BRUNSWICK COUNTY — The Town of Leland, Brunswick Regional Water and Sewer H2GO, and the Town of Belville will meet (telephonically) for a hearing Friday morning, and the public can listen in.
The hearing concerns Belville and H2GO’s recent joint motion to modify injunctions to allow for the immediate construction of the sanitary district’s highly-contested reverse osmosis plant.
Related: Settlement offer expiration date: Leland wants to resurrect old proposal, finger-pointing ensues
In December 2017, Judge Thomas Lock ordered all activity to essentially freeze. This followed Leland’s lawsuit filed against Belville and H2GO as a response to the November 2017 $60 million transfer of assets from H2GO to Belville that another judge later ruled was illegal, null, and void in April 2019.
Belville appealed. As a response, Leland appealed the order as well, seeking to get a higher court’s eye on the Open Meetings Law claim against Belville that Judge Charles Henry dismissed.
Shortly after the transfer, H2GO was realigned with Leland in its lawsuit against Belville. After two years of delays, H2GO’s board is now politically aligned with Belville.
After a failed settlement attempt earlier this year, the newfound H2GO-Belville alignment prompted Belville to withdraw its appeal of the April 2019 order. Leland does not plan to withdraw its appeal.
The December 2017 preliminary injunction order includes a provision that no construction on the plant may remain in effect until a later court modification. In July 2019, the court entered a stayed permanent injunction, siding with Leland, that stipulates the December 2017 order shall remain in full effect during the course of any appeals regarding the April 2019 order.
Belville is seeking to lift the stay on the July 2019 order and lift the provision that halts construction on the plant in the December 2017 order.
Since Leland’s appeal remains unadjudicated, the town has objected to Belville and H2GO’s motion to modify the orders.
Tune in to the hearing that will begin at 10 a.m. Friday, May 1:
- Call 855-633-2040
- When prompted, enter the guest participant code: 2149435#
H2GO & Belville’s j… on Scribd
