Judge Issues New Order in Wilbros Case

The judge in the Wilbros civil case in Stephens County issues a new court order in light of last month’s hearing.

Judge Robert Adamson issued a new Emergency Contempt Order on March 24 and it was released Tuesday.

In it, Judge Adamson ordered that Wilbros shall immediately stop receiving, accepting, or transporting to its Toccoa site any solid or liquid waste materials for treatment, storage, release, field application, or any other purpose until further order of the court.

Judge Adamson also ordered that Wilbros must stop all composting processes.

In addition, Adamson said Wilbros must cease what it calls its “nutrient management” operations until further notice of the court.

Wilbros said that process takes place under the jurisdiction of the state’s Agriculture Department.

Calling it something new and unfamiliar to the Court, Adamson said Wilbros may submit to him a full explanation of what that process is, along with detailed descriptions of the products to be received, the location of disposal for those products, and their methods of dispersal.

Adamson said until the court approves that process, there will be no ground injection, field applications in-ground, or above ground storage of the materials and no such process will be approved that would be carried out on the Rose Lane property.

The judge also ordered Wilbros to stop excavating, ditching, landfill covering, or burying any solid or liquid waste or by product, fully and completely comply with any written order from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division as a part of its Closure Procedure, and put up a $100,000 bond to assure compliance with this and any future court orders.

Stephens County Attorney Brian Ranck said that the county is pleased with the order.

“We feel that the court, obviously, took the evidence and information presented at our last hearing and all the prior hearings into account and done essentially what we requested in our motion, which is no longer allow Wilbros to bring in any form of waste to the Toccoa facility,” said Ranck. “It is a positive ruling. We are happy the court ruled in our favor in regard to that.”

The ruling stems from the suit filed by Stephens County government and others against Wilbros over odors stemming from the Rose Lane facility.

The order follows a hearing last month in Stephens County Superior Court to determine how the case should proceed following an administrative law judge’s ruling upholding the EPD’s administrative order revoking numerous permits issued to Wilbros and ordering compliance with Closure Procedures.

In this latest order, Adamson said that it is unlikely Wilbros will win a further appeal in Fulton County Superior Court, which means it is unlikely that the permits will be restored.

That, Adamson said, leaves the court with increasing concern regarding activities on the Toccoa site and concerns over the orderly execution of the closure procedures.

In his order, Judge Adamson also delineated what he found regarding odors at Wilbros.

Adamson said that following the initial 30 days of observation visits during which the court detected malodors along Skyline Drive, there appeared based on visits by the court to be a significant period of time where no malodors were detected.

Adamson said the court then detected the presence of “significant” odors on January 29.

The judge said malodors were also detected on January 30, February 13, and March 20.

Adamson said that while the overall intensity of the odors detected on those dates was not overwhelming, their continued presence and persistence was troubling to the court.

Also, he said the court noted that a rancid component lingered in clothing and inside the vehicle after leaving the site, as well as a burning sensation to the face, eyes, and ears, which persisted for at least 10 minutes after leaving the site.

Judge Adamson did invite both sides to still submit proposed orders that he would be willing to consider regarding possible modifications to this order.