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67 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, September 16, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 23, 2004 A worker for SJL Construction prepares to excavate a stump buried beneath a new house in White Oak Estates. The former property owner was fined by the Department of Environmental Quality. Stumped subdivision A building contractor uncovers a trench with hundreds of stumps left by a previous owner By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT — When residents John and Karen Murphy contracted to have a home built in White Oak Estates last year, they anticipated living in a motorhome for six months and dealing with simple issues like paint color and landscaping. What they didn’t expect was to learn their soon-to-be dream home was sited over part of a 500-foot-long trench filled with rotting oak tree stumps that, left in place, would gradually deteriorate beneath their $375,000 investment. "Our house would’ve been over the top of all these stumps," said John Murphy. "What would have happened when they all disintegrated?" The couple’s home is one of a half-dozen found to border the 15-foot-deep, 15- to 20-foot-wide hole that in January the Department of Environmental Quality declared an illegal waste disposal site. Advertisement The trench was excavated in 2000 by Bill’s Backhoe of Medford, owned by Bill Reagan, under contract with White Oak Property Investment LLC, owned by Don Grove of Medford. About 300 trees were cleared on Arbor Day 2001 to make room for White Oaks, a phase of the Central Point East development along Hamrick Road. The trench was discovered in October 2003 by the Murphys’ contractor, SJL Construction, which bought 13 lots from Grove the year before. Last January, DEQ ordered White Oak and Bill’s Backhoe to clean up the site by April 30. The two companies requested and were granted an extension until June 30. When they still did not comply, DEQ fined them more than $37,000 on Aug. 6. "Stumps are not considered clean fill," said DEQ waste reduction analyst Brian Fuller. "Certainly, the stumps could alter the pH of the soil and affect groundwater. "(Grove and Reagan) applied for a burn permit in 1998 or 1999 and were denied. We told them they had to dispose of (the trees) properly, and digging a trench and burying them on-site is not considered proper disposal." After the DEQ fine, Bill’s Backhoe did a small portion of the cleanup, but SJL had removed most of the trees by then, said SJL owner Don Bestul. Bestul said he had explicitly asked Grove whether anything was buried on the site when he purchased the property. Had the Murphys not requested a 6-foot extension of their home’s footprint, prompting a series of test holes dug by SJL staff, the trench would have gone undiscovered. "Some of these stumps were so large, regular-size dump trucks couldn’t haul them," Bestul said. "We burned up the motor in one excavator and broke the arm on another." All told, disposing of the trees and correcting the site with the help of an engineer qualified to stabilize homes along cliffs cost SJL $130,000. "The scary part was that there was a sinkhole that went down about 15 feet. We dropped a rock down and never heard it hit the bottom. A little kid could’ve fallen down there," said Bestul. Reagan did not return telephone calls seeking comment Thursday at a number listed as his Medford business and residence. Dick Stark, a Medford attorney who spoke on behalf of Grove, said nothing had been done intentionally by Grove or Reagan. "My client has taken necessary steps to correct the situation and will continue to do whatever is necessary. This was not an intentional violation," said Stark. Tom Humphrey, Central Point community development director, said the trench was discovered on a berm that originally was supposed to act as a buffer between the new homes and industrial areas along Table Rock Road. Humphrey, who noted that the city has no jurisdiction over what takes place underground during development, said developers likely did not anticipate houses being built over the trench. "A berm was planned and because of an agreement between the builder and developer to eliminate that berm, the result was the uncovering of this trench that would have been covered by trees and not become an issue," Humphrey said. "It happened because the developer wanted more land but that doesn’t make it right that these materials were buried." Humphrey said the city has scheduled a study session to consider adding language to its subdivision ordinance that would give it more power over design and changes to plans. DEQ fined Grove and Reagan $27,260 for the estimated economic gain they received in burying the trees and a $10,000 penalty. Fuller said the maximum penalty for maintaining an illegal waste disposal site is $10,000 per day. "To be honest, I don’t think (the maximum penalty) would’ve passed the straight-face test," Fuller said. "The violation was in 2000. Now it’s 2004. That would’ve amounted to quite a bit. They certainly didn’t rush right out there to correct it, but they did go out and correct it eventually." White Oak homeowner Jim Florian, who watched the foundation of his home be ripped out and restarted after the trench was discovered, said a $10,000 penalty was too little, too late. "The DEQ is not doing its job," he said. "They can start by leveling a fine that’s adequate to stop these guys from doing something like this again. Here we are putting in over $300,000 into this project � then to find out the original developer doesn’t want to take responsibility leaves a bad taste in your mouth." Murphy said both his and Florian’s saving grace was SJL standing by its work. Bestul said he had mixed emotions about whether to pursue the issue in court. He said his priority was to create a permanent record about what had been done. "Even if it was a $25 fine, just so that something was to go on record saying that what Grove did was wrong. Maybe that would save someone else from having this happen," he said. "We’ve been living this nightmare for 10 months. I feel like I’ve been beat up pretty bad, but I’ve done what’s right, the houses I built are solid and I can sleep at night." Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected]. Central Point East had problems before Central Point East, the development that encompasses White Oak Estates, has been the subject of controversy before. In 2000, neighbors on Beebe Road across from the subdivision filed suit against developers alleging the neighbors lost their water supply when a hole was excavated to place a storm drain down Beebe Road. The case was settled last year by a Jackson County judge for a small percentage of actual damages. 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