FLAWED RAILROAD POLLUTION STUDY OMITS CLEANUP COSTS: TAXPAYERS TRAPPED WITH $12.5M–$24M+ REMEDIATION & CAPPING BILL

AT STAKE: $28.56M PURCHASE FOR POLLUTED DIRT APPRAISED AT JUST $378,005

BONITA SPRINGS, FL — The seller-conducted Phase 2 pollution report delivered by Seminole Gulf Railway contains a fatal defect: it provides ZERO financial estimates for soil remediation, capping, or hazardous waste disposal. Under strict ‘AS-IS / WHERE-IS’ contract terms, Seminole Gulf Railway is exempt from paying a single dollar toward cleanup. Meanwhile, independent engineering assessments and EPA Brownfields benchmarks estimate total mandatory cleanup, 24-inch clean fill capping, geotextile barriers, and asphalt tread capping will cost taxpayers between $12.5 Million and $24.0 Million+.

The report was quietly released by the City at 4:29 PM on Friday, October 16, 2026. The City Clerk claims receipt on October 15, 2026, triggering a 30-day contractual clock to reject this $28.56 Million purchase for 6.15 miles of polluted railroad dirt that expires on Saturday, November 14, 2026.

“The real scandal isn’t just that the City dumped this report late on a Friday afternoon—it’s that the Railroad’s pollution study deliberately hid the multi-million dollar cleanup cost to protect the seller,” said Dave Jaye, Chairman of the Lee County Taxpayers Association. “The seller’s consultant provides zero dollars for environmental remediation because under this ‘AS-IS’ contract, Seminole Gulf Railway walks away with $28.56 Million in cash while taxpayers are stuck with up to $24 Million in mandatory capping and cleanup bills.”

“The project’s own Capping Plan admits engineers cannot even estimate the volume of contaminated waste to be removed because Phase 2 testing was so flawed and incomplete,” Jaye added. “By excluding City Environmentalist Laura Gibson and skipping high-risk sidetracks, the City set up a blind purchase. The 30-day clock expires November 14, and City Council must reject this deal before taxpayers pay 75 times appraised land value for toxic dirt.”

I. OMISSION OF CLEANUP COSTS & EPA / CAPPING PLAN ESTIMATES

1. Zero Cleanup Estimates by Seller Consultant: The Phase II ESA prepared by S&S Environmental Consultants contains NO cost estimates for soil remediation, excavation, or environmental capping, shielding the seller from financial liability under AS-IS terms.
2. EPA & Industry Remediation Benchmarks ($12.5M–$24M+): Based on EPA Brownfields remediation standards and Chapter 62-780, F.A.C., guidelines, independent engineering estimates place total soil removal, clean fill replacement, capping, and long-term monitoring costs between $12.5 Million and $24.0 Million+ for the 6.15-mile Bonita segment.
3. Capping Plan Mandates (October 15, 2026 Plan): The Capping & Soil Management Plan prepared by Taylor Environmental Consulting confirms mandatory engineering controls: 24 inches of certified clean fill, high-visibility orange geotextile warning barriers, 2-inch asphalt tread paving over limerock sub-bases, perimeter warning signage every 100 feet, and annual P.E. inspections in perpetuity.
4. Admitted Inability to Estimate Waste Volumes: Section 4.5 of the Capping Plan explicitly admits that because Phase 2 testing was incomplete: ‘Due to the procedure that will be used and the uncertainty of the size of some of the excavations, the total volume of waste to be removed cannot be adequately estimated.’

II, EXCLUSION OF CITY ENVIRONMENTALIST & MUNICIPAL OVERSIGHT

1. Total Exclusion of City Environmentalist (September 11, 2026 Disclosure): City staff confirmed in writing (Jacqueline Toemmes Genson, Planning & Zoning Manager) that City Environmentalist Laura Gibson was neither asked to review nor reviewed any Environmental Assessment related to BERT, nor participated in any BERT discussions.
2. Bypassing FDEP & EPA Oversight: Neither FDEP Chapter 62-780 standards nor EPA Brownfields guidelines were required in the contract, allowing the seller (Seminole Gulf Railway) to conduct self-policed sampling without independent regulatory verification.
3. Seller Conflict of Interest (Exhibit B, Section I): SGLR maintained direct contractual authority over the environmental investigation scope, prioritizing limiting seller liability over public health protection.
4. Railroad Veto Power Over Groundwater (Exhibit B, Section I.f): SGLR retained explicit veto authority over any groundwater testing, shielding potential migrating contaminant plumes beneath the water table from public discovery.

III. BONITA SPRINGS SAMPLING & METHODOLOGICAL FAILURES

1. Mandated Composite Sample Dilution (Exhibit B, Section I.b/c): Instead of collecting discrete soil core samples at point-source locations, 5 individual soil cores were physically mixed together into single composite analytical jars, artificially diluting localized ‘hot spots’ by up to 80%.
2. Shallow Depth Restriction (0–6 Inches): Soil sampling was strictly limited to shallow 0–6 inch depths, completely ignoring deep vertical core borings required to assess downward contaminant migration.
3. Total Exclusion of Groundwater Monitoring: Zero monitoring wells were installed along the 6.15-mile Bonita Springs segment, leaving the underlying shallow aquifer unexamined—including uncharacterized chlorinated solvent plumes near Tisch Coin Laundry (EPA REC 2).

