This was the initial response regarding the Oregon DEQ fine against Lehman Hot Springs, Lehman Development Corporation and John Patrick Lucas. DEQ's response of this same date stated "DEQ has never asserted a violation of water
quality standards, or that Respondents actually caused pollution" I didn't know at the time that I wrote this response that the State of Oregon "Department of Environmental Quality" would actually be truthful for the first time....
Perception of Metronians on their Preferred Mobile Phone Service Subscription...METRO MANILA COLLEGE
this research paper focuses on the perception of prepaid users on their service subscription, specifically, Prepaid and Post-paid subscription. This aims to guide mobile phone users on what service subscription will fit on their lifestyle.
Concept Educations is the most preferred coaching institute of the year for Engineering (IIT JEE) and Medical (NEET/AIIMS) aspirants in Guwahati, Assam
Perception of Metronians on their Preferred Mobile Phone Service Subscription...METRO MANILA COLLEGE
this research paper focuses on the perception of prepaid users on their service subscription, specifically, Prepaid and Post-paid subscription. This aims to guide mobile phone users on what service subscription will fit on their lifestyle.
Concept Educations is the most preferred coaching institute of the year for Engineering (IIT JEE) and Medical (NEET/AIIMS) aspirants in Guwahati, Assam
U.S. District Court Decision to Dismiss Case Against Anschutz in NY Water Con...Marcellus Drilling News
The decision by U.S. District Court (of Western NY) Judge Charles Siragusa to dismiss the case against Anschutz Corporation originally filed in 2010. The plaintiffs alleged that an Anschutz well drilled in Chemung County, NY had caused methane migration into the water wells of nine nearby families. The wells were not fracked. After an extensive investigation, the state Dept. of Environmental Conservation concluded (and the court agreed) that the wells did not cause the issue. There is a well-known, long-term history of high methane in water supplies in that area.
Closing Argument Answering Brief Lucas Lehman EQCJ. Patrick Lucas
This was my personal closing argument to the $532,000 fine imposed by DEQ against Lehman Hot Springs. In DEQ's response they state "DEQ has never asserted a violation of water quality standards, or that Respondents actually caused pollution" I guess they don't think press releases, posting false statements on the DEQ website, filing civil and criminal charges against me and my companies doesn't qualify as "asserted" It hasn't been fun being tried in the media, especially when they can't back it up. That's what eco-fascists do though.
Closing Argument Answering Brief Lehman Hot SpringsJ. Patrick Lucas
This is the Closing Arguments and Answering Brief for Lehman Hot Springs, LLC and Lehman Development Corp regarding the Oregon Dept of Environmental Quality "civil" penalty Administrative Hearing. The brief was submitted by Montgomery Cobb as attorney for Respondent's Lehman Hot Springs, LLC and Lehman Development Corporation. Respondent John Patrick Lucas filed his own brief and incorporated the arguments outlined in this response.
While this whole fiasco is far from over (it could go on for several more years, depending on the outcome of this hearing) it is somewhat comforting to have the State of Oregon admit in their brief that "DEQ has never asserted a violation of water
quality standards, or that Respondents actually caused pollution" In fact they did make this assertion many times and this is yet one more statement that is factually incorrect. Maybe it's just human nature that if you can hide behind Sovereign Immunity you lose your moral compass? Absolute power corrupts absolutely. I will be posting a full chronology with supporting exhibits soon.
Anti-Drilling Letter to OH Gov. John Kasich Requesting He Shut Down Injection...Marcellus Drilling News
A letter authored by the misnamed (and anti-drilling) group Food & Water Watch, signed by 33 "groups" (mostly individuals) requesting Gov. Kasich immediately issue an executive order shutting down all of Ohio's deep injection wells used to dispose of frack wastewater. Don't expect any action on the recommendation from these "helpful" folks.
Energy in Depth, a group backed by the gas industry, suggests some focal points for the "Gasland" sequel planned by filmmaker and anti-fracking activist Josh Fox.
