EPA finds 3,069 chemical containers with possibly hazarodus materials

MADISON COUNTY - The Madison County Sheriff's Office is busy assisting the Environmental Protection Agency at a property along the Archer Highway. The EPA has found nearly 400 additional chemical containers in the bushes, bringing the grand total at the property to 3,069.

The EPA has done extensive sorting of the chemical containers and say they are close to moving into the cleanup phase. The federal warrant expires Friday, but there is no official word on whether there will be an extension or when the cleanup will begin.

It's a battle between the EPA and Max Spatig on whether the 3,069 containers on his property are hazardous waste. The EPA says enough of them are.

"EPA has determined that there needs to be a cleanup. We've completed the site investigation. We're in the process of determining how to accomplish that cleanup," said Greg Weigel, with the EPA.

"This stuff is not hazardous. I'm a prime example, I've been working with this stuff since 1985. And I've had absolutely no physical elements, not even a skin rash," said Max Spatig, who owns the chemical containers and the property.

Not disputed is that some containers on Spatig's property have flammable materials.

"If the oxidizer and the flammable liquids were some how to combine, they could cause a spontaneous ignition. And in fact, we've found that flammable containers and the oxidizers have been leaking," said Weigel.

With so many containers with chemicals of all kinds, the EPA has been cautious about the situation. For nearly a week they've been testing the chemicals and determining their combustible point.

"They just want to be a bunch of stormtroopers, come on here, because this is a crime scene, but they will not charge me. Once it gets into the court system, they know it may be a year or two," said Spatig.

The EPA says they've stabilized the site, sorted the chemicals into various piles, and are figuring out how to quickly move into the cleanup phase. They are sending in a well sample, but don't anticipate toxins to be found there.

In the meantime, the Madison County Sheriff's Office continues to keep Spatig's property under 24-hour surveillance.

"We've concerns from cases in the past that property owners removed stuff off of the property before it's been either tested. Also at this point, it's still considered a crime scene. We came out here originally because it was considered a junkyard, or under that status under a planning and zoning ordinance," said Travis Williams with the Madison County Sheriff's Office.

Spatig had more than 30 vehicles on the property, and has only been living here for 1 month.

And while we don't know how soon the cleanup will begin, one thing seems certain. Those 3,069 containers will have to be removed. Whether the EPA gets the federal court to agree to let them clean up and remove the chemicals is uncertain at this point.

But if that doesn't happen, county officials will force Max Spatig to remove them.

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• spatig
• chemicals
• hazardous
• waste