Asbestos mishandled in Spokane hotel remodel, attorney general says

Owners of the Spokane House Hotel face charges of violating state environmental laws on handling asbestos removed during the renovation of the West Plains facility.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Wednesday the state was charging members of 2013 Investors, LLC, which is based in Kent, Washington, with multiple violations of the state Clean Air Act and reckless endangerment. The charges were filed Monday in Spokane County Superior Court.

The company, which owns the hotel, renovated it in 2013 and 2014. It applied for a building permit with the city of Spokane to replace, texture and paint drywall, but more extensive renovations already were underway, Ferguson said in a news release.

An investigator from the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency drove past the site in 2013 and noticed the extensive renovation, with piles of debris that probably contained asbestos in the open air. In 2014, investigators saw another debris pile, with visible asbestos, which Ferguson said sat in the open air for several months, when winds hit speeds of 43 mph.

“During such winds, delicate and breakable asbestos fibers can freely blow around the neighborhood, endangering the health of those nearby,” Ferguson said.

The company, its owner Dayabir Bath, his nephew Gee Grewal and an employee, John Hickson, each face three counts of violating the Clean Air Act and one count of reckless endangerment. Grewel faces a separate count of making false statements about the project to a public servant.

Each count has a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.