More:
http://www.energyindepth.org/
http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/
Dot Earth on Fox: http://j.mp/dotGasland
An open letter from Energy in Depth to filmmaker Josh Fox with recommendations on how he might correct the inaccuracies of the original Gasland in his new film. It's a devasating critique of the original movie and the multitude of inaccuracies and claims it makes. We're pretty sure Josh won't take EID's advice since he's got a closed mind when it comes to the drilling issue.
A 24-page "report" by the anti-drilling group Environmental Advocates of New York that supposedly says the little bit of drill cuttings (leftover rock and dirt) that come from drilling shale wells in PA that goes into NY landfills will make New Yorkers glow in the dark from radiation poisoning. It's bogus crap.
If the question is asked “What is Love Canal? Why is it important?” the answer could be simply put, it is an incomplete canal, or just a trench, built in western New York state in the 1890s. From the 1930s through the 1950s, it was used as a chemical waste dump. The surrounding land was then sold and used for residential purposes, and soon people began complaining about strange odours and possible health problems. Since the late 1970s, many studies have been done to ascertain whether any health problems can be traced to the waste dumped into LoveCanal.
It is significant because it was the first case concerning hazardous waste disposal and its possible health effects that received major national attention. The information in this site is drawn primarily from two publications: Monitoring the Community for Exposure and Disease, a report to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (Nicholas Ashford, Principal Investigator, and Linda Schierow, Project Manager, Centre for Technology, Policy and Industrial Development, 1991) and Love Canal: Science, Politics, and People (Adeline Gordon Levine, Toronto: D.C. Heath, 1982). Other information is drawn from materials listed in the other Love Canal Resources sections.
The Love Canal neighbourhood is located in the city of Niagara Falls, in western New York State. It officially covers 36 square blocks in the south-eastern corner of the city. Two bodies of water define the northern and southern boundaries of the neighbourhood Bergholtz Creek to the north and the Niagara River one-quarter mile to the south. Open fields are to the east, and the western border is 92nd Street. The canal itself is enclosed by 97th, 99th, Colvin and Frontier Streets.
The results of an investigation by the British Columbia Oil and Gas Commission, released in August 2012, of a potential link between fracking and a series of earthquakes in the Horn River Basin of Canada. The report finds that fracking over an active fault had indeed triggered a series of earthquakes in the Horn River. There are three known instances of fracking causing earthquakes, out of 60,000+ horiztonal/facked shale wells, which statistically is 0.00005. In other words, it's fantastically rare and only happens when fracking is done right on top of an active geologic fault.
A court decision overturning a lower Court of Common Pleas (Lycoming County) decision in Pennsylvania. The significance of this decision is in setting a precedence that oil and gas drilling is not restricted to industrial zoning districts. Other districts, like residential/agricultural districts can also see drilling if property permitted by the local municipality. This decision is a humiliating defeat of THE Delaware Riverkeeper and other anti-fossil fuel activist groups.
Report - Hurricane Sandy’s Untold Filthy Legacy: Sewageclimate central
Explore the wheres, whats, and hows of the 11 billion gallons of sewage that overflowed into rivers and other waterways, largely as a result of record storm-surge flooding that swamped the region’s major sewage treatment facilities.
U.S. District Court Decision to Dismiss Case Against Anschutz in NY Water Con...Marcellus Drilling News
The decision by U.S. District Court (of Western NY) Judge Charles Siragusa to dismiss the case against Anschutz Corporation originally filed in 2010. The plaintiffs alleged that an Anschutz well drilled in Chemung County, NY had caused methane migration into the water wells of nine nearby families. The wells were not fracked. After an extensive investigation, the state Dept. of Environmental Conservation concluded (and the court agreed) that the wells did not cause the issue. There is a well-known, long-term history of high methane in water supplies in that area.
Closing Argument Answering Brief Lucas Lehman EQCJ. Patrick Lucas
This was my personal closing argument to the $532,000 fine imposed by DEQ against Lehman Hot Springs. In DEQ's response they state "DEQ has never asserted a violation of water quality standards, or that Respondents actually caused pollution" I guess they don't think press releases, posting false statements on the DEQ website, filing civil and criminal charges against me and my companies doesn't qualify as "asserted" It hasn't been fun being tried in the media, especially when they can't back it up. That's what eco-fascists do though.
