of failure to remove asbestos prior to renovation. He was sentenced by the Honorable Amy Berman Jackson. Powers was also sentenced to perform 250 hours of community service.

Asbestos, a once-popular fireproofing insulation, is now known to cause lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma in people who inhale the fibers released when asbestos is disturbed. Congress has determined that there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos.

The development project at issue involved renovating the historic Friendship House, located at 619 D Street SE in Washington, D.C., into condominiums, a development known as the Maples. According to a statement of offense submitted as part of the guilty plea, in March 2010, Powers formed a partnership with a local real estate development firm to purchase and renovate the property.

Powers hired Larry Miller, 59, of Palmetto, Georgia, a general contractor from Atlanta with no training, certification, or experience in asbestos abatement, to conduct interior demolition and renovation of the building. Powers told Miller that the asbestos would be abated by another contractor after Miller’s work and did not fully inform Miller about the extent of asbestos in the property.

Miller pleaded guilty on Nov. 19, 2015, to one count of negligent endangerment under the Clean Air Act. He is awaiting sentencing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The charge carries a maximum sentence of not more than one year of imprisonment, a fine of up to $100,000 and a term of supervised release and/or probation.

The Clean Air Act requires that renovation in asbestos-containing properties follow specific protocols designed to safely remove asbestos from the property prior to any renovation or demolition activity, so as not to expose workers to the risk of deadly respiratory diseases.

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