Open records suit seeks monetary total of settlements in Coosa contamination case
An open records lawsuit was filed Monday in Etowah County Circuit Court seeking the amount of money the Gadsden Water Works and Sewer Board received in settlements with companies accused of placing dangerous chemicals in the Coosa River.
The suit, technically a motion to intervene, was brought by Fred Zackery, manager of WMGJ Radio, and filed by attorney and retired longtime federal judge U.W. Clemon against water board manager Chad Hare and 3M Co., Arrowstar Inc., Daltonian Flooring Inc., Dystar L.P., Fortune Contract Inc. Harcros Chemical Inc., Industrial Chemicals Inc., Mohawk Carpet LLC, Mohawk Industries Inc., S&S Mills, Savannah Mills Group, Shaw Industries Inc. and Tandus Centiva US Inc.
It states that Zackery on Nov. 3 wrote Hare seeking copies of the settlement agreements in the case that was brought in 2016, accusing carpet manufacturers in the Dalton, Georgia, area of discharging, in their industrial wastewater, perfluorinated compounds, perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanoate sulfonate into the Coosa River, Gadsden’s primary water source, and the Conasauga River, a tributary.
Those chemicals have been linked, even in low levels, to various cancers as well as high cholesterol, pregnancy-induced hypertension, thyroid disease and ulcerative colitis.
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A settlement was announced on Oct. 3, ahead of a scheduled trial, between the water board and defendants 3M Co., Shaw Industries Inc., Mohawk Carpet LLC, Mohawk Industries Inc. and Industrial Chemicals Inc.
Circuit Judge William Ogletree ruled at the time that the details of the settlements were to remain confidential, and Mike Haney, attorney for the water board, cited that ruling in a Nov. 21 letter to Zackery rejecting his request for copies of the agreements.
However, Zackery in his suit contends that he and other Gadsden residents “have paid for, ingested into their bodies and otherwise used the waters provided by GWW&SB and polluted by the corporate (defendants)” and have “an abiding interest in the monetary settlements paid” to those defendants.
He questions whether the court has “examined the settlement agreements reached in this case” or if it has examined them, “has never made factual findings justifying the non-disclosure of the monetary terms of the settlement agreements.”
Zackery contends the agreements are not subject to any of the exemptions from open records disclosure, such as a link to potential security issues, critical energy infrastructure or public safety, and that they “are reasonably necessary to record the business and activities required to be done or carried on by a public officer so that the status of such business and activities can be known by the citizens.”
He contends that Hare in his role as water board manager is a “public officer” under Alabama's Public Records Law, which precedent states should be “liberally construed in favor of the public,” and that the burden is on a party refusing disclosure of records to prove an exception to the law is warranted.
Zackery’s suit asks for an expedited hearing in the case; that all orders making the settlement agreements confidential be lifted; that Hare be compelled to present those agreements; and that he be granted attorney’s fees and “such other and different relief as may be appropriate under the facts and circumstances.”
Haney told The Times, "The water board wants to abide by the conditions set by the court. We will with comply with anything the court tells us to do."
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Open Records suit seeks settlement agreements in Coosa pollution
