Filed: Apr. 02, 2014
Latest Update: Apr. 02, 2014
Summary: ORDER MORRISON C. ENGLAND, Jr., Chief District Judge. Through the present action, the government seeks to recover response costs to remediate pollution discovered at the site of a former landfill dump located on National Forest Service lands near Meyers, California. In August of 2010, the government and Defendant El Dorado County, entered into a Partial Consent Decree designed to consolidate buried waste mass at the landfill. On April 27, 2011, however, the County moved to modify that Decree o
Summary: ORDER MORRISON C. ENGLAND, Jr., Chief District Judge. Through the present action, the government seeks to recover response costs to remediate pollution discovered at the site of a former landfill dump located on National Forest Service lands near Meyers, California. In August of 2010, the government and Defendant El Dorado County, entered into a Partial Consent Decree designed to consolidate buried waste mass at the landfill. On April 27, 2011, however, the County moved to modify that Decree on..
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ORDER
MORRISON C. ENGLAND, Jr., Chief District Judge.
Through the present action, the government seeks to recover response costs to remediate pollution discovered at the site of a former landfill dump located on National Forest Service lands near Meyers, California. In August of 2010, the government and Defendant El Dorado County, entered into a Partial Consent Decree designed to consolidate buried waste mass at the landfill. On April 27, 2011, however, the County moved to modify that Decree on grounds that the design drawing and specifications created by the United States Forest Service deviated significantly from actual conditions at the site. The County's Motion was granted by Memorandum and Order filed July 8, 2011, and this Court ordered that a separate evidentiary hearing be held to determine the government's liability for any additional costs paid by the County, but not reflected by the original specifications, to effectuate the remediation design. The government's appeal of that Order was dismissed on January 11, 2014, and the County now represents that it remedial construction is now substantially complete. While the parties represent that they have been engaged in private mediation to settle their reimbursement issues in an attempt to avoid having to proceed with a formal evidentiary hearing, their Joint Status report filed December 20, 2013 indicates they have not yet been successful in settling the matter. The parties accordingly request a referral to the assigned Magistrate Judge for the evidentiary hearing, and ask that the Magistrate Judge submit his recommendations to the undersigned for final order. By subsequent correspondence to the Court the parties have reaffirmed their consent to assigning the evidentiary hearing to the Magistrate Judge for his findings and recommendations.
In accordance with the parties' agreement, in accordance with Local Rule 301, and good cause appearing, the assigned Magistrate Judge is hereby specially designated and authorized to do the following:
1. Schedule a status/case management conference for purposes of setting a hearing date and briefing schedule for an evidentiary hearing in this matter;
2. Determine what, if any, discovery is needed prior to that hearing and develop a schedule and plan for completing any such discovery;
3. Conduct the evidentiary hearing described above and make recommendations to the undersigned for apportionment of additional necessary response costs incurred or to be incurred at the landfill site as between Plaintiff United States and Defendant County of El Dorado.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