Closing Argument Answering Brief Lehman Hot SpringsJ. Patrick Lucas
This is the Closing Arguments and Answering Brief for Lehman Hot Springs, LLC and Lehman Development Corp regarding the Oregon Dept of Environmental Quality "civil" penalty Administrative Hearing. The brief was submitted by Montgomery Cobb as attorney for Respondent's Lehman Hot Springs, LLC and Lehman Development Corporation. Respondent John Patrick Lucas filed his own brief and incorporated the arguments outlined in this response.
While this whole fiasco is far from over (it could go on for several more years, depending on the outcome of this hearing) it is somewhat comforting to have the State of Oregon admit in their brief that "DEQ has never asserted a violation of water
quality standards, or that Respondents actually caused pollution" In fact they did make this assertion many times and this is yet one more statement that is factually incorrect. Maybe it's just human nature that if you can hide behind Sovereign Immunity you lose your moral compass? Absolute power corrupts absolutely. I will be posting a full chronology with supporting exhibits soon.
Anti-Drilling Letter to OH Gov. John Kasich Requesting He Shut Down Injection...Marcellus Drilling News
A letter authored by the misnamed (and anti-drilling) group Food & Water Watch, signed by 33 "groups" (mostly individuals) requesting Gov. Kasich immediately issue an executive order shutting down all of Ohio's deep injection wells used to dispose of frack wastewater. Don't expect any action on the recommendation from these "helpful" folks.
Energy in Depth, a group backed by the gas industry, suggests some focal points for the "Gasland" sequel planned by filmmaker and anti-fracking activist Josh Fox.
More:
http://www.energyindepth.org/
http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/
Dot Earth on Fox: http://j.mp/dotGasland
An open letter from Energy in Depth to filmmaker Josh Fox with recommendations on how he might correct the inaccuracies of the original Gasland in his new film. It's a devasating critique of the original movie and the multitude of inaccuracies and claims it makes. We're pretty sure Josh won't take EID's advice since he's got a closed mind when it comes to the drilling issue.
A 24-page "report" by the anti-drilling group Environmental Advocates of New York that supposedly says the little bit of drill cuttings (leftover rock and dirt) that come from drilling shale wells in PA that goes into NY landfills will make New Yorkers glow in the dark from radiation poisoning. It's bogus crap.
If the question is asked “What is Love Canal? Why is it important?” the answer could be simply put, it is an incomplete canal, or just a trench, built in western New York state in the 1890s. From the 1930s through the 1950s, it was used as a chemical waste dump. The surrounding land was then sold and used for residential purposes, and soon people began complaining about strange odours and possible health problems. Since the late 1970s, many studies have been done to ascertain whether any health problems can be traced to the waste dumped into LoveCanal.
It is significant because it was the first case concerning hazardous waste disposal and its possible health effects that received major national attention. The information in this site is drawn primarily from two publications: Monitoring the Community for Exposure and Disease, a report to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (Nicholas Ashford, Principal Investigator, and Linda Schierow, Project Manager, Centre for Technology, Policy and Industrial Development, 1991) and Love Canal: Science, Politics, and People (Adeline Gordon Levine, Toronto: D.C. Heath, 1982). Other information is drawn from materials listed in the other Love Canal Resources sections.
The Love Canal neighbourhood is located in the city of Niagara Falls, in western New York State. It officially covers 36 square blocks in the south-eastern corner of the city. Two bodies of water define the northern and southern boundaries of the neighbourhood Bergholtz Creek to the north and the Niagara River one-quarter mile to the south. Open fields are to the east, and the western border is 92nd Street. The canal itself is enclosed by 97th, 99th, Colvin and Frontier Streets.
The results of an investigation by the British Columbia Oil and Gas Commission, released in August 2012, of a potential link between fracking and a series of earthquakes in the Horn River Basin of Canada. The report finds that fracking over an active fault had indeed triggered a series of earthquakes in the Horn River. There are three known instances of fracking causing earthquakes, out of 60,000+ horiztonal/facked shale wells, which statistically is 0.00005. In other words, it's fantastically rare and only happens when fracking is done right on top of an active geologic fault.
