State agency granted $600,000 to reimburse it for hazardous waste cleanup

By Cy Ryan

Monday, July 29, 2013 | 4:58 p.m.

A federal appeals court panel has ruled that the state Environmental Protection Division is entitled to an estimated $600,000 for its cleanup of toxic underground pollution at a Las Vegas shopping center.

The division said a dry cleaning business once located in the Maryland Square Shopping Center spilled a hazardous substance called tetrachloroethylene, also known as perchloroethylene or PCE, into the soil, which spread endangering nearby residents.

According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, tetrachloroethylene is "a synthetic chemical that is widely used for dry cleaning of fabrics and for metal-degreasing operations."

The division filed suit to recover its cleanup costs and to stop any further toxic chemicals from being released into the ground. Nearby citizens filed suit against the shopping center and the Shapiro Bros. Investment Co., which operated the dry cleaning business.

Parts of the suits are returning to Federal District Judge Robert Clive Jones for ruling on procedural issues.

Jones granted a summary judgment for the environmental division on all its claims on May 17, 2012. A spokeswoman for the division said it spent $350,000 in testing and cleanup and about $250,000 in staff hours and attorneys fees.

Owners of the Maryland Square Shopping Center had purchased the center after the toxic chemical was released into the ground and tore down the dry cleaning shop. But the court panel said they were still responsible for part of the cleanup costs.

The panel said the shopping center did not take any steps to remove the soil or limit the spread of the tetrachloroethylene.

The decision, issued Friday, said employees of the dry cleaning business maintained nearly 100 gallons of tetrachloroethylene spilled on the concrete floor, then into a drain, onto the ground and into the groundwater.