DESIGNATED federal Judge David O. Carter has scheduled an in-person status conference for the parties involved in Stipulated Orders 1 and 2 regarding Commonwealth Utilities Corp. projects.
The status conference was set for July 19 to July 23.
Judge Carter requested the in-person attendance of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency attorneys Bradley O’Brien of the U.S. Department of Justice, Janet Magnuson (USEPA), Russell Mechem (USEPA), and John Tinger (USEPA) as the plaintiffs’ representatives at the status conference.
The judge also requires that during the week prior to the status conference, the federal representatives meet in the CNMI with representatives of Gilbane Federal, the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. and, if needed, CNMI representatives to prepare for the status conference.
California-based Gilbane Federal is the engineering and environmental management company appointed by the court to assist CUC in implementing Stipulated Order 2 projects.
According to Judge Carter, “The court’s experience from past status conferences is that the plaintiffs’ representatives’ expertise and knowledge of SO1 and SO2 and their in-person presence at the Status Conference is essential to meeting the court’s objectives.”
In Nov. 2008, after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cited CUC for violating the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act, the federal court issued Stipulated Orders 1 and 2.
SO1 focuses on drinking water issues while SO2 focuses on oil issues such as requiring CUC to repair and replace oil storage and operation infrastructure, manage tank and pipeline facilities, and require spill and emergency response equipment and protocols.
The last time Judge Carter was on island was in Feb. 2020. He is a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
David O. Carter