A court decision overturning a lower Court of Common Pleas (Lycoming County) decision in Pennsylvania. The significance of this decision is in setting a precedence that oil and gas drilling is not restricted to industrial zoning districts. Other districts, like residential/agricultural districts can also see drilling if property permitted by the local municipality. This decision is a humiliating defeat of THE Delaware Riverkeeper and other anti-fossil fuel activist groups.
Report - Hurricane Sandy’s Untold Filthy Legacy: Sewageclimate central
Explore the wheres, whats, and hows of the 11 billion gallons of sewage that overflowed into rivers and other waterways, largely as a result of record storm-surge flooding that swamped the region’s major sewage treatment facilities.
Similar to Lehman Hot Springs DEQ fine response (20)
Thank you to Dave Hunnicutt of Oregonians in Action, Senators Betsy Johnson, Larry George, Chip Shields, and Floyd Prozanski for passing Senate Bill 476 (originally SB680)
Outline of the case of Mark Long vs. John Kroger, Sean Riddle and the Oregon Dept of Justice (this document is public record) Most of the case is currently sealed pending the Federal Court Case. John Kroger learned from the bad guys and adopted their MO and taught people like Riddle and John Dunbar what to do. They are above the law and will do anything to further their careers at the expense of due process and what is right or wrong. Just my experience.
Update: The State of Oregon settled the case for $1,000,000
This is the award of attorney fees against the former Oregon Attorney General John Kroger in the Long vs. Kroger case. Marion County Circuit Court Case No. 11C14422. John Dunbar of DOJ defended John Kroger.
I purchased a former leather tannery and battery manufacturing plant in Sherowod, Oregon under a "Prospective Purchaser Agreement" with the Oregon DEQ. This report is the final remediation report on many aspects of the environmental cleanup. We removed chromium contaminated soils and leather hide splits, lead contaminated soil from 300,000 battery casings that caught fire in the late 1960's, arsenic soils and concrete, benzine, and many other toxic substances I can't even pronounce. Some of the debris had to be hauled to a hazardous waste facility in S.E. Idaho.
I received a No Further Action determination from the Oregon DEQ for the extensive work that was performed under their supervision. Would I do this kind of project again? No way. But I am proud of the accomplishment and what it did for the community that I live in.
Racketeering, witness tampering, Perjury... not many Attorney Generals get convicted of that! Unfortunately it was a civil trial, and not criminal. The same day the verdict came out was the day that John Kroger stepped down from AG because of a "non-life threatening medical condition" He took a job shortly thereafter as President of Reed College.
This is the estimate to clean up a portion of the Ken Foster Farm site that is contaminated with hexavalent chromium from the Frontier Leather Site in Sherwood Oregon. Several families live on the property and it was just recently approved by the city of Sherwood for a residential subdivision. The chromium contaminated soils are expected to be stockpiled on site next to the storm water outlet to the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge. The contaminants will then have a couple feet of clean fill place on top and it will become a public park where children can play.
Oregon DEQ withholds evidence from the public and the court until after the public comment period is over. The public and property owners were told that there was "no risk to human health" until they had their settlement with Wells Fargo Bank, and now they disclose that there is a risk to human health. Unlikely that the 2.6 Million Settlement will be enough to clean up KFF or Frontier Leather sites, besides, the Oregon DEQ will not spend the money on the cleanup, but put it in their slush fund budget. Why make someone with deep pockets pay for the cleanup?
Intervenor Opposition to DEQ motion for Entry of Consent JudgmentJ. Patrick Lucas
Filed with the court 2/21/2012 is our motion in opposition of the DEQ entry of a consent judgment regarding Frontier Leather and Ken Foster Farms in Sherwood, OR
This document is the leak study performed by Ferguson Surveying and Engineering showing that the sewage treatment ponds at Lehman Hot Springs were not leaking as reported by Oregon DEQ to the media.
