Premium
Contractor Penalized for Discharging Sediment
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1551-8833.1993.tb05998.x
Subject(s) - wright , law , appeal , punitive damages , damages , commission , supreme court , supremacy clause , political science , legislation , engineering , federal law , systems engineering
As the site‐grading contractor for a project in Alabama, Wright Brothers Construction Company cut and filled a portion of Red Mountain to create a level 60‐acre site for development. The contract said Wright was responsible for erosion and pollution control. Despite Wright's attempts to mitigate erosion, sediment flowed from the construction site into two tributaries of Shades Creek. The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (DEM) assessed a civil penalty of $21,000 against Wright by fining it $100 for each of 167 violations and adding $4,300 in punitive damages. The Environmental Management Commission upheld the order. Wright appealed, alleging that the imposition of numerous penalties based on a single act or occurrence violated the double‐jeopardy prohibition in the state and federal constitutions. The trial court concluded that argument was inapplicable to an administrative hearing; however, it also ruled that multiple violations for a single day were impermissible under state law and that the DEM could assess a penalty for only one violation per day. On appeal, the trial court decision was reversed in part.