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Friday, November 16, 2012

Clean Water Act Suit Enters Final Stretch

BERLIN -- The latest milestone in the ongoing landmark civil suit filed against a Berlin farm family and Perdue over alleged pollution violations passed this week with parties on both sides filing their proposed findings of fact and conclusions.

Testimony ended in mid-October in the civil trial pitting a New York-based environmental watchdog group against Berlin’s Hudson Farm and Perdue and on Wednesday, each of the parties filed their proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law following the trial. In the findings of fact and conclusions of law, each of the parties attempts to show the court what they were successful in presenting during the trial and what their opponents did not prove successfully.

The filing of the documents by the defendants Hudson Farm and Perdue, and the plaintiff, the Waterkeeper Alliance, represent the next significant step in what has been a three-year battle and moves the case closer to a conclusion. Each of the parties will now have the opportunity to refute their opponents’ findings and conclusions before closing arguments scheduled for later this month. It remains possible U.S. District Court Judge William Nickerson could waive oral closing statements in the case if he determines the findings and conclusions filed this week are satisfactory in determining a ruling.

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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

We all constantly hear the term standing in legal cases. How the heck can a group based in New York have standing in a case in Md. This case should be thrown out and Waterkeepers should have to pay both Perdue and the Hudsons legal fees as well as damages to both defendants

Anonymous said...

"family farm?" Try factory farm. These chicken growers have no control over their operations. None. That's not a family farm. A family farmer atleast knows what breed of chicken they raise and what goes into the feed that their chickens eat. A family farmer has a say so in whether they choose to dose their chickens up with chemicals.

Anonymous said...

Suppose Jim Perdue decides enough is enough and moves his whole opperation to North Carolina. So what then? The Salisbury area will be a ghost town in a year. Wake up people, and wake up in a hurry. If the EPA wins this one, you might as well move to another state.

Anonymous said...

The EPA will do the same thing in North Carolina. The real question is who is financing the water keeper alliance? How about these "water keepers" talk about the corrosive agents added to city water supplies such as fertilizer , aka sodium fluoride .

Anonymous said...

10:13, The laws are federal so apply in all states. That's why it's being held in Federal Court in Baltimore.

Anonymous said...

I'm not a tree hugger. Quite the opposite though I would prefer to know my well water is free of pollutants caused by irresponsible companies. I'm a far right conservative who believes one of the few functions of the government should be to monitor companies who may take advantage and cut costs resulting in environmental damages. It's one of the very few things I think people deserve. I don't think people deserve or are entitled to housing, schooling, healthcare, cell phones etc. You want that you pay for it. But I do believe people deserve clean air to breath, and pollutant free waterways.