• Share on facebook Federal judge disinclined to issue judgment in favor of Rayonier Inc. in suit over Altamaha River discharges Altamaha Riverkeepers suit says company is violating a consent agreement to clean up color, odor By Terry Dickson Tue, Sep 2, 2014 @ 6:41 pm | updated Tue, Sep 2, 2014 @ 7:17 pm BRUNSWICK, GA. | A federal judge said Tuesday she is not inclined — at least not initially — to issue a summary judgment in a suit against Rayonier Inc. over its discharges into the Altamaha River at Jesup. Rayonier moved for the summary judgment, a ruling that would halt the suit before trial. The Altamaha Riverkeeper sued Rayonier in March asserting that wastewater dumped into the river contains organic compounds that stain the river water and produce bad odors in violation of a consent order the company signed with the state Environmental Protection Division. Rayonier says it has spent $70 million to reduce color in discharges by half, but Riverkeeper says the river is still stained black because the company still uses outmoded treatment methods. Rayonier’s motion for a summary judgment centered on the language in the company’s discharge permit. One of the company’s lawyers, Patricia T. Barmeyer, told Chief U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood that the Riverkeeper was relying on language she dismissed as “boilerplate’’ that is included in all Environmental Protection Division permits. The question, Barmeyer said, is whether the color, odor and turbidity standards that Rayonier is accused of violating are actually part of water quality standards. Permits include specific standards that are spelled out that companies are compelled to meet, Barmeyer said. Farther down in the permit, the EPD has set those specific standards for the company to comply with, she said. One of the Riverkeeper’s lawyer, Hutton Brown of GreenLaw, an Atlanta-based environmental firm, agreed that the color, turbidity and odor requirements are narrative, as Barmeyer asserted, but said they should not be dismissed. The standards are mentioned in the first sentence on the first page of the discharge permit and are incorporated into Georgia’ water quality standards, Brown told Wood. “This is not a cover page meant to keep the document warm,” he said. “Would I prefer it were spelled out specifically? Yes,” but the fact that it is not does not undermine the interpretation, Brown argued. While she said she is inclined to not grant Rayonier’s motion, Wood said she would look at the rules of contract interpretation and apply them before issuing an order. Wood gave both sides 10 days to make their cases on the order and magnitude of those rules. Terry Dickson: (912) 264-0405
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 14:35:15 +0000
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