These are a second set of lab results taken at the Lehman Hot Springs resort in Eastern Oregon. The results clearly show that the sewage lagoons were not leaking as reported by the Oregon DEQ in a number of highly publicized press releases
Acceptable levels in Oregon Streams and Rivers are 406 pp 100 ml.
This is when everything started between DEQ, Lehman Hot Springs and Patrick Lucas. All charges were dropped, but they never stopped their persecution and it continues to this day. Les Carlough later admitted to Dilorenzo that he in fact had known about this and lied to Dilorenzo as that was what he was instructed to do. Carlough also said that DEQ picks a couple of people a year to try and make an example out of. Les Carlough's business card at the time listed him as an attorney. I checked with the Oregon State Bar and he was not a licensed attorney, so he changed his title, as most DEQ "attorney's" now call themselves "environmental law specialist" so that they don't have to be licensed and don't have to abide by normal ethical standards.
Motion to Intervene Granted. This was our motion to intervene in a Consent Judgment proposed by the Oregon DEQ on the Frontier Leather site. We were the first successful Intervenor in a Consent Judgment according to Oregon DOJ/DEQ attorneys. The case is currently at the Oregon Court of Appeals. The Oregon State Legislature saw this as so egregious that they passed Senate Bill 476 to reign in DEQ's abuse of power. It passed the Senate unanimously on April 25, 2013 and the House unanimously on June 3 and is headed to the Governor's office.
हम आग्रह करते हैं कि जो भी सत्ता में आए, वह संविधान का पालन करे, उसकी रक्षा करे और उसे बनाए रखे।" प्रस्ताव में कुल तीन प्रमुख हस्तक्षेप और उनके तंत्र भी प्रस्तुत किए गए। पहला हस्तक्षेप स्वतंत्र मीडिया को प्रोत्साहित करके, वास्तविकता पर आधारित काउंटर नैरेटिव का निर्माण करके और सत्तारूढ़ सरकार द्वारा नियोजित मनोवैज्ञानिक हेरफेर की रणनीति का मुकाबला करके लोगों द्वारा निर्धारित कथा को बनाए रखना और उस पर कार्यकरना था।
role of women and girls in various terror groupssadiakorobi2
Women have three distinct types of involvement: direct involvement in terrorist acts; enabling of others to commit such acts; and facilitating the disengagement of others from violent or extremist groups.
‘वोटर्स विल मस्ट प्रीवेल’ (मतदाताओं को जीतना होगा) अभियान द्वारा जारी हेल्पलाइन नंबर, 4 जून को सुबह 7 बजे से दोपहर 12 बजे तक मतगणना प्रक्रिया में कहीं भी किसी भी तरह के उल्लंघन की रिपोर्ट करने के लिए खुला रहेगा।
31052024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdfFIRST INDIA
Find Latest India News and Breaking News these days from India on Politics, Business, Entertainment, Technology, Sports, Lifestyle and Coronavirus News in India and the world over that you can't miss. For real time update Visit our social media handle. Read First India NewsPaper in your morning replace. Visit First India.
CLICK:- https://firstindia.co.in/
#First_India_NewsPaper
03062024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdfFIRST INDIA
Find Latest India News and Breaking News these days from India on Politics, Business, Entertainment, Technology, Sports, Lifestyle and Coronavirus News in India and the world over that you can't miss. For real time update Visit our social media handle. Read First India NewsPaper in your morning replace. Visit First India.
CLICK:- https://firstindia.co.in/
#First_India_NewsPaper
01062024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdfFIRST INDIA
Find Latest India News and Breaking News these days from India on Politics, Business, Entertainment, Technology, Sports, Lifestyle and Coronavirus News in India and the world over that you can't miss. For real time update Visit our social media handle. Read First India NewsPaper in your morning replace. Visit First India.
CLICK:- https://firstindia.co.in/
#First_India_NewsPaper
In a May 9, 2024 paper, Juri Opitz from the University of Zurich, along with Shira Wein and Nathan Schneider form Georgetown University, discussed the importance of linguistic expertise in natural language processing (NLP) in an era dominated by large language models (LLMs).
