DP1

DecisionPoint
http://proethica.org/ontology/cases#DecisionPoint

DP1

Upon incidentally observing the unauthorized wetland fill post-contract, should Engineer A take affirmative professional action or treat the completed scope of work as extinguishing any further obligation?

A few months after completing a wetland delineation contract, Engineer A drives by the former client's property and observes that more than half an acre of wetland has been filled with material without any permits, variances, or permissions. Engineer A must decide whether to act on this incidental post-contract observation or treat the terminated contract as relieving any further professional responsibility. As an environmental engineer who personally delineated the wetland boundaries on this very site, Engineer A possesses both the technical competence to recognize the violation's significance and a heightened stewardship obligation that distinguishes this situation from a casual passerby.

Promptly contact the former client in writing, identify the observed unauthorized fill, point out that installation of fill material across more than half an acre of wetland without permits constitutes a substantial violation of federal and state environmental laws, and advise that remediation or a variance from proper authorities is required — documenting the date of observation, the nature of the violation, and the demand for remediation.

Conclude that because the wetland delineation contract has been completed and no ongoing monitoring obligation exists, Engineer A bears no professional duty to act on the incidentally observed violation, and take no further action.

Informally mention the observed fill to the client in a phone call or casual conversation without written notice, without formally characterizing it as a legal violation, and without creating any written record of the interaction — partially acknowledging the concern while falling short of the full disclosure and documentation obligation.

Engineer A — Environmental Engineer, Former Wetland Delineation Contractor