Friday, December 19, 2008

City of Detroit, Suburbs Reach Accord Regarding DWSD

The long-simmering dispute between the City of Detroit's Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) and its Suburban customers reportedly was resolved on December 18, 2008 in a hearing in U.S. District Court before Judge John Feikens. An outline of the settlement was reported earlier by Crain's Detroit Business here, and by the Detroit Free Press here.

The terms of the accord are laid out in a 50 page Settlement Agreement (below) that was presented to the Court, and will be accepted unless someone comes forth to show cause why the Agreement should not be accepted. Opposition is unlikely.



This Settlement Agreement will not end Judge Feikens' three-decades long control over DWSD, -- paragraph 8 of the Agreement refers to a potential Third Amended Consent Judgment -- but it will end lengthy and costly litigation between DWSD and Oakland and Macomb Counties over repair of the Macomb Interceptor and payment for an 800 megahertz radio system.

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