[The Price of Greed]
The hearing room for the NSJWCD in Stockton was set up with two long tables placed in parallel. In the center sat three commissioners, a technical officer, and a stenographer.
Chloe, our paralegal Nancy, Mr. Dominic Smith, and I sat on one side. Opposite us sat Jack O'Connell, his attorney, and a middle-aged man wearing a badge that read Hydrology Consultant.
The chairperson tapped the table twice with their fingers, skipping the gavel.
"Case 07-1132. Groundwater Harm Investigation. This hearing is now on the official record. All statements are being transcribed, and false testimony will be subject to legal sanctions. Mr. O'Connell, you may begin."
At the chairperson's prompt, Jack O'Connell’s lawyer spoke up.
"Mr. Chairperson, the opposing side's data was compiled using experimental methods and has not undergone verification by an independent, accredited institution. Therefore, there are serious questions regarding its reliability."
One of the commissioners listening adjusted their glasses.
"I disagree. Mr. Dominic Smith is a registered Hydrogeologist with the GEI. He has already passed this agency's technical review process. Today is an opportunity to hear the summary of that process."
The lawyer stiffened and sat back down. The chairperson turned their gaze toward us.
"Ms. Chloe Harris, do you have a brief opening statement?"
Chloe, who used to be overwhelmed by such settings, stood up with a confident expression, holding the documents she had prepared.
"Rather than making a separate statement, I will let the concrete evidence and records speak for themselves."
The chairperson nodded at her reasonable attitude.
"Then let's proceed in the order of witnesses. Mr. Dominic Smith, please take the stand."
Dominic stood up and placed three reports on the evidence table.
"I am submitting three pieces of evidence. One is the Technical Memorandum, one is the piezometer water pressure record, and the last is the hourly electrical conductivity (EC) measurement data."
The chairperson, having received the reports, nodded as if to tell him to proceed with the explanation. Dominic slowly began to explain the details he had documented.
"First, you will see the pressure log recorded at the boundary piezometer of the pear orchard, and the log from the piezometer downstream of the southern pistachio farm. The time was 22:41, and a pressure drop of the same pattern is observed thereafter."
One of the three commissioners asked, "Can this pattern be explained by other factors?"
"It is impossible with normal upward pumping. This is a signature accompanying a reverse pressure wave, that is, reverse pumping..."
As Dominic’s explanation continued, Jack’s face grew increasingly rigid. His lawyer tried to interject a few times with a flustered expression, only to have his face sour under the chairperson’s reprimand. They requested data to refute the claims, but their excuses—citing temporary equipment errors—only served to erode the commissioners' trust. Ultimately, the conclusion was reached surprisingly quickly due to the late-night power usage data Dominic presented.
"...For the aforementioned reasons, the temporary stay on the pear orchard's well usage will be maintained, while we recommend a 30-day conditional stay on the pistachio farm's well usage, a $25,000 fine, and a report to the EPA and the State Water Resources Control Board. The formal decision will be posted in two hours. This hearing is adjourned."
After the hearing, we stood face-to-face with Jack O'Connell in front of the building. I intended to just walk past, but Chloe, seeing the look in Jack’s eyes, stood her ground without flinching.
"How dare you... report me?"
A furious Jack glared at Chloe. But she straightened her shoulders and looked him directly in the eye.
"If you were going to frame someone else's farm for your own crimes, shouldn't you have been prepared for this much?"
"...When did I frame you?"
"When all the farmers gathered, you were there, weren't you? After I received the stay on the well-closure order, I did some digging. I asked around, 'You know it wasn't our fault, so why did you think we were the problem?' And do you know what some of the other farms said? They said the O'Connell and Hopkins farms told them that."
"...You're lying!"
"Are they all conspiring to lie together? Well, I don't think so. But if that's the case, why don't you try taking legal action, just like I did..."
Chloe shot back sharply and walked past him. I was inwardly amused by her triumphant attitude, but I kept a straight face and helped her into the car. Before getting in, I thanked Mr. Dominic Smith for his attendance and left the scene.
"Ugh, the nerve of him... Did you see that earlier? He acted like he had done nothing wrong. Isn't he just shameless?"
Chloe couldn't calm her excitement even after getting into the car.
"Yeah. It was like he had a steel plate for a face."
"Honestly, a 30-day well-use suspension and a $25,000 fine seem too light. They should have hit him harder."
She expressed her disappointment by throwing two small punches into the air.
"No, that's not necessarily true."
"Really? Is a 30-day well suspension that big of a blow?"
"Yes. We received the order later than when we were suspended for two weeks, and it's for 30 days. For pistachios, late February to early March is the Bud Swell period. It's the time when dormancy ends and water absorption begins in earnest. If the water supply is cut off due to the well suspension, the soil moisture will drop rapidly, causing the buds to fail to open properly, or if they do, the flowers will bloom abnormally."
"Ah... then the fruit-set rate will plummet?"
Chloe now understood well just how fatal it was for trees to fail to bloom properly.
"Exactly. Since pollination and flowering won't happen correctly during this period, he should be prepared for this year's production to drop by at least 30% to 50%."
"So the $25,000 fine is nothing?"
"Right. And it doesn't end there; there's one more thing left..."
"What is it?"
