FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         ENR
MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 1997                             (202) 514-2008
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 
      COLORADO COMPANY SUED BY STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
               FOR VIOLATING HAZARDOUS WASTE LAWS 
                                 

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The State of Colorado and the United
States sued Power Engineering Company for illegally handling
hazardous wastes, including chromium, lead, and acids, at its heavy
machinery refurbishing plant in Denver, the state and federal
governments announced today.

     The State lawsuit, filed Friday, August 1, by the Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment in Denver District
Court, seeks to force Power Engineering to comply with its
administrative orders to abide by Colorado hazardous waste laws and
pay a $1.1 million penalty.

     The federal lawsuit, filed the same day as the state lawsuit
in U.S. District Court in Denver by the Justice Department of
behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency seeks to force Power
Engineering to:

*    stop the illegal treatment, storage or disposal of hazardous
     wastes;
*    comply with all hazardous waste laws;
*    pay up to $25,000 per day for each of the alleged violations.


     "This is a great example of state and federal cooperation to
enforce laws that protect public health and the environment," said
Lois Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Justice
Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.  "Careless
and illegal handling of hazardous waste will not be tolerated."

     "With the joint authorities of the Health Department and EPA,
we hope to expedite an effective cleanup," said Howard Roitman,
director of the Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division
in the state health department.

     The lawsuits allege that Power Engineering violated state and
federal laws by leaving drums of hazardous waste sitting out in the
open for an extended period of time, leaving piles of contaminated
soil on the facility's grounds, treating hazardous materials
without a permit, and mixing hazardous wastes with ordinary trash
that eventually ended up in municipal landfills not suited to
handle toxic substances.  

     The lawsuits named Power Engineering Company of Denver,
Colorado; Redoub't Limited of Denver, and Richard J. Lilienthal.

     Inspectors from the Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment observed violations of the south Denver site in six
inspections.  The state issued a final compliance order to the
facility in June 1996, and a final penalty order for $1.1 million
in January 1997, which have not been complied with.  The company
has improved the way it labels and stores waste containers, and
moved to correct employee training deficiencies.  However, the
extent of the contamination at the site remains unknown and has not
been cleaned up and the state fine remains unpaid.

     The state lawsuit was brought under Colorado's Hazardous Waste
Management Act.  The federal lawsuit was brought under the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act that governs the handling of
hazardous waste.
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