The ink isn't even dry yet, and Waste Management (WM) is already in a huff about the state Court of Appeals' (COA) handling of the Stop the Dump Coalition's (SDC) current appeal.
As anticipated, SDC and its allies filed their opening brief with the COA on August 18. The opening brief begins the process of appealing the Land Use Board of Appeals' (LUBA) decision to OK most of Yamhill County's recent effort to approve expansion of Riverbend Landfill. (To learn more about the LUBA decision, see "LUBA Splits the Baby," below.)
The COA has strict page and word limits on briefs; SDC's brief was too long. The COA nevertheless accepted the brief but asked SDC to shorten it. Though SDC shortened the brief, SDC also asked the COA to allow more words than usually accepted, and the COA agreed. The COA accepted the amended brief on August 23. To avoid having two opening briefs in the case, the COA also noted that the original (long) brief "is withdrawn."
The COA's decision got WM's dander up. The Texas-based garbage conglomerate that owns the dump filed its own motion with the COA asking the Court to "strike [SDC's] ... opening briefs" (yes, both of them) and "to dismiss [SDC's] petition for judicial review in its entirety." In other words, WM wanted the COA to reverse its decision and throw out SDC's appeal. According to the August 30th Yamhill County News Register, WM actually told the COA it had no power to accept the longer brief.
In response to the News Register story, Ilsa Perse, SDC President, wrote, "Today the News Register printed a story in which they quoted Waste Management's attorney as claiming that Stop the Dump Coalition had missed the deadline for filing our brief to the Court of Appeals. This is not true. Our brief was filed on time.
"This afternoon, one day after Waste Management asked that our appeal be dismissed, Judge Timothy Sercombe, presiding Judge of the Court of Appeals, denied Waste Management's motions.
"This is a yet another example of why we depend on our supporters to keep this fight going. This giant Texas garbage company will try whatever they can think of to make us go away. Their latest attempt failed, but our attorney had to spend time (and our money) dealing with Waste Management's bogus motion.
"We never know what Waste Management will try next, but we are here to stay! Waste Management hopes to wear us down, but with the community's help, we will not give up until Riverbend Landfill shuts down."
WM has until September 8 to file its own brief in the appeal. In that brief, WM can both answer SDC's arguments and file its own appeal (of LUBA's decision to send a key aspect of the County's decision back to the Board of Commissioners for further action). If WM elects to appeal that part of LUBA's decision, the SDC can file another brief in response to that argument.
UPDATE: stopthedumpcoalition.org has been assured that it is not at all unusual for the COA to grant requests to file longer-than-normal briefs (so long as they aren't too long). And there was never any question so far as the Court was concerned that the original brief was filed on time.
Also, WM has filed its brief in support of its own appeal. WM is challenging the part of the LUBA decision that told the County to take yet another look at the cumulative impacts of the dump. If those impacts are significant, the dump cannot expand.
WM and SDC have until September 8 to respond to each other's briefs. The COA will hear oral argument on September 27.
No comments:
Post a Comment