The authors explained that while machine translation (MT) previously relied heavily on linguists, the landscape has shifted. “Linguistics is no longer front and center in the way we build NLP systems,” they said. With the emergence of LLMs, which can generate fluent text without the need for specialized modules to handle grammar or semantic coherence, the need for linguistic expertise in NLP is being questioned.
Do Linguistics Still Matter in the Age of Large Language Models.pptx
Lehman Hot Springs DEQ fine response
1. BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMISSION
STATE OF OREGON
IN THE MATTER OF: CLOSING ARGUMENT OF
RESPONDENT JOHN PATRICK
JOHN PATRICK LUCAS, LEHMAN LUCAS
DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, OAH Case No. 1002077
and LEHMAN HOT SPRINGS, LLC, DEQ Case No. WQ/D-ER-09-082
Respondent
Respondent Lucas adopts and incorporates by this reference, the closing
argument submitted by Respondents Lehman Hot Springs, LLC and Lehman
Development Corporation.
This Oregon Administrative Hearing is the last ditch effort to legitimize the
overzealous prosecution of Repsondents Lehman Hot Springs, LLC, Lehman
Development Corporation and John Patrick Lucas. This was a failed attempt by former
Oregon Attorney General John Kroger to make an example of Respondents to further
his political career by “cracking down on environmental polluters”1 John Kroger
promised “a tough new approach to environmental enforcement,” The problem is, he
shot from the hip and did not do his homework, nor did anyone in his “environmental
crimes unit”. Lehman Hot Springs was quoted in John Kroger’s 2009 Annual Report as
1Camilla Mortenson, Attacking Ecocrime, Stomping out Oregon’s Polluters, EUGENE W EEKLY, Nov. 26, 2008,
available at http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2008/11/26/coverstory.html.
2. the second most “significant case” right behind the Hanford Nuclear Cleanup. Really?
The problem with the State’s Case is that they don’t have one based on fact or
scientific evidence, but rather pure speculation. They made false claims to the media
that they then tried to legitimize through failed civil hearings in which Umatilla County
Circuit Court Judge Gary Reynolds found no evidence of pollution. They then filed
dozens of criminal charges in an obvious attempt to coerce Respondents to
acquiescing, much like being tortured by the Viet Kong into a “confession.” The State
called Respondent Lucas’ partners, bankers, lenders, city officials and even spoke at a
Washington County business alliance meeting and at the University Club in Portland in
an effort to damage Respondent Lucas’ through Tortious Interference. They pumped
up this case in order to get a press release saying that Respondents were fined
$532,000 for violations that did not happen. This whole fiasco was more about trying
respondents in the media then in the court of law.
In the Spring of 2009, John Kroger was just sworn into office and was looking to make a
name for himself in Oregon. Lehman Hot Springs admittedly had other minor issues
with the DEQ in the past and the DEQ has a long history of abusing its power against
Respondent. I will go into more detail later in this response. The point is, Kroger saw
this as a significant opportunity to further his political career. He is known for making
bold media announcements of his self perceived successes, he even writes books
about them.
The problem in the Lehman case is that Kroger made bold press releases and did not
3. bother to check the facts before releasing them. The DOJ and DEQ then had to go to
extraordinary levels to try and “prove” their case. There is a complete absence of any
scientific evidence or testing to support the state’s charges.
To wit:
Barry Norris: The states witness that claimed in the civil hearings that there were holes
in the liner of the ponds and therefor the water would leak out and erode the dikes, that
would in turn fail and cause catastrophic failure and potentially kill people (he really said
that in the civil trial).
If Barry Norris was so concerned about the safety and integrity of the dikes, why did he
not go up to the Lehman site after April 2010 when Repsondent Lucas invited Judge
Reynolds to come up and see for himself? (Tr. Vol 1, pg 73 $ Tr. Vol 2, pg 222) In fact,
Barry Norris did not ever go back up there, (Tr. Vol 1, pg 74) even though the upper
pond still had over a 1.2 million gallons of waste that, if the liner had holes in it, would
have surely escaped to the creek. (Tr. Vol 1, pg 65) He didn’t go back up because
Respondents did not own the resort anymore and it was no longer an “issue”. It was
never about the environment.
