Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-4_04-cv-04518/USCOURTS-cand-4_04-cv-04518-5/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
City of Ukiah
Defendant
Northern California River Watch
Plaintiff
Ukiah Valley Sanitation District
Defendant

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Stipulation and Order Regarding Consent Decree 1 [C 04 4518 CW]

David Rapport, City Attorney, SBN: 54384

CITY OF UKIAH

RAPPORT & MARSTON

405 W. Perkins Street

Ukiah, CA 95482

Telephone: (707) 462-6846

Facsimile: (707) 462-4235

Attorneys for Defendant

CITY OF UKIAH 

Rick W. Jarvis, SBN: 154479

Benjamin P. Fay, SBN: 178856

Daniel P. Doporto, SBN: 176192

JARVIS, FAY & DOPORTO, LLP

475 14TH Street, Suite 260

Oakland, CA 94612

Telephone: (510) 238-1400

Facsimile: (510) 238-1404

Email: rjarvis@jarvisfay.com

Attorneys for Defendants

CITY OF UKIAH and UKIAH VALLEY

SANITATION DISTRICT

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA - OAKLAND DIVISION

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA RIVER WATCH,

a non-profit corporation,

Plaintiff,

v.

CITY OF UKIAH; UKIAH VALLEY

SANITATION DISTRICT; and DOES 1 through

10, inclusive,

Defendants,

 /

CASE NO: C04 4518 CW

STIPULATION AND ORDER

REGARDING CONSENT DECREE

Complaint Filed: 10/6/04

2nd Amended Complaint Filed: 6/13/05

RECITALS

A. The City of Ukiah (“the City”) owns, operates, and maintains a wastewater collection

system within the City and a wastewater treatment plant. The City also performs maintenance under

contract on additional collection lines located outside the City, which are owned by the Ukiah Valley

Case 4:04-cv-04518-CW Document 59 Filed 05/30/07 Page 1 of 4
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Stipulation and Order Regarding Consent Decree 2 [C 04 4518 CW]

Sanitation District (“the District”). The Regional Water Quality Control Board for the North Coast

Region ("the Regional Board") has issued Order No. 99-65, regulating the City's treatment plant. This

Order serves as an “NPDES Permit” under the federal Clean Water Act.

B. Plaintiff Northern California River Watch (“River Watch”) brought the present action

pursuant to 33 U.S.C. § 1365 alleging that the City and the District have violated and are continuing to

violate the NPDES Permit in various respects. 

C. On January 13, 2006, the Court entered a Consent Decree in this case. The Consent

Decree was the product of settlement negotiations between the parties, and resolved all claims raised in

Plaintiff’s lawsuit. It requires the City and the District to take certain specified actions relating to the

operation of the wastewater treatment plant and the wastewater collection lines.

D. Sections III(6)(b) and III(6)(c) of the Consent Decree require the City and the District to

each implement a sewer lateral inspection, repair, and/or replacement program. Generally speaking, the

Consent Decree requires that the City’s and the District’s program include sewer lateral inspections of

private properties at the time of sale. However, the Consent Decree authorizes the District (but not the

City) to develop an alternative program which meets certain specified performance criteria. The

Consent Decree required compliance with this obligation by January 13, 2007.

E. Both the City and the District have adopted and begun implementation of the required

sewer lateral inspection and repair program. Such implementation has resulted in significant feedback

from the public urging the City and the District to develop an alternative program which is not based

upon the sale of individual properties, but which is instead based upon consideration of other factors

which bear more directly on the likelihood of a lateral requiring repair (such as age and composition of

the lateral and the geographic location of the property).

F. The City and the District are interested in developing such an alternative program. River

Watch agrees that it would be in the public’s best interest for the City and the District to devote their

resources to the study and development of an alternative program, and to suspend implementation of the

current program for a limited period of time while the City and the District are studying such

alternatives.

The Parties thus STIPULATE as follows:

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Stipulation and Order Regarding Consent Decree 3 [C 04 4518 CW]

STIPULATION

1. The City and the District shall have until November 1, 2007 to comply with the

requirements of sections III(6)(b) and III(6)(c) of the Consent Decree (requiring implementation of a

sewer lateral inspection and repair program). While the City and the District have both already begun

implementation of such a program (requiring inspections at time of sale of properties), they may both

suspend operation of their current activities during this grace period.

2. During this grace period, the City and the District shall analyze the feasibility of

developing an alternative sewer lateral inspection and repair program. Under this alternative program,

inspections would take place on a geographic basis or some other basis which takes into account factors

relating to the likelihood that a sewer lateral will require repair or replacement (such as age and

composition of the lateral), as determined by the City and the District, rather than at point of sale.

3. Any such alternative program shall be subject to the review and approval by River

Watch. River Watch will have the right to reject the alternative program if it does not find the program

acceptable, but it shall not unreasonably withhold its approval. In order to meet the November 1, 2007

date and give time to River Watch to review and consider the alternative, the City and the District

should present any alternative proposal to River Watch no later than October 1, 2007.

4. Any alternative program must clearly identify what criteria will be used to determine

what order/priority will be given to geographic areas to be subject to inspection, presumably based on

age of the sewer laterals in question and any other factors indicating the potential need for inspections in

a given geographic area. It must also identify how the inspections and repairs will be funded. In

considering whether to approve the alternative program, River Watch will need to be satisfied with the

adequacy and feasibility of these elements.

5. If, by November 1, 2007, the City and the District develop an alternative program

acceptable to River Watch, the parties will stipulate to modify the Consent Decree at that time to

incorporate the alternative program. It is recognized that any such modification to the Consent Decree

would require a 45-day review period before it could be adopted by the Court. In such event, the grace

period would have to be further extended until the Court ultimately approves the amendment to the

Consent Decree following that review period (the City and the District would not want to begin

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Stipulation and Order Regarding Consent Decree 4 [C 04 4518 CW]

implementation of the alternative program until they know they have court approval). However, this

further extension would only occur if the City and the District develop an alternative acceptable to River

Watch. If the City and the District do not develop an alternative program by October 1, 2007, or if

River Watch does not subsequently approve it, then the City and the District shall comply with the

existing requirements of sections III(6)(b) and III(6)(c) of the Consent Decree by November 1, 2007. 

6. All other provisions of the Consent Decree shall remain unchanged.

IT IS SO STIPULATED.

Dated: May __, 2007 LAW OFFICE OF JACK SILVER

By: /s/Jerry Bernhaut 

Jerry Bernhaut

Attorneys for Plaintiff 

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA RIVER WATCH

Dated: May __, 2007 JARVIS FAY & DOPORTO, LLP

By: /s/Rick W. Jarvis 

Rick W. Jarvis

Attorneys for Defendants CITY OF UKIAH and 

UKIAH VALLEY SANITATION DISTRICT

ORDER

Based upon the foregoing stipulation of the Parties, it is hereby ORDERED that the City of Ukiah

and the Ukiah Valley Sanitation District shall have until November 1, 2007, to comply with sections

III(6)(b) and III(6)(c) of the January 13, 2006 Consent Decree, and that they may suspend current

activities to comply with these sections until that date.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

May 30

Dated: _________________, 2007

____________________________________

CLAUDIA WILKEN

United States District Judge

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