Receiver ordered to work with parties on settling GWA lawsuit

Parties involved in the federal receivership of Guam's solid waste services appeared before District Court of Guam Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood Wednesday for another status hearing, where much of the conversation revolved around the lawsuit against the Guam Waterworks Authority over increased leachate at the former Ordot dump site. Leachate volumes at Ordot dump rose significantly in prior years, an issue that receiver Gershman, Brickner & Bratton Inc. attributed to water line leaks that occurred along Dero Road, which runs adjacent to the former dump site.

The receiver filed suit against GWA and its insurer, DB Insurance Co. Ltd., at the end of October to preserve its claims after several requests to meet with the utility and its insurer about the issue.



GBB is seeking about $4.4 million in damages from GWA and DB Insurance. GBB filed suit under its capacity as the federal receiver for the Guam Solid Waste Authority.

But the two disagree on how to approach the issue. According to court documents and discussions Wednesday, GSWA had pursued a settlement with GWA before the lawsuit filing, involving a $1 million credit, although GSWA General Manager Irvine Slike said that amount was only a starting point. By August, management heads at the two agencies had reached a settlement in principle, according to GWA legal counsel Theresa Rojas.

She further indicated Wednesday that GWA is interested in settling and the $1 million credit offer is still on the table. However, although GWA doesn't dispute that water leaks contributed to increased leachate at the former Ordot dump, they don't agree that the leaks were the primary cause, Rojas added. GSWA's pursuit of settlement rang foul for GBB, whose counsel stated that they heard about it for the first time during a status hearing in September, despite directions for GBB to take the lead on the GWA claim.

The receiver doesn't believe that settling for $1 million in credit is in the best interest of GSWA and that it will continue pursuing its claims against GWA in the Superior Court of Guam, including mediation and arbitration if ordered. Tydingco-Gatewood ultimately ordered GBB's counsel, Joyce Tang, to work with counsel for GWA, GSWA and any other party authorized to participate in negotiations to settle the lawsuit against the water utility. Slike was also ordered to file a declaration regarding discussions with GWA on the potential settlement of the water leak claim and his communications with the receiver's team or the Office of the Attorney General regarding the settlement.

GBB was appointed receiver in 2008 after the government of Guam failed to comply with a consent decree resulting from the 2002 federal lawsuit to force the closure of Ordot dump over environmental concerns. The receiver oversaw local solid waste services and the eventual closure of the dump in 2016. Day-to-day solid waste operations were handed over to GSWA in 2019, while GBB remained responsible for postclosure matters at Ordot dump.

According to the receivership status update discussed Wednesday, there are two consent decree requirements that still need to be met. These are the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency's acceptance of the Guam Environmental Protection Agency's portion of a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) completion report, and a certification of cessation of discharges to U.S. waters filed and accepted by U.

S. EPA. A U.

S. EPA representative said Wednesday that they plan to issue a letter regarding concerns about the SEP report to Guam EPA before the holidays and expect a response by mid-February 2025, at which point they'll have a better understanding of the timelines. The receiver's status update Wednesday stated that a contractor's report in May concluded that discharges have ceased.

But the U.S. EPA has provided comments on that report, and the receiver and its contractor are now reviewing those comments, with plans to discuss with U.

S. EPA in the near future. According to discussions Wednesday, that issue will take some time to resolve.

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