CRRA Settlement Close at Hand?


NEW HARTFORD — The ongoing legal dispute between the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority and the 70 towns in its Mid-Connecticut Project hit a snag Wednesday morning, when a final mediation session concluded without the two sides reaching an agreement.

A new judge, Hon. Lynda Munro, was called to act as mediator Wednesday, but apparently was unable to get the two sides to agree.

New Hartford’s first selectman, Bill Baxter, who last week said he hoped a settlement may be approaching, said Wednesday he was unhappy with the way the mediation sessions had gone.

"Our negotiating team is very discouraged and we are of the opinion that CRRA did not negotiate in good faith," he said.

Baxter said now the ball is in CRRA’s court, and if they do not come up with an acceptable proposal, the case will return to Waterbury Superior Court to await a verdict.

This is an unwelcome turn of events for Baxter, who, as recently as last week, seemed to believe the settlement was a distinct possibility.

"There’s some movement," he said last week, referring to the willingness of both parties to amend their demands to reach a settlement, but said previous attempts at reaching a compromise have been unsuccessful. "We’d like to think there’s movement on both sides, but we’ve already made three offers of settlement. They were rejected."

But he expressed optimism, saying that even though they were rejected, those offers have now "become a part of the mediation process."

"We both know what the numbers are now. And the judge knows what those numbers are," he said. "I think it’s in the interests of both parties to resolve this."

Apparently, knowing those numbers did little to help the two sides see eye to eye.

Baxter has long held that the 70 towns in the CRRA’s Mid-Connecticut Project deserve to be reimbursed for the extra tip fees they have been forced to pay as a result of the company’s botched trash-for-energy deal with Enron. The project lost a reported $220 million, though CRRA spokesman Paul Nonnenmacher said the actual losses were much greater.

State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has been representing the CRRA in its court cases related to the Enron debacle; in this case, four towns are representing the Mid-Connecticut Project in court: New Hartford, Hartford, Guilford and West Hartford.

In December, the New York law firm of Hawkins, Delafield & Wood LLP settled with the CRRA, agreeing to pay $21 million to help reimburse the 70 Mid-Connecticut Project towns.

But that may not be enough. Baxter was unwilling to discuss specific numbers, but nearly two months later, an agreement is still just out of reach.

"Our issues are that the towns should be reimbursed for the losses that were passed on to them, as well as surpluses that were supposed to be used to offset rates, and reserve practices that were beyond reasonable projections," he said.

He said that, despite having a sizeable surplus, the CRRA failed to return any of those funds to the towns.

"There was admission in court that they didn’t return $25 million in surpluses," he said. "We also know that $38 million was taken out of reserves when the initial Enron deal went sour."

In 2005, the CRRA was able to get back $111 million by selling off assets.

But thus far, the towns themselves haven’t been satisfied with any of the CRRA’s offers in settlement.

"What was taken from the towns in raised tip fees over the last four to five years should be returned," Baxter said.

The contract between the towns and the CRRA, negotiated in the 1980s, will come up for renewal in 2012, he said, but added he would like to settle this and stay with the CRRA.

"In our opinion, a fair settlement will not disrupt the ongoing operations of the CRRA," he said. "We’d like to get this issue resolved so we can look forward and eliminate the conflict and distrust between us."

Baxter said the 70 towns have been actively pursuing redress for over two years now.

"Our objective hasn’t changed from the beginning," he said. "We want to be reimbursed for any costs to the town that are directly attributable to the Enron loss, and not a cent more or less. The CRRA has already retrieved over $110 million; we estimate the cost to the towns to be about half of that."

Baxter has also argued that, going forward, the rate charged per ton of solid waste collected by the CRRA should be "cost-based," and not subject to market rate consideration, and that CRRA’s cash reserves should "be reduced to reflect prudent practice."

"We’ve learned through the trial that some of these reserves are excessive," he said. "They reduced their debt; that should be reflected in reduced rates."

Latest News

Joy Brown’s retrospective celebrates 50 years of women at Hotchkiss

Joy Brown installing work for her show at the Tremaine Art Gallery at Hotchkiss.

Natalia Zukerman

This year, The Hotchkiss School is marking 50 years of co-education with a series of special events, including an exhibition by renowned sculptor Joy Brown. “The Art of Joy Brown,” opening Saturday, Feb. 22, in the Tremaine Art Gallery, offers a rare retrospective of Brown’s work, spanning five decades from her early pottery to her large-scale bronze sculptures.

“It’s an honor to show my work in celebration of fifty years of women at Hotchkiss,” Brown shared. “This exhibition traces my journey—from my roots in pottery to the figures and murals that have evolved over time.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Special screening of ‘The Brutalist’ at the Triplex Cinema
Yale professor Elihu Rubin led discussions before and after “The Brutalist” screening at Triplex Cinema on Feb. 2. He highlighted how the film brings architecture into focus, inviting the audience to explore Brutalism as both a style and a theme.
L. Tomaino

A special screening of “The Brutalist” was held on Feb. 2 at the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington. Elihu Rubin, a Henry Hart Rice Associate Professor of Architecture and Urban Studies at Yale, led discussions both before and after the film.

“The Brutalist” stars Adrien Brody as fictional character, architect Laszlo Toth, a Hungarian-born Jewish architect. Toth trained at the Bauhaus and was interred at the concentration camp Buchenwald during World War II. The film tells of his struggle as an immigrant to gain back his standing and respect as an architect. Brody was winner of the Best Actor Golden Globe, while Bradley Corbet, director of the film, won best director and the film took home the Golden Globe for Best Film Drama. They have been nominated again for Academy Awards.

Keep ReadingShow less
Winter inspiration for meadow, garden and woods

Breece Meadow

Jeb Breece

Chances are you know or have heard of Jeb Breece.He is one of a handful of the Northwest Corner’s “new guard”—young, talented and interesting people with can-do spirit — whose creative output makes life here even nicer than it already is.

Breece’s outward low-key nature belies his achievements which would appear ambitious even for a person without a full-time job and a family.The third season of his “Bad Grass” speaker series is designed with the dual purpose of reviving us from winter doldrums and illuminating us on a topic of contemporary gardening — by which I mean gardening that does not sacrifice the environment for the sake of beauty nor vice versa. There are two upcoming talks taking place at the White Hart:Feb. 20 featuring Richard Hayden from New York City’s High Line and March 6 where Christopher Koppel will riff on nativars. You won’t want to miss either.

Keep ReadingShow less