A judge re-scheduled a court hearing set for Thursday over the
City of Hollister’s contested building of emergency storage ponds
at the wastewater treatment plant.
A judge re-scheduled a court hearing set for Thursday over the City of Hollister’s contested building of emergency storage ponds at the wastewater treatment plant.
Superior Court Judge Steve Sanders agreed to re-schedule the court date to Dec. 20 at 3 p.m. upon request from both the defendant – the City of Hollister, and the plaintiffs – the San Benito County Water District and the county. Representatives from all parties met with Sanders in his chambers Thursday at 9 a.m.
The water district and county contested the building of two emergency storage basins because the project allegedly does not fit the California Environmental Quality Act definition of “emergency.”
They argued city officials never performed adequate environmental review for the projects.
Hollister is constructing the ponds to temper an El Nino rainy season, with potential to cause a surplus of capacity of the current ponds.
The city must also complete construction of the ponds by Jan. 1 or be fined $150,000 by the state’s Cleanup and Abatement Fund.
All parties will hold meetings to discuss the matter.
Hollister City Council will meet Monday, the county Board of Supervisors Tuesday and the county water district Wednesday.
All representatives expressed a willingness to resolve the issue out of court before the Dec. 20 hearing.
“We assume everything will be resolved by then,” said George Lewis, Hollister’s City Manager.
City and county representatives originally requested Dec. 19. However, Sanders had a hearing conflict that day and decided on Dec. 20 for the hearing.
City Attorney Elaine Cass has been unavailable since Dec. 4 and will return Monday.
Lewis said Sanders decision of Dec. 20 allows city counsel an additional day to prepare in the case f no out-of-court agreement is reached.
The legal debate over the emergency seasonal storage pond started Nov. 21 when county and water district officials threatened litigation against Hollister to halt construction of two emergency storage basins. Construction of the ponds began that same week.
Sanders ruled Nov. 28 against a requested restraining order by officials from the water district and county to stop construction of the ponds. He did issue a restraining order against the city forbidding any filling of the ponds until city officials prove the project to be environmentally sound.
The city has since instituted an environmental impact review.
The ponds are a supplemental environmental project ordered by the Regional Water Quality Control Board.
Public Works Director Clint Quilter called the project an “emergency to prevent an emergency,” as forecasters predicted an El Nino rainy season. If precipitation reaches 1998 levels, Quilter predicted an excess of current pond capacity by 21 million gallons.
Completion of the project by Jan. 1 is the first of six deadlines set by the RWQCB. By neglecting to complete the storage basins on time, the city would pay $150,000 to the state’s Cleanup and Abatement Fund in Sacramento.
