2006 RES R-124-06 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I County would pay $2,500,000 to the City of Rialto and $1,000,000 to the City of Colton as its fair 2 share of the out-of-pocket expenses and damages incurred by the Cities, and the County would pay 3 the City of Rialto an additional amount of $3,500,000, to be repaid to the County as part of a later 4 settlement to be reached with other responsible parties. As part of the agreement, the two Cities 5 and the County agreed to jointly and vigorously pursue, both in court and in Regional Water Quality 6 Control Board proceedings, the additional corporate and other entities responsible for contaminating 7 the Rialto/Colton Groundwater Basin, to assure that those corporations and entities and not City and 8 County residents, ratepayers and citizens, would pay for the clean-up and the provision of 9 replacement water; and 10 WHEREAS, more than six (6) months have passed since the parties reached this 11 tentative agreement and the County Board of Supervisors has failed and refused to finalize and 12 execute the agreement. Moreover, the County attorneys have taken numerous actions in concert 13 with, and sometimes even on behalf of, the other corporate polluters, towards the end that, if 14 successful, would impair the claims of Colton and Rialto against the County or any of the other 15 polluters for any clean-up or water replacement costs; and 16 WHEREAS, if the County succeeds in its legal efforts, the citizens of the Cities and 17 the County who are affected by the perchlorate plume will, by necessity, be the ones to pay for the 18 clean-up and replacement water, and 19 WHEREAS, the result described above is unacceptable to the City Council; and 20 WHEREAS, the City Council notes that even Goodrich Corporation and the U.S. 21 Department of Defense, both named in the litigation brought by Colton and Rialto, did not take such 22 a step. 23 BE IT NOW THEREFORE RESOLVED AS FOLLOWS: 24 1. Settlement Agreement. The County of San Bernardino should immediately 25 execute the agreed upon $6,000,000 settlement with the City of Rialto and the agreed upon 26 $1,000,000 settlement with the City of Colton and take all measures to restore their groundwater 27 resources to health, and cease cooperation with other responsible parties and work instead with the 28 Cities of Colton and Rialto to hold the responsible parties and their insurance companies responsible, to the end that the polluters, and not the citizens of the Cities and the County, pay for 3