A court hearing scheduled for Thursday over the city’s contested
building of emergency storage basins may be delayed a week because
county and city officials said Tuesday they will ask the judge to
re-schedule a court date.
A court hearing scheduled for Thursday over the city’s contested building of emergency storage basins may be delayed a week because county and city officials said Tuesday they will ask the judge to re-schedule a court date.
City officials prefer a later date, possibly Dec. 18 or Dec. 19, because City Attorney Elaine Cass has been on vacation since Dec. 4 and will not return until Monday. The San Fran-cisco-based law firm of Goldfarb and Lipman has consulted city officials on wastewater litigation and would represent Hollister in Cass’ absence.
County Attorney Karen Forcum said plaintiff representatives from the San Benito County Water District and the county agreed to request for the further date.
“At this point, all the parties are requesting a continued hearing date…” Forcum said.
Mayor Tony LoBue said Cass’ presence at the hearing would be ideal. A later date would accommodate all parties because each will hold a regular meeting in the next week, he added. Council meets Monday, the county Board of Supervisors meets Dec. 17 and the water district meets Dec. 18.
“We just want to be able to build our ponds,” LoBue said.
David Pipal, the attorney representing the water district, said the parties are working to resolve the issue outside of court.
“There are discussions going on to resolve the problem,” Pipal said. “That would give us additional time.”
City Manager George Lewis said Superior Court Judge Steve Sanders requested a meeting for 9 a.m. Thursday, and the city attorney will communicate by phone.
“The city is certainly looking for a settlement… the city is happy to see the delay,” Lewis said.
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.
“He (Sanders) understood the pros and cons of the project,” Lewis said.
The city has since instituted an environmental impact review.
At the initial hearing, the county argued that the ponds do not fit the California Environmental Quality Act definition of “emergency.” They also argued the city has not performed adequate environmental review of the ponds before construction.
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.
Sanders completed the hearing Nov. 28 by scheduling the subsequent hearing for Thursday. Cass requested a later date because of her vacation, but Sanders said the preliminary injunction – because of court standards – should take place within 15 days of the initial hearing.
