PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
July 30, 2020

Charges Brought in Chico Neighborhood Asbestos Dumping Case
Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey announced today his office has brought criminal
charges against a Chico businessman for the unlawful dumping of asbestos in a residential north
Chico neighborhood.
Ramsey said in February of this year the California Department of Fish and Wildlife was contacted
by a concerned citizen in north Chico about a man who was seen dumping large quantities of
suspicious waste on his property. The man was identified as Richard E. Parks, 70, of Chico. Parks
is the owner of several buildings in the North Valley Plaza.
A Fish and Wildlife warden responded on the morning of February 29, 2020 and contacted Parks
as Parks was in the process of dumping the contents of a dump truck into a hole on Parks’
residential property in the 3400 block of Keefer Road. In the hole, the warden immediately
noticed a number of large bags labeled “Asbestos.” The warden quarantined the scene and
contacted the Butte County District Attorney’s Office, who sent a special environmental crimes
investigator to assist. An environmental scientist was also called out to test the substance, and it
was confirmed the bags contained asbestos, a known toxic and carcinogenic substance. Parks’
property was immediately treated as a crime scene, and was locked down by law enforcement.
The following day a search warrant was executed at Parks’ residence by investigators from the
Department of Fish and Wildlife, the California Department of Toxic Substance Control out of
Sacramento, and the District Attorney’s Office. Additional samples of the waste were taken, and
steps were taken to prevent the asbestos from becoming airborne by covering the exposed bags.
Ramsey said during the investigation it was learned that Parks had removed the asbestos from
properties he owned at the North Valley Plaza, and had transported it to his residential property.
Parks did not possess any of the proper permits or authorization needed to transport the asbestos,
and was dumping the asbestos in a way that could cause it to become airborne and expose other
nearby residents to it. The location where Parks dumped the asbestos is also a drainage into Rock
Creek. Ramsey said investigators also discovered another location where Parks had dumped
asbestos several years ago on his same property.
Ramsey said the District Attorney’s Office has charged Parks with criminal counts of Unlawfully
Transporting Hazardous Material and Dumping Hazardous Material, both felonies, as well as a
misdemeanor count of Endangering a Waterway of the State, to wit, Rock Creek. Ramsey said
Parks faces up to four years in jail, plus significant environment fines of $5,000 to $100,000 per
day that the asbestos was in the ground. Ramsey noted Parks is cooperative and working with an
25 County Center Drive $ Suite 245 $ Oroville, California 95965-3370
Tel: (530) 538-7411 $ Fax: (530) 538-7071 $ www.buttecounty.net/da

 environmental remediation company and the Department of Toxic Substance Control to safely
remove the asbestos from his property.
Parks will appear in Butte County Superior Court on September 3, 2020 to be arraigned on the
charges.