Federal jury convicts former Butte operator

By The Montana Standard Staff - 09/18/2008

A federal court found the head of a former Butte company guilty Wednesday of illegally storing hazardous waste at the site where the company once operated in Butte.

The jury convicted Randall S. Reis, 68, of Moss Beach, Calif., on two counts of illegal storage of hazardous lead waste after a two-day trial before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy.

Reis was the chief executive officer of MR3 Systems Inc., a chemical manufacturing facility that operated in Butte from late 1999 until Dec. 7, 2001.

Reis, who is free on special conditions, is set to be sentenced Jan. 16, 2009.

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality alleged in 2002 that hazardous waste containing lead, cadmium, selenium and corrosive liquids was left at the Butte Industrial Park. Court papers say the company used lead and cadmium toxic hazardous materials as feedstock and produced hazardous wastes, including lead toxic filter cake and corrosive liquids.

State inspectors repeatedly instructed MR3 on the proper procedures for handling its hazardous waste, but these instructions usually went unheeded throughout the summer and fall of 2001, according to the Department of Justice.

After the company closed its Butte operation, the state continued monitoring the facility and documented MR3's continued illegal storage of hazardous wastes. Reis falsely told the state on more than one occasion that he had made arrangements to remove the waste, court papers state.

The state also found additional storage violations after that, including approximately 5,000 gallons of corrosive and cadmium toxic liquid in approximately 10 storage vessels.

The waste at the Butte Industrial Park was eventually removed by MSE-TA Inc. at a cost of more than $10,000.

"The defendant abandoned hazardous wastes that can harm both the public and the environment," said Lori Hanson, special agent in charge of EPA's Criminal Investigation Division in Denver, in a new release issued by the Department of Justice.

"Today's conviction by jury shows that the public will not tolerate ‘doing business' in a manner that is both dangerous and illegal." Reis faces possible penalties of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years supervised release.