County considers shutdown of business with acres of junk: ‘It’s just going to get worse’

Butler County officials are moving toward shutting down a plastics recycling business they say has become such an eyesore that other industrial companies don’t want to be around it.

The commission may take the rare step of revoking the business permit of Integrated Plastics Solutions, a company that recycles plastic and other industrial waste.

Without that permit, the company can’t legally continue to operate and would have to shut down, officials said.

“IPS has ignored the county and allowed the condition of the property to continue to be an eyesore,” said a staff report on the situation.

The seven-acre site around the IPS building is nearly covered with piles of junk — waste plastic, bales of cardboard, derelict industrial equipment and scrap metal.

County officials say those piles continue to grow and spread beyond the fences that are supposed to shield the neighboring businesses.

“You can’t even see the screening” because of all the debris that’s been stacked up around perimeter of the property, said commission Chairman Dan Woydziak.

Dumped material almost fills the space between the front of the business and the street.

Encroachment on neighboring properties has “virtually shut down access to the tank batteries ... located just south of the property,” the staff report said. “The front parking has again been covered with boxes of items that literally eliminated any and all parking spaces.”

Semi trailers that brought in the debris are parked in a random pattern at the company, on neighboring properties and on county right-of-way, said County Administrator Will Johnson. An aerial view shows about three dozen trailers parked on and next to the site.

County officials say the company briefly cleaned up its act after a federal prosecution for illegal dumping a few years ago, but now it’s worse than ever.

“I think the one thing all of us could probably sit here and agree upon is if we don’t do anything, it’s just going to get worse,” Johnson said. “This is the worst I’ve seen the property since they’ve been out there. We said that the last time and they kind of got it cleaned up and now there’s quite a bit more material there than there was the last time we had these discussions a year ago.”

A manager contacted in person at the business said he couldn’t speak for the company, and the owner did not reply to a request for comment left with him.

Brothers Sean and Brian Riley of Andover — who records show as the owner and the primary operator of the company — pleaded guilty in 2015 to federal charges of mishandling hazardous waste after an EPA raid found Acetone, Ethelbenzene, Toluene, Xylene and other dangerous materials.

They paid $108,000 in restitution and fines over the past four years, court records show. The final payment was made and a garnishment order was released in October 2017.

Sean Riley was represented in the case by a court-appointed lawyer because he said he couldn’t afford an attorney. He is the sole owner of IPS and lives in a $600,000 home on the golf course at Terradyne Country Club in Andover, state records show.

‘Difficult to market’

The city of El Dorado owns 100 acres next to IPS that it wants to develop for industrial use. But “it’s difficult to market any property when you have a nuisance like that next door,” said City Manager David Dillner.

Johnson said he’s reluctant to shut down any company but the county has just gotten “lip service” from IPS.

“Nobody wants to put a business out, but the business is truly encroaching on other properties,” Johnson said. “It’s going to make it tough to develop for the city of El Dorado. They’ve already had one business that bailed out from purchasing the property directly adjacent to the south because of the problems there. So the time has come.”

Johnson said he’s “all about property rights and doing what you want to do on your own property.”

“But when you encroach on somebody else’s (property) and you cause harm to property values in the area as a result of your operations, then you’ve got a problem,” Johnson said.

Costly cleanup

Closing IPS could trigger a long and costly cleanup project.

If the county does order it closed, “My concern is what happens after that,” said Commissioner Jeff Masterson.

“That’s the million-dollar question,” Johnson replied. “But the longer you let it go, the worse it’s going to be.”

He said cleaning up the site might have to be a joint effort of the county, the city and a private contractor.

“There is some stuff out there I think that maybe has some value if you could push it out,” Johnson said. “ It may become a deal where we work with somebody to partner to clean it up instead of just loading it up and hauling it to a landfill, trying to get whatever value to recoup or offset the cost.”

The public hearing and a possible vote on shutting down IPS is scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 14 at the Butler County Courthouse, 205 W. Central, El Dorado.

This story was originally published August 2, 2018 at 8:18 PM.