Judge orders state, city into mediation over Flint's water future.

Oona Goodin-Smith
Thu, 03 Aug 2017 06:28:23 +0000
Drinking-water, Legislative, Litigation, Toxification, Waterqualityquantity, Domestic, Water, Environmental-justice

DETROIT, MI - A federal judge has ordered the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the city of Flint into mediation in an attempt to resolve their differences regarding the future of Flint's drinking water out of court.

On Tuesday, Aug. 1, U.S. District Judge David Lawson appointed Troy-based attorney Paul Monicatti to facilitate an agreement between the parties, which now includes independent representation of Flint City Council.

Monicatti, according to Lawson's order, has the authority to "schedule ... any settlement discussions; to decide who shall participate in the discussions, including what party representatives are needed; to recommend to the court that non-parties be encouraged or ordered to participate in the mediation process (including without limitation the Great Lakes Water Authority, the Karegnondi Water Authority, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, and representatives of other Michigan agencies) and to choose where and how the discussions are to occur."

Any written settlement statements or communications are ordered to be treated as "confidential information," the order said.

The attempts of settling the case will not halt either side from filing pretrial motions or pursuing discovery.

The state Department of Environmental Quality filed the lawsuit against the city of Flint on June 28 in Detroit U.S. District Court, claiming the city is violating a settlement agreement in a lawsuit filed by the Concerned Pastors for Social Action, an emergency administrative order issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Safe Drinking Water Act.

The suit came on the heels of council's vote to extend the city's contract with GLWA to September but not agree to follow Mayor Karen Weaver's recommendation that the city signs a 30-year contract with the water authority.

Weaver says it's no surprise council delay on water source triggered lawsuit

Council has since voted to postpone talks on the long-term GLWA contract and the city's master water agreements until mid-August to provide time for their independent attorney, Peter Doerr, to review the contracts and conduct an independent analysis, said 4th Ward Councilwoman Kate Fields.

Doerr was hired to represent council in the lawsuit as the majority of the legislative body does not see eye-to-eye with the mayor nor state on the future of Flint's water.

"There's obviously a conflict between the administration and city council because the administration supports GLWA," 9th Ward Councilman Scott Kincaid previously said. "We don't want their views to represent ours."

Lawson also granted the council's motion to join the suit on Aug. 1, noting that, "unless the city council is allowed to intervene, it will be impaired from protecting its interest in deciding whether or not to approve the agreement, which undoubtedly is its prerogative under the city charter."

Both Weaver and Gov. Rick Snyder - an interested party in the lawsuit - announced their support of the 30-year contract with the GLWA, negotiated by officials from the state, city, GLWA, Genesee County and Karegnondi Water Authority.

However, council and Weaver are at odds over the deal as the council says they need more information before making a decision on the 30-year water contract, while the mayor has accused the council of stalling and says it has received "more than enough time and information" to decide on the long-term plan.

Projections provided to council and the public have only laid out costs for the first 20 years of the 30-year deal.

In the MDEQ's federal lawsuit against the city of Flint, state officials claim that council's move to enact the short-term GLWA contract could leave Flint without a water source by October when Genesee County is expected to take back a section of pipeline that's currently supplying Flint with GLWA water.

However, Genesee County Drain Commissioner Jeff Wright has contradicted this claim and said Flint can continue to use a 72-inch-diameter pipeline owned by the county as long as it takes the city council to vote on the 30-year contract proposed by Weaver.

Attorneys representing the city in the lawsuit filed a motion in July saying that they're investigating the statements made by Wright to MLive-The Flint Journal.

All parties have until Aug. 31 to submit dispositive motions requesting that the court make a judgement on the case.