Opinion ID: 1438955
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: TVSBC is the developer of a residential community known as Raintree Village (Raintree). The Raintree property, located in White Clay Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware, was purchased by TVSBC and Concord 2 Associates, Inc., in 1985. The following year, TVSBC employed various subcontractors to prepare the Raintree property for the construction phase of development. In particular, TVSBC retained DiSabatino Brothers, Inc. (DiSabatino), to clear trees, brush, vegetation and other organic matter (pre-construction debris) from the building site. DiSabatino was also responsible for disposing of the pre-construction debris and for grading the site. A pre-construction meeting attended by the staff of TVSBC (but not Spano personally), DiSabatino, and the New Castle County Department of Public Works (County) was held on April 4, 1986. At that time the developers proposed to dispose of the pre-construction debris in trenches located in the right-of-way owned by Delmarva Power & Light Company (DP & L), which right-of-way ran through the middle of the development. Preparation of the site commenced following the County's approval of the plan. Pursuant to the plan, tree stumps, tree limbs, and other vegetation were cleared from the site and buried in the trenches. A small quantity of construction debris, including wood, plywood, empty paint cans, and joint compound containers was also buried in the trenches. The debris was then covered with a layer of earth primarily consisting of clay. Spano visited the Raintree site at least once or twice each week throughout this phase of the project and he personally viewed the disposal trenches and their contents. Although Spano was a corporate officer who had broad authority for the Raintree project and direct knowledge of the disposal trenches, he had no direct control or involvement in the actual decision to dispose of the pre-construction debris, and there is no evidence in the record which suggests that Spano ratified or otherwise approved of the disposal plan. That decision was made by TVSBC's attorneys, DiSabatino, [1] the County, and members of TVSBC's staff, excluding Spano.
On September 24, 1987, following the construction of various streets and approximately forty-five homes, the local fire department and the State Emergency Response Team were called to the development to investigate an apparent flash ignition that occurred in the sump of a home located on Jonathan Drive. Thereafter, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) commenced an investigation to determine the cause and source of the flash ignition. Tests revealed that the flash ignition was caused by methane gas, which was detected in several of the Raintree homes at a concentration of one-hundred percent of the lower explosive limit (LEL). [2] In response, ventilation systems were installed in the affected homes to prevent gas buildups and explosions. Additional tests revealed that the debris buried in the DP & L right-of-way was the source of the methane gas. Methane is a naturally occurring gas that is created by the decomposition of organic material, such as tree stumps and limbs, in a moist, anaerobic environment. [3] As the organic material is digested by micro-organisms, methane is produced as a by-product. In the present case, the methane gas travelled laterally through the ground, rather than dissipating into the atmosphere because the trenches were capped with soil containing a high clay content. The Board found that sewage from an old sewage line had seeped from the line and interacted with the construction waste. The sewage did not cause the breakdown of the construction waste into methane, but it merely increased the rate at which the process occurred. According to these findings, the construction waste would have decomposed into methane gas and created the hazardous situation regardless of the presence of the sewage, but the sewage caused the decomposition to happen more rapidly.
Pursuant to 7 Del.C. § 6308, the Acting Secretary of DNREC (the Secretary) issued an order containing findings of fact, and directed TVSBC and Spano to address the methane gas situation. Specifically, TVSBC and Spano were ordered to hire a consultant, and pursuant to Section 6308, to reimburse DNREC for expenses incurred in the emergency remediation of the site. TVSBC and Spano appealed the imposition of emergency costs to the Board. Finding that the pre-construction debris was hazardous waste, the Board affirmed DNREC's order. The Board, however, reversed DNREC's imposition of personal liability on Spano, finding that [a]lthough Mr. Spano personally oversaw [the overall Raintree project], he did so in his capacity as an officer of [TVSBC]. The Board failed, at that time, to make more specific findings regarding Spano's personal liability.
Both TVSBC and DNREC appealed the Board's decision. On appeal, the Superior Court affirmed the Board's interpretation of hazardous waste and the imposition of liability on TVSBC for the cost of the emergency remediation. The issue of Spano's personal liability was remanded to the Board because its findings evidence[d] a lack of understanding of the liability of corporate officers ... for wrongful actions in which they took part.... T.V. Spano Building Corp. v. Wilson, Del.Super., 584 A.2d 523, 530 (1990).
Consistent with the Superior Court's instructions, the Board permitted TVSBC and Spano to introduce new evidence regarding their liability for the emergency remediation. After reviewing the additional evidence, the Board once again concluded that TVSBC is properly liable for the costs of the emergency remediation. Again, the Board held that Spano was not jointly liable with TVSBC because he did not exercise the requisite degree of personal control over the disposal of the pre-construction debris. TVSBC and DNREC subsequently appealed the Board's findings to the Superior Court. DNREC cross-appealed on the issue of Spano's personal liability. TVSBC appealed the finding that it was liable, and further argued that DNREC's cross-appeal was not timely. The Superior Court affirmed the Board's findings of fact and conclusions of law, and further found DNREC's cross-appeal to be timely. The present appeal followed.