Lawsuit focuses on perchlorates
Jason pesick, SB Sun Staff Writer 092606
The city of Rialto plans to file another lawsuit against San Bernardino County in connection with the city's perchlorate contamination problem.
The latest lawsuit, which the city plans to file today in state court, claims the county is violating a 1998 agreement made when the county was expanding the Mid-Valley Sanitary Landfill. The landfill is leaking perchlorate, according to City Attorney Bob Owen.
Owen said that when the county sought to expand the landfill, it agreed that the city would not be responsible for costs associated with the environmental impact of the landfill expansion, including potential lawsuits.
In 2004, the city sued the county and 41 other entities, including the U.S. Department of Defense and a number of corporations, in an effort to force them to pay to clean up the contamination the city says was caused during landfill operations in the city's north end.
Bob Page, Supervisor Josie Gonzales' chief of staff, said the agreement requires the county to protect the city only if it is sued. In addition, he said, the city is not incurring financial damage.
"We haven't financially damaged the city in any way," he said.
Scott Sommer, Rialto's external counsel in its perchlorate lawsuits, said the 1998 agreement is broader than merely forcing the county to protect Rialto against lawsuits. He contends the agreement covers the city's expenses for clean-up efforts.
He said the city paid for perchlorate cleanup for years before the county began its cleanup effort. City residents have a surcharge on their water bills to fund the cleanup effort.
Perchlorate is a chemical used in the production of explosives, rocket fuels and fireworks and can cause thyroid problems in humans.
The new lawsuit is narrower than the 2004 federal suit because it is filed only against the county and focuses on the county's alleged violation of the 1998 agreement.
The Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board issued an order compelling the county to investigate and clean up perchlorate contamination flowing from its property in 2003.
Last year, city and county officials agreed to a tentative settlement deal to the overall federal lawsuit in which the county would have paid the city $2.5 million, but the settlement was never implemented. City and county officals met again on the issue in late August, but the meeting devolved into a shouting match.
Page said the county is protecting the city's residents because it is providing them with clean water. He charged that Gonzales is focused on cleanup not lawsuits.
Owen said the City Council voted to file the suit during the closed session of last week's meeting. He said the council voted to proceed because Gonzales has refused to negotiate with the city.
Reached at home Monday, Rialto Mayor Grace Vargas, one of Gonzales' political allies, said she did not want to comment on the lawsuit or whether she voted in favor of filing the suit. She said she prefers to work with the county. "We get more done, I believe, if we work together," she said.
Councilman Ed Scott said he does not recall Vargas raising serious concerns against the lawsuit. "There was no opposition to it," he said.
BS Ranch Perspective:
Well, now it looks like the Mayor feels like I do on this matter, that the county and the City could get more done if they would cooperate with each other instead of trying to get something for nothing, which it appears to this author that the City of Rialto is trying to accomplish. It seems to me that the city is trying to get the county to foot the bill for the perchlorate contamination in the water when it might be their business that has been the largest contributor, and not the counties. But again that is just my opinion. Which really doesn't matter in this cause.
BSRanch
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