Gulf Restoration Network v. City of Hattiesburg

Filing 181

ORDER granting 180 Motion for Stipulated Order Terminating Amended Consent Judgment. Signed by District Judge Keith Starrett on 8/23/2017 (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A) (dtj)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI
EASTERN DIVISION
GULF RESTORATION NETWORK
VS.

PLAINTIFF
NO. 2:12CV00036-KS-JCG

CITY OF HATTIESBURG

DEFENDANT

VS.
MISSISSIPPI COMMISSION ON
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

INTERVENOR

STIPULATED ORDER TERMINATING AMENDED CONSENT JUDGMENT
THIS MATTER came before the Court on the joint motion of all parties for the entry of a
conditional order terminating the Amended Consent Judgment on the terms contained within a
negotiated settlement agreement resolving all pending disputes among the parties (“Settlement
Agreement”), and the Court finding that the motion is well-taken and that it should be granted,
states as follows:
WHEREAS, the Amended Consent Judgment was entered in this case on October 1,
2014; and
WHEREAS, on December 19, 2016, the City of Hattiesburg filed a motion to terminate
or modify the Amended Consent Judgment; and
WHEREAS, the parties subsequently engaged in discovery and settlement discussions
regarding the City’s motion; and
WHEREAS, upon joint notice to the Court that the parties had reached a settlement in
principle, the Court removed from the docket the scheduled hearing on the City’s motion; and
WHEREAS, on August 4, 2017, the City Council of the City of Hattiesburg, by a
resolution adopted on a 5-0 vote, approved the terms of the Settlement Agreement; and

WHEREAS, on August 4, 2017, pursuant to the authority of the Resolution of the City
Council approving the settlement, the Settlement Agreement was signed by the Mayor of
Hattiesburg, Toby Barker; and
WHEREAS, on August 7, 2017, the Settlement Agreement became final by the signature
affixed thereon of Chris Wells, on behalf of the Mississippi Commission on Environmental
Quality, pursuant to the authority delegated to him by the Executive Director of the Mississippi
Department of Environmental Quality (“MDEQ”); and
WHEREAS, and as required by the Settlement Agreement, a copy of the signed
Settlement Agreement was transmitted on August 11, 2017, via email to the Department of
Justice for review; and
WHEREAS, the Settlement Agreement provides that the City, within 90 days from the
entry of this conditional Stipulated Order Terminating the Amended Consent Judgment, will
submit to the MDEQ a request to revise the NPDES permit for the South Lagoon to incorporate
the effluent limits, monitoring provisions, and maintenance schedule as agreed to in the
Settlement Agreement; and
WHEREAS, the Settlement Agreement provides that the settlement is also conditioned
upon the City negotiating a new Agreed Order addressing stipulated penalties with the
Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality (“Agreed Order”); and
WHEREAS, the Settlement Agreement further requires the entry of a conditional
Stipulated Order Terminating the Amended Consent Judgment which would automatically
terminate the Amended Consent Judgment upon the modification and issuance of both the
revised NPDES permit and the Agreed Order; and
WHEREAS, the Settlement Agreement provides that the Consent Judgment shall not
terminate until 45 days after the Settlement Agreement is provided to the Department of Justice
(“DOJ”) to permit the DOJ to offer comments should it desire to do so, or until the DOJ issues
comments on the Settlement Agreement, whichever is earlier; and
2

WHEREAS, a true and complete copy of the Settlement Agreement is attached to this
Order as Exhibit A; and
WHEREAS, the parties have jointly requested the Court to enter this order, and the Court
has found the request to be well-taken, and that it should be granted.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Amended Consent Judgment shall automatically
terminate upon modification and issuance of the revised NPDES permit, and the issuance of the
Agreed Order, as required by the terms of the Settlement Agreement, provided said date is more
than 45 days from the date the Settlement Agreement was provided to the DOJ for comment.
Subsequently, the parties shall jointly request this Court to enter a final order releasing the matter
from its continuing jurisdiction. Alternatively, should the Mississippi Environmental Quality
Permit Board decline to modify the NPDES permit and MDEQ decline to issue the Agreed Order
as required by the Settlement Agreement, the parties shall request the Court to reschedule the
hearing on the City’s Motion to Terminate the Amended Consent Judgment.
SO ORDERED this the _23rd__ day of August, 2017.

_s/Keith Starrett __________________
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

AGREED:
s/ Cynthia Sarthou
Attorney for Gulf Restoration Network
s/ Louis B. Lanoux
Watkins & Eager PLLC
Attorneys for the City of Hattiesburg
Donna Hodges
Attorney for the Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality
FILED BY:
s/ Lisa Jordan
Counsel for Gulf Restoration Network
3