WHO OWNS EXCAVATED MATERIAL?
WHO OWNS EXCAVATED MATERIAL?
(OP)
I have a client who has fee simple ownership of a piece of property. The city has a stormwater maintenance easement on part of it to install, maintain, operate an repair a regional underground detention system. City's excavation will be around 20,000 cy to install detention. Excavated material is contaminated. Who owns the excavated material?





RE: WHO OWNS EXCAVATED MATERIAL?
I suspect that once your client gave the City the easement, they accepted that if/when material was excavated that they would have to deal with the spoil.
Bottom line, they need to talk to their lawyer not their engineer.
RE: WHO OWNS EXCAVATED MATERIAL?
That being said, although the easement only allows the city to use the property and not legally own it, which would technically include the excavated soil, the question here appears to be who is responsible for disposing of the contaminated soil.
The test to me seems as to who created the need to dispose of the soil? That is who should pay for it, at least in my mind.
Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
http://mmcengineering.tripod.com
RE: WHO OWNS EXCAVATED MATERIAL?
contaminated with what? and how contaminated?
RE: WHO OWNS EXCAVATED MATERIAL?
RE: WHO OWNS EXCAVATED MATERIAL?
RE: WHO OWNS EXCAVATED MATERIAL?
RE: WHO OWNS EXCAVATED MATERIAL?
From your post, it seems that the project is coming in the future. So I suggest that you clearly specify the responsibilities related to the excavated materials in your project Documentation to avoid time and energy consuming claims in future. IMO consult a lawyer but also enforce your client's interests via project Engineering Specification and the Project Contract (in the framework of construction laws applicable to your region).
RE: WHO OWNS EXCAVATED MATERIAL?
In the end it's a question for lawyers, but if the city got to pass that off on the owner it would set a precedent where they could force the owner to dispose of clean soil too I would think.
Keep us updated on this. I want to hear how it pans out.
Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East - http://www.campbellcivil.com
RE: WHO OWNS EXCAVATED MATERIAL?
No I'm not a lawyer. Just managed a few environmental divisions over the years. That said, I don't know where the project is located and no longer work in the environmental business.
f-d
¡papá gordo ain't no madre flaca!
RE: WHO OWNS EXCAVATED MATERIAL?
RE: WHO OWNS EXCAVATED MATERIAL?
RE: WHO OWNS EXCAVATED MATERIAL?
When issuing design packages to bidding contractors you have to properly disclose the nature of the contamination where present in the area of construction. Typically, that relates more to excavation areas then fill areas. Sometimes your opportunities to go cut-to-fill are limited. Sometimes these limitations have to do with the end use, i.e., are you developing a hospital, day care, residential community, etc.
No way to properly address all these variables.
Much of this can be determined using common sense and an open line of communication with the regulators. I'd mostly be interested in the regulatory setting of the property though. . .
f-d
¡papá gordo ain't no madre flaca!
RE: WHO OWNS EXCAVATED MATERIAL?
2) The City may be allowed to excavate and dump the spoil within their easement, but not outside their easement boundaries. Can they engineer a system with the spoil on top of the drainage system within their easement? Probably not.
3) If it's contaminated, Federal, State and City (?) HAZMAT rules apply. The excavator must clean it up.
RE: WHO OWNS EXCAVATED MATERIAL?
Richard A. Cornelius, P.E.
WWW.amlinereast.com
RE: WHO OWNS EXCAVATED MATERIAL?
RE: WHO OWNS EXCAVATED MATERIAL?
Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East - http://www.campbellcivil.com
RE: WHO OWNS EXCAVATED MATERIAL?
If the brown field was contaminated by bankrupt company won't "Superfund" help clean up the soils?
did your client pay real money for this site? What was in the sale documents? EPA must know about this site call them.
Richard A. Cornelius, P.E.
WWW.amlinereast.com
RE: WHO OWNS EXCAVATED MATERIAL?
Infiltration at a brownfield/VRP site is usually taboo - i.e., infiltraton by design. No doubt these sites need to be "weatherproof" as they will get rained on. However, often some lower permeability soil cover is applied to the surface so the majority of rainfall is shed from the areas of contamination as runoff. If you are than going to infiltrate that runoff into a biofilter or other such feature, it'd better be in an area without contamination, which makes the OP moot - i.e., the excavated soil would not be contaminated.
good luck in this project.
f-d
¡papá gordo ain't no madre flaca!
RE: WHO OWNS EXCAVATED MATERIAL?
If the City is excavating land for a regional detention basin, would they not be responsible for dealing with the spoils that are created from construction.
They can't dump the spoils on lands they have no rights to. Nor can they place the spoils in their easement if it adversely affects the use of adjacent property (mounding it for instance, altering drainage patterns or access)
Also, if they intend to spread the soil around on their (easements?), are they not compounding the problem of contamination by increasing exposed surface area and possibly moving it to previously uncontaminated areas?
The City then by virtue of their construction would be placing at risk the health and safety of the community at large. Seems obvious to me that the City is 100% responsible for this.
As an aside, lets for arguments sake say the site was uncontaminated and the City intended to sell off the spoils. I wonder if the property owner would be entitled to those profits? (perhaps an argument against it being 100% City responsibility)
Keep us posted, I'd be curious to know how this pans out.