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The Gorpen Construction case has been assigned to you. You have several concerns about this case. The first is to ensure removal and proper disposal of the 5000 cubic yards of contaminated fill in question. It cannot be left in place because it poses a contamination threat to the local water supply and to the lakes into which the sloughs feed, and because it runs through a residential area - where residents, especially children, could be exposed to the contaminated fill. In dealing with the cleanup, you also want to set a precedent. This is one of the first contaminated fill cases in your area, and it is important to emphasize the importance of the issue.
Your second concern is to exact an appropriate fine from Gorpen. This is important as a deterrent to other developers. You think it is highly likely Gorpen knew or at least had reason to suspect that the fill was contaminated - after all, it was taken from the site of a closed oil refinery. It is important to you that others in Gorpen's situation realize that they cannot play fast and loose with the public's safety just to save a few dollars. You have had some dealings with Gorpen's owner, and you plan to test whether Gorpen knew about the contamination by accusing their representative of lying about their ignorance of the contamination; and then observing their reaction.
Moreover, there are a number of fill cases now in the pipeline in which no responsible party can be found. A good example of this is a site at the nearby town of Greenpuddle. Nine thousand (9,000) cubic yards of similarly contaminated fill were used to create a building pad in a wetland. While the filled area was never built upon, immediately adjacent land has been used for residential development. In order to protect children who live in the development, the Greenpuddle site has been temporarily fenced. The Department is currently looking for resources to remove the contaminated soil. It has been estimated that the clean-up will cost $658,000. This figure includes $72,000 ($8 per cubic yard) for excavation of the fill, $81,000 (at $9 per cubic yard) for transportation of it to an incinerator, and $416,000 (at $52 per cubic yard) for incineration.* A department trust fund will be operational within four months which will fund clean-up of contaminated fill sites, and any fine paid by Gorpen would be earmarked for this fund. There is a good chance, therefore, that any fine you exact will help with the Greenpuddle clean-up or others like it. After discussion with your supervisor, you have settled on $100,000 as an appropriate amount for the fine. If you accept in-kind payment of the fine instead of cash, the value of the in-kind services must be at least one-and-a-half times the agreed upon fine.
Therefore, in today's situation, you have two goals. The first, and the minimum you can accept, is that Gorpen remove and properly dispose of the fill. Your second is to see that Gorpen pays as close to $100,000 in penalties as possible, in order to set a precedent and deter others.
*In order to keep all figures comparable for this negotiation, prices for transportation and incineration of the fill, normally quoted as cost per ton, have been converted to cost per cubic yard.
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