City of Bolivar v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency et al

Filing 11

ORDER granting 10 motion to stay for 2 years from date of Order. See Order for details. Signed on 4/3/2018 by Magistrate Judge John T. Maughmer. (Alexander, Pam)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
SOUTHERN DIVISION
CITY OF BOLIVAR, MISSOURI,
vs.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

Plaintiff,

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY, and

JAMES B. GULLIFORD, in his capacity as
Regional Administrator of Region VII of the
Evironmental Protection Agency,
Defendants.

Civ. No. 16‐3444‐CV‐S‐JTM

ORDER OF STAY OF PROCEEDINGS

Pending before the Court is the joint motion of Plaintiff City of Bolivar, Missouri

(“Bolivar”), and Defendants United States Environmental Protection Agency and Regional

Administrator James B. Gulliford, EPA Region 7 (collectively “Defendants” or “EPA”) to stay
the proceedings in this matter for two years from the date of the Order granting a stay,

subject to the conditions set forth in the joint motion. [Doc 10]. After due consideration of
the issues presented by the parties, the Court finds that entry of the requested stay will

conserve the resources of the parties and serve the interests of judicial economy. If the

variance is adopted by Missouri and approved by EPA, it will result in the dismissal of this
case without the need for briefing and adjudication. Accordingly, it is

ORDERED that the joint motion to stay the proceedings in this case for a period

of up to two years from the date of this ORDER is GRANTED, upon the terms listed in
Paragraphs 1through 6 below:

1

1. If the State of Missouri adopts and submits a “water quality standard”

[“WQS”] variance following a public participation process consistent with federal and

State requirements, and EPA approves the variance before the expiration of the stay, the
parties will jointly move to dismiss this case.

2. If either the State of Missouri fails to adopt and submit the variance

following a public participation process consistent with federal and State requirements

within the stay period, or EPA disapproves the variance within the stay period, Bolivar may
move to lift the stay and resume the current case challenging the Piper Creek “Total
Maximum Daily Load” [“TMDL].

3. If the variance is not adopted by Missouri or approved by EPA by the close

of the stay period, but it appears that the process of adopting or reviewing the application is

continuing with a reasonably certain endpoint, the parties may move the Court to extend

the stay for a reasonable period of time, but neither party is obliged to seek or consent to an
extension of the stay.

4. Either party, with 30 days advance notice to the other party, may move

to lift the stay for any reason.

5. The parties will submit joint or separate quarterly status reports during

the pendency of the stay, informing the Court of the status of the application, submission,
and/or approval or disapproval of the variance.

2

6. If the stay is terminated, the parties agree to work in good faith to

establish a briefing schedule to resolve the merits of Bolivar’s claims. All parties will retain
all claims and defenses as if the stay had not been entered.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

/s/ John T. Maughmer
John T. Maughmer
United States Magistrate Judge
Dated: April 3, 2018