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A Louisiana man and his companies must pay fines of $40,000 and clean up an illegal dump in eastern New Orleans.

According to The Times-Picayune, Charlie Hampton, and his companies, Hamp’s Enterprises LLC and Hamp’s Construction LLC, which had millions of dollars in federal and local construction and demolition contracts, pleaded guilty to criminal environmental charges in New Orleans Criminal District Court and the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge.

In April 2009, investigators with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality arrested Hampton on charges of submitting documents that contained false certification of asbestos inspections that did not occur. Hamp’s Enterprises pleaded guilty to those charges in the Baton Rouge Court, according to a Department of Environmental Quality press release.

The asbestos certifications pertained to asbestos notification forms for demolition and renovation work in the New Orleans area. According to the DEQ investigators, the inspections, which are required by law, did not occur. Asbestos which was widely used in building materials until the 1970s, can cause serious respiratory disease including mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs, if the microscopic fibers are released into the air and inhaled. So before buildings are demolished or renovated, asbestos materials must be carefully contained and removed to avoid spreading asbestos fibers.

Investigators also discovered trucks operated by Hampton and Hamp’s Construction involved in illegal dumping in a wetland area known as Lot 64 along Almonaster Boulevard in eastern New Orleans. As part of the agreement, Hamp’s Construction will clean up Lot 64.

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