United States Attorney
Northern District of Texas

1100 Commerce St., 3rd Fl.
Dallas, Texas 75242-1699

Telephone (214) 659-8600
Fax (214) 767-0978

FEDERAL GRAND JURY INDICTS PRESIDENT AND EMPLOYEES
OF ROWLETT, TEXAS, BUSINESS IN HAZARDOUS WASTE
STORAGE, TRANSPORTATION AND DISPOSAL CASE

DALLAS — A federal indictment, returned last week in Dallas and just unsealed, charges The Store Decor Company, Inc. - Retailgraphics, along with its President, plant manager and an employee, with various violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas.

The indictment charges Robert Powledge Potts, Willie Leon Thames and James Michael Epting, along with The Store Decor Company, Inc. - RetailGraphics, each with one count of conspiracy to store, transport and dispose of hazardous waste, transportation of hazardous waste to an unpermitted facility, transportation of hazardous waste without a manifest, and disposal of hazardous waste. Potts, 76, of Dallas, is the President of Store Decor; Thames, 62, of Whitney, Texas, is a plant manager; and Epting, 47, of Rowlett, Texas, was an employee of Store Decor, which is located at Kaufman County Road 4048, 428' north of Farm to Market Road 3396, in Kaufman County, Texas.

U.S. Attorney Roper said, “This office will vigorously prosecute individuals and companies who transport and dispose of hazardous waste in violation of federal law.”

The company’s website states that The Store Decor Company was founded in 1983 by Potts and that it “has been designing, producing and installing, innovative and visually exciting interior signage, graphics and decor for some of the nations [sic] leading retailers.”

According to the indictment, from January 23, 2002 until early May 2004, in order to avoid costs associated with the proper and lawful disposal of industrial wastes, Potts, Thames, and Epting conspired together, and with others, to illegally store, transport, dispose and otherwise mishandle hazardous waste paint.

The RCRA established a “cradle to grave” regulatory program for the management and tracking of hazardous waste. The act requires that those who treat, store, and dispose of hazardous waste obtain permits from the Environmental Protection Agency, or an authorized state agency such as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. RCRA prohibited the knowing transportationof hazardous waste without a manifest, which is a document that records who generated the hazardous waste, who transported it, and when and where it was taken for disposal. RCRA also prohibited the knowing storage and disposal of any hazardous waste without a permit or the knowing transportation of any hazardous waste to a facility which did not have a permit.

In 1999, Store Decor and Thames filed a request for an amendment to Store Decor’s hazardous waste activity showing the business to be a “conditionally exempt small-quantity generator,” representing to regulating authorities that Store Decor would generate less than 100kg of hazardous waste, and acknowledging that Store Decor’s solid waste number, under which it was previously regulated, would be inactivated. According to the indictment, on May 2, 2004, defendants Store Decor, Potts and Thames stored, transported without a waste manifest, and transported to a facility which did not have a permit, seven 55-gallon drums of hazardous waste paint.

An indictment is an accusation by a grand jury and a defendant is presumed innocent unless proven otherwise. If convicted, however, the conspiracy count carries a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charges of transportation of hazardous waste to an unpermitted facility and disposal of hazardous waste, each carry a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison and a $50,000 fine. The transportation of hazardous waste without a manifest count carries a maximum statutory sentence of two years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Roper praised the excellent investigative work of the Environmental Protection Agency. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcus Busch.

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