A Maryland man pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to violate the federal Clean Air Act in connection with the removal of asbestos from the former Woodville State Hospital in Collier.

Charles Victoria, 49, of Parkville, Md., entered the plea before U.S. District Judge Gary L. Lancaster in federal court in Pittsburgh.

Mr. Victoria supervised the removal of asbestos from the hospital after it was decommissioned in 1998. But numerous inspections by the Allegheny County Health Department and the Environmental Protection Agency found failure to properly contain the asbestos and to dispose it.

EPA inspectors found that insulation containing asbestos fell into a ravine and was allowed to sit on the ground for nearly a year. Some of the asbestos eventually reached a creek in the ravine.

The company Mr. Victoria worked for -- Independent Enterprises and Industrial-Commercial Consulting International -- pleaded guilty to a similar charge in August 2006 and was sentenced to three years' probation and a $300,000 fine.

Mr. Victoria faces penalties of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both. Sentencing was scheduled for July 25.