Adam Weitsman settles with Federal Government after lawsuit regarding air pollution
UPDATE: July 25, 2023 at 12:01 p.m.
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Adam Weitsman reached a settlement with the federal government following a complaint filed July 13, alleging his companies Upstate Shredding and Weitsman Shredding failed to apply for proper permits and control harmful emissions from the facilities.
Rachel Evans King, senior counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice, filed the action at the request of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Upstate Shredding operates a scrap metal shredder in Owego which produces significant volatile organic compounds, known as VOCs, throughout its process. The machine can shred 400 tons of metal per hour. VOCs can damage the central nervous system as well as other organs and contribute to climate change, according to the lawsuit.
Under the Clean Air Act, companies are supposed to control 81 percent of VOC emissions from their facility. According to the complaint, Weitsman’s companies “control none of their VOC emissions” as they’ve failed to install “Reasonably Available Control Technology.”
According to the report, Upstate Shredding and Weitsman would have been subject to “injunctive relief and civil penalties of $37,500 per day for each violation occurring after January 12, 2009, through November 2, 2015 and up to $117,468 per day per violation for each violation occurring after November 2, 2015.”
Weitsman said he agreed to pay $400,000 to settle the lawsuit with the EPA. He was informed about the violations on Sept. 23, 2021 and has spent the time since working with the EPA to design a machine to monitor VOCs, which is why he was able to waive a majority of the proposed fines.
He said the EPA’s legal action was not company specific but industry specific, targeting shredding businesses around the country who also operate machines that can shred 400 tons of metal per hour. Weitsman added the EPA never actually came on-site to test the effects of Upstate Shredding’s machines, and he was one of the first to settle nationally.
“We both want the same thing, recycling is very good for the environment and that’s what we do,” Weistman said. “As time goes on, the guidelines in every industry are getting stricter.”
Weistman said all his equipment was approved before the EPA added these regulations.
Weitsman, who has made millions as the CEO of Upstate Shredding, brought Tom Brady, Julian Edelman and “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon to a basketball game on Feb. 29, 2020. Since then, he’s brought several other celebrities courtside at the JMA Wireless Dome, including Pete Davidson, Odell Beckham, Jr. and Allen Iverson. This year, he brought Damar Hamlin and Jalen Hurts, among others, to games.
In 2021, Weitsman also became involved with Boeheim’s Army, a team which consists of mostly Syracuse alumni and competes in the annual The Basketball Tournament. Boeheim’s Army won the tournament that year as Weitsman was instrumental in getting head coach Jeremy Pope involved with the squad.
Earlier this year, Weitsman stopped providing name, image and likeness deals to SU athletes, syracuse.com reported. Weitsman told syracuse.com that Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud was the reason behind his departure.
“From what I understand, hearing it from sources at the university, (Syverud) did not like the high-profile nature of the celebrities coming to games and the way I was going about NIL, discussing it with the media,” Weitsman said in the article.