A Charleston contractor whose company tears down buildings is facing criminal prosecution for allegedly turning two of his properties into illegal dump sites.

Rodney D. Loftis Sr. is scheduled to go to trial next month on charges that he violated two cease and desist orders from the state Department of Environmental Protection and created open dumps on Woodward Drive and Northfield Road without DEP permission.

Court documents indicate that investigators found chrysotile, a kind of asbestos, at both sites.

Loftis, president of Rodney Loftis & Son Contracting Inc., was indicted by a Kanawha County grand jury in August 2007.

Loftis has demolished buildings for numerous clients, including the city of Charleston and Kanawha County.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court last year by DEP environmental inspector supervisor Cynthia Musser, Loftis violated a 2004 order that he stop accepting solid waste at his Woodward Drive property.

"Inspections on Jan. 16, 2006, Feb. 14, 2006, and March 7, 2006 revealed the continued operation of an unpermitted solid waste disposal area," the complaint states.

According to the indictment, a cease and desist order issued Feb. 17, 2006, demanded that Loftis provide the DEP with proof that he had properly disposed of materials containing asbestos from a number of locations in Charleston, including 910 Carte St., 1107 Virginia St., and Seventh Avenue and Patrick Street.

A Charleston contractor whose company tears down buildings is facing criminal prosecution for allegedly turning two of his properties into illegal dump sites.

Rodney D. Loftis Sr. is scheduled to go to trial next month on charges that he violated two cease and desist orders from the state Department of Environmental Protection and created open dumps on Woodward Drive and Northfield Road without DEP permission.

Court documents indicate that investigators found chrysotile, a kind of asbestos, at both sites.

Loftis, president of Rodney Loftis & Son Contracting Inc., was indicted by a Kanawha County grand jury in August 2007.

Loftis has demolished buildings for numerous clients, including the city of Charleston and Kanawha County.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court last year by DEP environmental inspector supervisor Cynthia Musser, Loftis violated a 2004 order that he stop accepting solid waste at his Woodward Drive property.

"Inspections on Jan. 16, 2006, Feb. 14, 2006, and March 7, 2006 revealed the continued operation of an unpermitted solid waste disposal area," the complaint states.

According to the indictment, a cease and desist order issued Feb. 17, 2006, demanded that Loftis provide the DEP with proof that he had properly disposed of materials containing asbestos from a number of locations in Charleston, including 910 Carte St., 1107 Virginia St., and Seventh Avenue and Patrick Street.

Other sites listed include 7037 Sissonville Drive, Sissonville; 5320 Elaine Drive, Rand; 427 McDonald St. and 5512 Kentucky St., South Charleston; and five buildings in Sharples in Boone County.

Loftis' attorney could not be reached on Friday.

In 2000, Loftis paid a $25,000 fine to settle a lawsuit filed against him by the DEP. The lawsuit alleged that Loftis repeatedly violated asbestos-handling rules when he demolished buildings.

According to DEP literature, only personnel licensed by the Bureau for Public Health can remove any asbestos containing materials.

In a 1997 Gazette profile, Loftis claimed to be the No. 1 demolition contractor in Charleston.

"Actually, we are in the recycling business. We recycle the most precious thing, and that's the Earth. They don't make any more of that," he said.

"When you tear one building down, someone's going to build another one back. Every time I drive by all those stores at Patrick Street, I think how we were a part of all that because we reclaimed the ground."

To contact staff writer Andrew Clevenger, use e-mail or call 348-1723.