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Natalia Subbotnikova [EH] From: Tony Hamer <tonyhamer@me.com> Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2018 7:42 PM To: Harprit S. Mattu [EH] Cc: Robert McClellon [EH]; Natalia Subbotnikova [EH];jmartinez@interorealestate.com; Arlene Gomez Subject: Re: Burial of Waste 19133 East Liberty Road, Clements, CA 95227 (APN 009-110-11) Attachments: Notice of sale.pdf Mr. Harprit Mattu Environmental Health Department 1868 E. Hazelton Avenue, Stockton, CA 95205 (209) 468-3284 Dear Mr. Mattu: Mr. Andres Gomez and Mrs. Olga Gomez are in receipt of the Notice to Abate from your office. I would like to clarify Inspection Report Comments dated 6/19/2018. While Andres and Olga Gomez are the new owners of the property, they are "innocent landowners" under CERCLA § 101(35)(A). The previous owners who were responsible for dumping hazardous material on the property, turned over the property to the lien holder U.S. Bank Trust N.A. The Bank engaged the services of Altisource to dispose of the property, with Western Progressive LLC (a division of Altisource) acting as the Trustee for the disposition. The Trustee did not provide any information regarding the burial of hazardous waste on the property to Mr. and Mrs. Gomez, even though a complaint inspection had been performed on July 10, 2017, more than two months before the sale at public auction. The property was sold "as is," but this does not in any way relieve the seller of strict liability for the dumping of hazardous waste materials while they owned the property. Mr. and Mrs. Gomez meet the criteria of"innocent buyers" under CERCLA § 101(35)(A), as they are an unrelated third-parties who did not know, and had no reason to know prior to purchasing the property, that hazardous materials were buried on the property. Further, the Gomez's were not able to take possession of the property for approximately 6 months after their purchase, after an extended eviction process. Strict liability for the burial of hazardous waste remains with the seller of the home during the period the property was used as a dumping ground for hazardous waste. That said, Mr. and Mrs. Gomez would like to facilitate the removal of hazardous waste from the property by an environmental professional as expeditiously as possible. We are working with Altisource directly as the agent for the seller to engage a bonded hazardous waste removal specialist with the requisite experience and resources to meet the requirements of the County and the Environmental Health Department. We have informed Altisource that after submitting and performing a plan approved by San Joaquin County, a registered environmental health specialist(RENS) may wish to test soil, water, etc. for contamination and request further actions as a result. We have explained the criticality of the situation, and the firm has a desire to mitigate damages for their client by acting in due haste. Please note that Mrs. and Mrs. Gomez stand ready and willing to facilitate the clean up of the land, but we must firmly note strict liability remains with the seller of the property, U.S. Bank Trust N.A.. Their agent, Altisource, will manage the logistics of the clean up according to San Joaquin County and Environmental Health Department specifications. Please let me know if you would like to be connected with Altisource directly, or if you have any other questions at this time. 1