Barry Norris was the expert in charge of the catastrophic failure of the J. R.
Simplot waste water pond in which 90 million gallons of waste water DID escape and
discharge into the Umatilla River and kill livestock and fish. The report submitted to
DEQ has pictures to prove it. (R 51) J.R. Simplot was fined $9,600 for discharging
nearly 100 million gallons of untreated waste! Repsondents were fined $532,000 for
4. NO DISCHARGE. Heidi Williams was the representative from DEQ who was in charge
of the J. R. Simplot spill. ( R 51)
The state has produced no pictures of any waste water over-topping the berm or
dikes. Not a single one. They have produced not a single water sample that shows
wastes leaving through the dikes, seeps, or any other means. Not one.
The state withheld evidence from Respondents.
The State withheld exculpatory evidence from Respondents in the civil proceedings and
the criminal proceedings. To wit: In the criminal proceedings we were provided a disk
showing the approved plans, as built drawings and photographs of the construction of
the upper lagoon before Respondents purchased the property. (Tr. Vol 1, pg 71,72)
Respondents were told by DEQ that they did not have any plans from the original
construction of the upper lagoon, yet both Barry Norris and Heidi Williams admitted in
this OAH hearing that they had in fact had the plans and pictures all along (Tr. Vol 1 pg
71,72). The plans clearly show a french drain under the lagoon that was designed to
remove groundwater from beneath the upper lagoon. Barry Norris admitted that he
knew the french drain pipe was under the lagoon. (Tr. Vol 1 pg 72) He therefor had to
have known that the source of his 21,600 gallon per day “sewer discharge” was nothing
other than snow melt. DEQ and DOJ therefor made false press releases and false
accusations and are the false basis for part of this OAH fine. That is why they did not
test the water for e-coli, because they knew it was not sewer water, but rather storm
water runoff. That is why it stopped flowing in the summer months even though the
5. upper lagoon was still full.(R1, R2, R52) Yet DEQ as a major part of this OAH case uses
the amount of the 21,600 in calculating their penalty. That is why the dye test
performed by Heidi Williams and EPA came back negative.(Tr. Vol 2, pg 142) They
wanted their accusations to be true and went to great lengths to prove a negative. All
failed. (Tr. Vol 2, pg 156)
Heidi Williams testified that she turned over a report from the EPA to the DOJ, but the
DOJ did not provide it as evidence in either the civil hearings or the criminal trial. (Tr. Vol
1)It was actually in their 79 page privilege log. More exculpatory evidence that was not
turned over because of the marching orders from John Kroger.
Heidi Williams admitted that she took at least five e-coli samples but they were not
provided as evidence because they were, in her opinion “dilute” (Tr. Vol 1, pg 207, 208)
Because the state did not have any water samples from the seeps that would prove that
sewer was leaking from the lagoons, it went to extraordinary lengths to try other means
to “prove” the ponds were leaking including a “Piper Diagram” of chemical makeup of the
water. They tried to show that the water coming out of the seeps was the same water
that would have been coming from the lodge, and therefore leaking from the sewer
lagoons.
The problem is that they don’t know the source of the water from the lodge. (Tr
Vol 1 pg 212, 238, 239) There are actually three sources. (Tr Vol 2, pg ) Also, why
would they test the chemical makeup but not test for organic to see if sewer water was
6. present in the sample as testified by states witness Richerson? (Tr Vol 1, pg 240,241)
The reason is that they knew it was not organic. The Piper Diagram is nothing more
than a Hail Mary Pass because they knew their were no contaminants in any of the
“seeps”.
The video evidence speaks for itself. (R 52) When the ponds were completely drained,
they showed that the ponds did not have ANY holes below the waterline. Heidi Williams
stated that she went back up there, after not being there for 11 months, but didn’t take
the time to even look at the liners (Tr Vol 1, pg 192). She was so convinced that the
ponds were leaking due to holes in the liner that she didn’t even bother to look to see if
she was correct, or, she simply wanted plausible deniability when cross examined by
Respondents.
Sewer Collector line was plugged on April 15th, 2009 so no more influent going into pond
as of that date (R 10).
