Bradley R. O’Brien, who is with the environmental enforcement section of the department’s Environmental and Natural Resources Division, said these requirements include the Tank 104 cleanout and the replacement of CUC’s pipeline, “each of which was discussed exhaustively with the court.”
CUC, he added, has admitted that it will not or may not meet the deadlines for these projects as established by the federal stipulated orders.
CUC was required to submit two other important deliverables — its organizational evaluation and reorganization plan, and its interim financial plan.
The deadline for their submission is Nov. 30, 2010.
“The United States has concern about the quality of these to be submitted plans based upon ongoing discussions with CUC, but will reserve comment until after the plans have been reviewed,” O’Brien told the federal court.
“The United States has twice entered into stipulations with CUC during this calendar year…that created ‘catch up’ deadlines for certain requirements. CUC failed to meet the vast majority of these deadlines established by the [first joint stipulation], and now reports to the court that it will not meet other important deadlines mandated by the [second joint stipulation], such as the timely completion of the Tank 104 cleanout and the construction of the CUC pipeline,” O’Brien said.
The U.S., he added, acknowledges that “CUC has made progress especially in hiring of better qualified employees, but the United States is concerned that CUC will seek to continuously use status conferences to ‘re-negotiate’ the stipulated orders as CUC fails to comply with these orders….”
According to O’Brien, “It is important that the orders drive CUC’s compliance path.”
Two years ago, the U.S. Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency signed and lodged two stipulation orders requiring CUC to bring its wastewater plants and collection systems, public drinking water systems, five power plants, and oil transfer pipeline into federal compliance.
