In 1993, Philip Service Corp., a dangerous-waste management company with several facilities in Washington, bought a heavily contaminated site in the Georgetown area. And officials say most cleanup costs will be negotiated away through reduced purchase prices. A system is in place to assess the risks and extent of contamination on each parcel. Sound Transit spokesman Moriwaki said it is standard practice to use courts to negotiate the impact of cleanup costs on price. Benaroya said that if the property were developed as he planned, the cleanup could be avoided.
Value is purely on supply and demand.
If Sound Transit can't bargain away cleanup costs through price adjustments, it can move forward anyway and try to recover costs from the polluters later through the courts, said Larry Ellington, property acquisition manager. If the responsible party is unknown or incapable of paying, the agency can apply for reimbursements under a state Ecology Department grant program. State environmental law makes it almost impossible to shirk cleanup responsibilities, Hart said.