Contractor sentenced in federal court for asbestos violation

Weaver ordered to pay $10,000 in fines

ALGONA -- A contractor who failed to properly deal with asbestos while renovating the former Kossuth County Home has been ordered by a federal judge to serve probation and pay more than $10,000 in fines and fees.

Steven A. Weaver, 61, of Algona, pleaded guilty to one count of violating clean air work practice standards, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa.

In November 2013, Weaver bought the former Kossuth County Home near Algona with plans to turn it into an apartment building to be called The Oasis.

According to the federal prosecutors, Weaver failed to thoroughly inspect the building for asbestos prior to beginning the renovation. He also hired workers to do the job who were not licensed to remove asbestos.

In November 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency checked the old county home building and determined that pipes in the basement which had already been removed had contained asbestos and were subject to regulation.

The U.S. Attorney's Office reported that an EPA agent asked Weaver if he had notified the Iowa Department of Natural Resources before the renovation. When Weaver said he had not, the EPA agent instructed him to report to that department. However, Weaver did not do so, according to the prosecutors.

On Oct. 11, 2018, Weaver entered his guilty plea.

In the plea agreement, Weaver admitted he was an experienced contractor and building inspector who had worked for various Iowa communities since the early 2000s, the attorney's office reported.

While sentencing Weaver on Wednesday, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand called the offense ''aggravating'' becasue Weaver had cut corners on his own project and potentially put his workers at risk of asbestos exposure.

Strand sentenced Weaver to two years of probation. He also ordered Weaver to pay a $10,000 fine and prosecution costs of $1,573.35.