By:  Steven M. Siros

In 2006, a small screen print shop owner advertised a semi-trailer for sale on Craigslist. For $900, a buyer could purchase the trailer by itself. However, for $300 less, the trailer could be purchased "as is." "As-is" turned out to be a trailer filled with various containers of screen printing materials (some of which were hazardous materials). In what probably should not come as a surprise, someone bought the trailer "as-is".  The purchaser subsequently emptied the contents of the trailer onto what is now known as the Cherokee Print Shop Wastes Superfund Site in Denver, Colorado. U.S. EPA incurred in excess of $70,000 to remediate the contamination from the now empty trailer.

U.S. EPA commenced enforcement proceedings against the print shop owner to recover its response costs.  U.S. EPA ultimately entered into an ability to pay consent order which required the print shop owner to contribute $600 (the amount received for the trailer) to the $70,000 site cleanup. Click here to see a copy of the court's order approving the consent order.