Opinion ID: 4527800
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: All by-products of production other than kish

Text: and 420,000 cubic yards of slag which are located on the Excluded Real Property as is described on Exhibit B to the deed from Seller to Purchaser of even date herewith, together with a reasonable period of time to remove such items. Id. (emphasis added). In 2003, the EPA began investigating claims of contaminants leaching from the piles on the Eastern Excluded Property. Over the course of several years, the EPA determined that contaminants from the piles were migrating from the Eastern Excluded Property and began communicating with GIP regarding ownership and environmental remediation issues. At the same time, GIP began discussing with Watkins Metal Co. the separation of recoverable metals from the Eastern Excluded Property. GIP and Watkins drafted, but did not consummate, an “Agreement to Process Kish,” which provided that for $70 per ton of output, Watkins would “separate and screen the Kish in order for [GIP] to reclaim and sell the metals in the Kish.” J.A. 2861 ¶¶ 3, 5. Under the non-finalized agreement, Watkins would have had an exclusive right to separate recoverable metals from the piles so long as Watkins reclaimed 500 tons of metal per month, in addition to the right to withdraw from the agreement should recovery become unprofitable. J.A. 2862 ¶ 12. In October 2008, the EPA decided to remediate the environmental problems on the Eastern Excluded Property by having contractors reduce the size of the piles through Case: 18-2132 Document: 69 Page: 5 Filed: 04/22/2020 GADSDEN INDUSTRIAL PARK, LLC v. UNITED STATES 5 recovery and sale of saleable material from the piles. Once the contractors had extracted saleable material, the EPA planned to cap what was left of the piles. 3 From October 2009 to February 2013, contractors recovered material from the piles, selling 245,890 tons of material for about $13.5 million. J.A. 3093–94 ¶¶ 15–16. The EPA and its contractors also recovered and used 92,500 cubic yards of slag onsite for environmental remediation. Trial Tr. 1367:5–8. Mr. Casey, the owner of GIP, testified at trial that prior to the start of the EPA’s recovery operation, GIP had removed about 15,000 cubic yards of its allotment of slag, using some, selling some, and giving some away. Trial Tr. 206:17–207:9. As of March 2008, GIP had not removed any kish from the Eastern Excluded Property. In 2013, the project became unprofitable, and the EPA shut it down. At that point, the EPA contractors had processed approximately 50% of the material in the piles. Ultimately, the EPA contractors spent $14.5 million on the recovery operation, about a million more than income from sales. Trial Tr. 1242:18–1243:6. The EPA never capped the piles. Instead, the EPA “compacted the materials to minimize leachate,” leaving further remediation to state environmental authorities. J.A. 3086. GIP did not attempt its own recovery operation during the EPA’s remediation project.