Opinion ID: 677570
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: What were the reasonable remedial action costs incurred by Cash Flow?

Text: 5 The Oregon Hazardous Waste Act makes owners or operators of facilities which cause environmental contamination strictly liable for remedial action costs incurred by the state or any other person. See O.R.S. Sec. 465.255(1). Remedial action costs are defined as the reasonable costs which are attributable to or associated with a removal or remedial action at a facility, including but not limited to the costs of administration, investigation, legal or enforcement activities, contracts and health studies. O.R.S. Sec. 465.200(16). 6 Cash Flow maintains that it incurred a total of $414,042.50 in clean-up costs, only $107,720.00 of which was awarded by the district court (which was then reduced by 25% to allocate Cash Flow's share of the clean-up costs). Cash Flow argues that the district court clearly erred in reducing the requested contribution for two reasons: (1) the district court should have awarded the costs of aerating the contaminated soil rather than landfill disposal, and (2) the court erred in computing the size of the excavation. 7 The district court's findings of fact are reviewed for clear error, Fed.R.Civ.P. 52(a), and must be accepted unless this court is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made. See Concrete Pipe & Prod. v. Const. Laborers Pension Trust, --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 2264, 2279-80 (1993). If the district court's account of the evidence is plausible in light of the record viewed in its entirety, the court of appeals may not reverse it even though convinced that had it been sitting as the trier of fact, it would have weighed the evidence differently. Service Employees Int'l Union v. Fair Political Practices Comm'n, 955 F.2d 1312, 1317 n. 7 (9th Cir.) (quoting Anderson v. Bessemer City, 470 U.S. 564, 573-74 (1985)), cert. denied, 112 S.Ct. 3056 (1992).
8 Rather than awarding the reasonable costs of aerating the soil, the district court awarded a much lower amount for disposal at St. Johns landfill. Cash Flow argues that the district court was clearly erroneous in concluding that landfill disposal was a reasonable remediation method because it was environmentally unsound. The testimonial evidence, however, was sufficient to conclude that gasoline-contaminated soil was accepted at St. Johns landfill at that time. [See Tr. II at 42 (Ken Meisel) (St. Johns and Hillsboro landfills accepted contaminated soils); Tr. II at 200 (Loren Garner) (could haul contaminated soil to a landfill).] 9 More persuasively, Cash Flow argues that it was erroneous to require landfill disposal (versus aeration) because Cash Flow may have retained future liability for clean-up of the landfill. All of the witnesses asked agreed that Cash Flow could incur future clean-up costs by disposing of the contaminated soil in a landfill. [See Tr. II at 40 (Meisel); Tr. II at 67 (Lewis West); Tr. II at 156 (Scott Widness); Tr. II at 200 (Garner).] This future liability is relevant to the determination of a reasonable remediation method. 10 Moreover, the statute favors permanent solutions: remedial action is that consistent with a permanent remedial action taken instead of or in addition to removal actions in the event of a release or a threatened release of a hazardous substance into the environment, to prevent or minimize the release of a hazardous substance so that it does not migrate to cause substantial damage to present or future public health, safety, welfare or the environment. O.R.S. Sec. 465.200(15) (emphasis added). Further, under Sec. 465.315(1)(a), any removal or remedial action shall attain a degree of cleanup of the hazardous substance and control of further release of the hazardous substance that assures protection of present and future public health, safety, welfare, and of the environment. If the director of DEQ orders a removal or remedial action, he or she must select a remedial action that is protective of human health and the environment, that is cost effective, and that uses permanent solutions. Sec. 465.315(1)(b) (emphasis added). Given that the statute encourages permanent clean-up, it would be inequitable to refuse to award Cash Flow's reasonable costs in attempting to comply with the statute. 11 Indeed, the district court recognized that aeration is the most desirable form of remediation if it can be done properly. [ER 3 at 19.] The court simply felt that the method of aeration employed was not reasonable because the soil was treated in a high pile, and it believed proper aeration requires the soil to be spread out in an 8-12 inch layer. The district court's conclusion that aeration of a pile was improper is not supported by the evidence. 1 Unocal's geological engineering expert testified that aeration was possible on the site used, but that only 8-12 inches could be treated at one time. [Tr. II at 158 (Widness).] In fact, this witness stated that he would have chosen aeration on-site, and that it may have been cheaper in the long run to aerate the soil, given the long-term liability in disposing of the soil in a landfill. [Id. at 171-72.] This witness did emphasize, however, that the costs of aerating a pile of soil would be more than the $20 per cubic yard it would cost to aerate spread-out soil. [Id. at 172-73.] 12 In sum, the district court clearly erred by refusing to award the reasonable costs of treating the soil by aeration, versus landfill disposal. The testimony did indicate, however, that the costs of aeration were high because of the method chosen. We remand the case for reconsideration of the reasonable costs involved in aerating the contaminated soil.
13 Cash Flow next argues that the district court clearly erred by determining that the excavation was 30 X 50 feet and 15 X 20 feet across, and only 15 feet deep. These measurements yielded an excavation of 1,170 cubic yards, and a backfill of 1,300 cubic yards. 14 The district court's finding regarding the horizontal measurements of the excavation was plausible given the conflicting evidence on this point. [See Ex. 139; Tr. I at 221 (Bill Ogilvie) (asphalt patches were 58 X 38 and 20 X 20); Tr. II at 51 (West) (area was approximately 30 X 50 and 15 X 20); Tr. II at 163 (Widness) (area was a rough 60 X 65 triangle).] 15 The district court's finding that the excavation was 15 feet deep was also plausible in light of conflicting testimony and evidence. While Cooper testified that the hole was 24-25 feet deep, [Tr. I at 170], the letter Cooper had written to DEQ stated that he had taken soil samples from the hole at a depth of 15 feet. [SER at 29-30.] Although Cash Flow attempts to reconcile this inconsistency on appeal, the evidence at trial did not clarify whether soil samples were taken at various stages in the project, or only once at a depth of 15 feet. [See Tr. I at 195 (Cooper) (explaining that he took samples before the cleanup was completely done), and Tr. I at 196 (when asked how many samples taken at the bottom of the hole, explained took a sample out of each corner of the excavation after the contaminated soil had been removed); but see Tr. I at 203 (doesn't remember if took samples periodically or just once).] The letter to DEQ is not clear when the sample was taken: it was written on September 17, 1990, well after the excavation to remove contaminated soil was finished, yet it referred to only one sample. 16 More significantly, other evidence contradicts Cooper's testimony regarding the amount of soil removed (and thus, the size of the excavation). Cooper testified at trial that he knew the amount of soil excavated because he counted 100 trips with his truck and he knew the exact capacity of his truck. [Tr. I at 172-73.] In contrast, Garner testified that on January 3, 1989, Cooper told Garner that he had taken 20-30 truckloads of contaminated soil to the aeration site. [SER 31 (phone log report).] Cooper told Garner on January 6, 1989, after the excavation was complete, that approximately 600 cubic yards of soil had been removed. [Tr. II at 196-97; SER 28.] Cash Flow failed to produce any documentary evidence to verify the amount of soil removed. 17 Finally, expert witnesses agreed that due to the consistency of the soil (silty clay) and the level of the water table, the gasoline contamination was more likely to travel horizontally than vertically. [Tr. II at 24-25 (Meisel); Tr. II at 166 (Widness).] The tanks were set at a bottom depth of 12 feet. 18 The district court's findings regarding the amount of soil excavated were not clearly erroneous. 19