The Rhinelander Daily News - Online news and information for the Rhinelander, Wisconsin region

Settlement to be used toward cleanup costs of former city landfill

By Daily News staff

General Casualty paid the City of Rhinelander $865,000 to settle a suit over the cleanup of the former city landfill.

The settlement which was reached in February of this year contained a no release clause, over which The Daily News and WXPR radio filed an open records request.

Rhinelander's Finance Committee voted Thursday night to release the document after General Casualty agreed to release the city from the confidentiality provisions of the agreement. One clause of the confidentiality agreement was that General Casualty would pay any related fees if there were open records requests for the documents.

The document released this morning outlines the terms of the settlement including the receipt of $865,000 which the city has received and is in an account. Per the agreement the city releases General Casualty from all responsibility related to the landfill.

The city had closed the landfill in 1979 in accordance with state regulations which existed at the time.

The city has spent in excess of $2 million to clean up the site and has hired consultants to design a cleanup plan which involved planting trees to soak up groundwater and reduce runoff.

The suit between the city and General Casualty, which has been ongoing for close to a decade, was over the coverage provided to the city by General Casualty.

The settlement agreement between the two parties was reached two days before the case was to be argued before the Wisconsin Supreme Court in February.

City attorney/administrator Phil Parkinson said the receipt of the funds, which is less than half of what the city has spent on the clean up will essentially pay back to the city some of what it has spent on clean up.

He also said there are still on going costs related to the landfill to which the settlement funds may be applied. There are two legal matters regarding the landfill which remain unresolved. One is with the State of Wisconsin regarding the effectiveness of the remedial efforts to date and one is with an abutting property owner regarding damage to his property.

The open records request was made in March. After it was denied by the city an Attorney General's opinion was requested on the release of the document.

Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager's office did not issue an opinion, but rather sued the city for release of the document according to Wisconsin's Open Records Law.

Release of the document today ends the court case.

"What is right according to our constitution and the protected ideals of the First Amendment that are guaranteed to us by the Freedom of Information Act has been served here," said Daily News President and Publisher Jay Anderle.

I am uniquely proud that the editorial staff of The Daily News, the smallest daily newspaper in Wisconsin, has had the foresight and tenacity to stick with this issue. Our efforts along with our friends at WXPR Public Radio have served the citizens of our community well."

"This is much bigger than just our Rhinelander area. This will set a precedent and offer help to other Wisconsin communities dealing with similar situations. Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager made the right decision for the citizens of Wisconsin."

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