I burst into laughter seeing Chloe’s eyes sparkle with anticipation.
"Hahaha, aren't you a little too happy about the other side going under?"
"We almost went under too, you know."
"I wouldn't let that happen."
If this pear orchard failed, I wouldn't receive 30% of the future profits, so regardless of my relationship with her, I couldn't just leave it alone.
"Well... I guess that's true. Anyway, tell me quickly. What is it?"
"It's not that there's something incredibly special, but for the surrounding farms... excessive pumping already collapses the Pressure Gradient, and reverse pumping makes it even worse, causing saline and turbid water from the lower layers to mix upward. This will lead to lawsuits claiming property rights infringement or economic loss due to Turbidity contamination."
"Ah! That makes sense. Then shouldn't we sue too?"
"Hmm... I'm not sure. Let's think about it step-by-step while watching the state of the water coming up from our well. From what I've seen, the water quality in our well hasn't been that bad yet."
Pears are extremely vulnerable to muddy water, and if the aquifers mixed, they would suffer the most damage. However, since we had only planted the saplings a year ago, the damage wasn't severe. Moreover, it could have gotten worse, but catching it early was the key.
"Why?"
"I don't think it's good to make too many enemies. Up until now, this was a defensive action we could take, but going as far as a lawsuit is an offensive action meant to destroy the other party... and even if we don't do it, the surrounding farms will file lawsuits anyway."
"So you're saying we should just sit this one out?"
"If the water quality gets too bad, we'll have to, but if not, we should just let it slide."
This is America, the land of guns. Chloe’s pear orchard is 70 acres, which is about the size of 40 soccer fields. Unless you're the mafia, it's hard to make a profit if you have to hire security to run a farm that stretches out of sight.
In the end, it's better not to be on bad terms with the surrounding farms. At the very least, when taking down a villain, it's better to stay in the background rather than stepping out yourself.
"Well, I suppose so. But what if the surrounding farms don't sue?"
I smirked. "Do you really think so? In America?"
The income of American farmers is higher than in Korea, but there are still many who struggle. If they were the type of people to let such a good opportunity slip by, America wouldn't have earned the title of the 'Land of Lawsuits.'
"Are you really going to do this?"
Jack O'Connell was shouting in his farm office with a pale face. Jeffrey, who ran the walnut farm across the way, said nervously.
"I'm sorry... but I can't help it. I'll obviously drop out of the lawsuit, but my cousin... I tried to stop them so many times!"
Many American farms are family-run, and it's quite common for a relative's farm to be right next door if land is passed down to siblings. It is very common for one family to operate vast farms across the same region for generations.
"This is too much!"
"I know, I know! I tried to stop them, but when they showed me the muddy water coming up from the well, I had nothing to say."
"Is the muddy water really that bad?"
Jack O'Connell couldn't believe it. Even if groundwater was mixing due to reverse pumping, he couldn't believe it was that severe. If it had been that bad, the water coming up from his own well, which used the same aquifer, should have been problematic, but not enough to warrant a lawsuit.
"You know how it is, orange farms are very sensitive to muddy water."
"Haa..."
"Walnuts and pistachios like ours have deep roots and can withstand muddy water well, but oranges are not like that..."
Jack’s legs gave out, and he collapsed into his chair. "I'm ruined..."
He pulled at his hair, and Jeffrey, watching him with pity, backed away little by little and left the office.
A week later, for the first time in a long while, Chloe, Mr. Frederick, and Mrs. Amelia gathered at Redwood Winery. Today was my father's birthday, and we had planned to spend it quietly as a family, but Mr. Frederick insisted on attending, so we were together.
It wasn't a party with balloons and music. It was just a small house with bright lights and delicious food made by my mother. But the people present were full of smiles.
"Happy birthday. This is a gift."
The gift Mr. Frederick handed over was in a small paper bag, and surprisingly, it said Rolex on it.
"Wow... amazing."
I was surprised, but my father was even more so.
"No, should I really... accept something like this?"
"Hahaha! Of course! We are receiving so much help thanks to Brian. Both with the help at the almond farm we acquired this time, and I am very grateful that you helped Chloe get through a major crisis safely. Compared to that, this is hardly a gift at all."
"What are you saying. I'll have to buy clothes that match this watch first."
"Hahaha! Come to think of it, you are very frugal. By now, you shouldn't have anything to envy from any decent winery."
As Mr. Frederick said, our winery, which generates $6 million in revenue per year, was enough to confidently represent one of the pillars of Napa Valley. Compared to that, it was true that we looked very frugal.
Our house was indeed small and unimpressive. In fact, the cars my father and I parked outside didn't match our status.
"Hahaha! I was focusing on growing the winery until this year, and I was thinking about getting a new house around next year."
"In that case, how about the Dairy Country Club where we live? Do you like golf?"
"Golf?"
My father asked with wide eyes, and soon a conversation about golf began between the two middle-aged men. My father had learned golf for business before immigrating here, so the topic wasn't unfamiliar.
"Oh... the houses must be quite expensive, right?"
"Even if they are expensive, you have the wealth to afford it, don't you? Hahaha!"
As he said that, Mr. Frederick stroked my shoulder for no reason and looked at me with a satisfied expression.
'What is this? That look?'
I turned my head and made up my mind to choose a place not too far from Napa Valley.