Why Did We Move This Soil, Though?

An Anonymous Complaint (above) was sent out back in April.  It has been reviewed and the claims have been substantiated. At this point, more than $53,000.00 in fines are estimated for the removal of contaminated soil from this facility.  But why did we move this soil?

The county financed a project to modernize and improve the gun range utilized by the Escambia County Sheriff's Office.  We did this last year.

To the best of our knowledge the job was done and there were no issues.  

Friday afternoon we were notified about a possible environmental issue associated with the project.

An anonymous tip (above) was sent to various entities describing the unauthorized removal of contaminated material from the site.  The Florida Department of Environmental Protection ultimately visited the site, visited the location the material was moved to, and notified the county of a violation of state and federal environmental laws.

13 Dump truck loads of contaminated soil were moved from the pistol range to a non-permitted site, which will result in a fine

It appears that the county and the contractor will both be fined, and the total amount will exceed $53,000.00.  This amount will likely go higher once the consent order is received from FDEP, according to staff.

My question is pretty simple and basic:  Why did we remove the soil from this site--why was it


 moved, and why the rush?  The intent of the project originally was to sift out the lead and re-use the soil on the site which we assume would have been allowable under the project as it was originally contemplated.  But to move the contaminated soil to a non-permitted site was not contemplated so why was this allowed to happen?

13 Dump truck loads of contaminated soil were moved from the pistol range to a non-permitted site, which will result in a fine

This is the question I want to know the answer to.  Why did we rush, why did we allow the dirt to be moved? I'll be asking.