IV. REFUSAL TO TEST DEPOT PARK & BONITA INDUSTRIAL SIDETRACKS

987. Omission of Depot Park (AX 987.4): Figure 2B of the Capping Plan confirms zero sampling points were placed within Depot Park despite historical locomotive idling and long-term chemical leaching.
988. Omission of Key Industrial Sidetracks in Bonita Springs: Figure 2B confirms all 31 sampling points in Bonita Springs were pinned strictly to the main line, completely skipping high-risk industrial sidetracks: i. Northern Old 41 Sidetrack Complex; ii. Northern SGLR Clustered Sidetracks near Terry Street; iii. Tisch Laundry Sidetrack; iv. Southern Bonita Sidetrack Complex; v. Causeway Lumber & Builder Marts Sidetracks.

V. LABORATORY QUALITY CONTROL & TESTING OMISSIONS

1. Missing Chains of Custody (COCs): Physical, signed Chain of Custody forms and sample intake temperature acceptance checklists were completely omitted from Appendix A of the Phase II report narrative.
2. Systemic Matrix Interference (Workorder F2602812): Surrogates (o-terphenyl and n-triacontane-C30) and Matrix Spikes repeatedly failed acceptance criteria due to heavy background ballast oil interference. The lab applied ‘J’ qualifiers rather than running standard EPA cleanup protocols, creating a high risk of false negatives.
3. Omitted Chemical Parameters: The testing package omitted key railroad contaminants: Glyphosate (herbicide), Chlorinated Herbicides (EPA Method 8151), Organochlorine Pesticides (EPA Method 8081), and Volatile Organic Solvents (EPA Method 8260).

VI. LOCAL BUSINESS IMPACT & MAYORAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST

1. Direct Exposure to Local Bike Shop & Pizzeria Operations: The Mayor of Bonita Springs operates a bicycle shop and pizzeria directly adjacent to the railroad right-of-way. Track removal and un-capped ballast earthwork threaten nearby food service and retail patrons with airborne dust bearing creosote, lead, arsenic, and PAH particulates.
2. Mandatory Air Containment & Monitoring Requirements: Downtown outdoor dining areas and adjacent commercial retail require strict physical containment dust barriers and continuous EPA Method 10 particulate air monitoring to prevent hazardous dust transport during site preparation.

VII. 20 ESSENTIAL INTERROGATORY QUESTIONS FOR THE NOVEMBER 4 SPECIAL MEETING

The Lee County Taxpayers Association has submitted 20 formal interrogatory questions to the Mayor, City Council, City Manager Arlene Hunter, and City Attorney Derek Rooney ahead of the November 4, 2026 Special Meeting. Key interrogation points include:

1. Title Restrictions & CSX Deed Bans: Has the City secured a legally recorded extinguishment of the recorded 2019 CSX deed covenants explicitly banning public hiking/biking trails and groundwater extraction beneath the corridor?
2. Un-Delineated Contamination & Cost Omissions: Why is the Railroad asking the City to close on an ‘AS-IS’ purchase when its own Phase 2 study omits all cleanup cost estimates and its October 15 Capping Plan admits contamination boundaries remain un-delineated?
3. Unresolved Laboratory Matrix Interference: Why did the Railroad’s consultant accept ‘J’ qualifiers on laboratory data with systemic matrix interference failures rather than requiring standard EPA sample cleanup protocols?
4. Excluded High-Risk Sidetracks: Why were Depot Park, Old 41 sidetracks, Terry Street clusters, and Causeway Lumber sidetracks completely excluded from Phase II soil testing?

FOOTNOTE ON REGIONAL OVERSIGHT FAILURES:

The 14.7-mile Seminole Gulf Railway corridor spans Lee and Collier counties. To date, Estero Village and Collier County Government have also failed to produce or disclose completed Phase 2 pollution testing reports covering their respective corridor segments, leaving taxpayers across all three community segments fully exposed to unquantified environmental liabilities.

VIII. MEDIA CONTACT & PUBLISHED SOURCE DOCUMENTS

All primary evidence documents, including the 2,401-page Phase I ESA, the September 18 Phase II ESA, Advanced Environmental Laboratories Work order F2602812, the October 15 Capping & Soil Management Plan, Public Records Request filings, municipal email disclosures, and the complete 20 Interrogatory Questions, are published and available for public inspection at usataxfighters.org under ‘Railroad’s Pollution Report Failures’. A comprehensive analysis of all flaws from the Phase 1 report is also published and available at usataxfighters.org.

PUBLISHED BY:
Dave Jaye, Chairman & Lead Researcher
Lee County Taxpayers Association
Websites: usataxfighters.org  |  tripledippers.org
Direct Email: dave.jaye55@gmail.com
Direct Phone: (586) 488-5177

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