Evaporation test performed by Civil Engineer Douglas Ferguson concluded that their
was no leakage of either lagoon. (R 30) While DEQ does not accept the report, at no
time did they conduct any study of their own.
Dye study shows no leak. In fact, Heidi Williams from DEQ requested the Dye test and
was helped by Rob Gardinealli of EPA on the dye test that came back negative (Tr. Vol
1, pg 142). The state then went to great lengths to downplay the results of the test (Tr
7. Vol 1, pg 58-59&68. Even though they were the ones that performed it. If they would
have come back positive you can bet your bottom dollar that it would have been the best
scientific evidence ever derived. But because it was negative it was downplayed. The
results of the test were never put in a written report and submitted as evidence in the
civil, criminal or OAH cases. The only reason we know about it is one of Respondents
employee was present when the test was performed and Heidi Williams has been asked
about it under oath. (Tr Vol 1, pg 142) How many other tests or samples were performed
that were not provided to Respondents? Respondents should be allowed to see all of
the evidence since much of it was withheld from Respondent.
There are over 800 items in the privilege log that were not provided to Respondent.
Elevation survey showing 1997 as built and 2009 show no settling from 700 data points.
At first Barry Norris says that he agrees with the results (Tr. Vol 1, pg 69, 70) then on
recross from Sara Wheeler he toes the line and goes the other way (Tr Vol 1 pg 70,71 )
whatever suits the state agenda, forget about the science.
EPA water samples show no leak (R 31) In fact, the EPA took water samples from the
sewer inside the sewer pond and it shows an e-coli level of 43 ppl (part per liter) yet the
allowable level in Oregon Streems is 418 ppl. ( R 31, Tr Vol 1, pg 208) So, even if the
entire contents were to enter the creek at once, it would still be only 11% of the
allowable level. Perhaps this is why the state never took e-coli samples from the seeps
because by the states own rules, it would still be well under the allowable level. Perhaps
this is why they did the Piper Diagram trying to show other ways that could possibly
show that the ponds were leaking?
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8. US Fish and Wildlife email “sorry to disappoint, but there is no smoking gun. Fish are
thriving” Oh, move along, nothing to see here. We wont trust the judgment of THE head
biologist from the US Fish and Wildlife, what does he know....
We pumped 600,000 gallons of water out of the ponds and hauled by truck to Ukiah,
which incidently, doesn’t even have a pond liner. (R 12)
We repaired the sewer collection line and it past inspection as of May 2009 (R10) so the
complaint asking for money to fix the collection system is mute, it was repaired prior to
the complaint and DEQ was provided a copy of the results. (R 10) DEQ did not reject
any of the engineering test done on the soundness of the system, they simply plugged a
number in there that equates to completely replacing the line. The person that did the
estimate has zero experience in sewer line construction techniques or associated costs
and does not have a civil engineering degree, Respondent Lucas has over 20 years
experience. (Tr Vol 2, pg 225-232)
Repsondent Lucas has a long history of environmental stewardship. (Tr. Vol 2, pg 198-
199) Repsondent Lucas’ other entity, Pacific III, LLC actually purchase a former leather
tannery and battery manufacturing plant, entered into a Prospective Purchaser
Agreement (PPA) with DEQ and performed significant environmental cleanup in excess
of $1.4 million in remediation costs alone. In addition, Respondent paid DEQ over
$80,000 in over-site costs and was successful in obtaining an NFA (No Further Action)
from the Oregon DEQ.
Under the terms of the PPA, Respondent Lucas was entitled to seek
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9. reimbursement from the Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) for Respondent's cost for
remedial actions taken on the PRP behalf. Unbeknown to Respondent Lucas, DEQ
entered into a settlement agreement with the PRP's on the neighboring site to Frontier
Leather, and as part of the settlements legal description, included the portion of the
former leather tanning and battery manufacturing plant that Respondent Lucas paid to
clean up. The DEQ then entered a Consent Judgment barring Respondent Lucas from
being able to seek reimbursement from the PRP. In other words, DEQ took credit for
what Respondent paid for, and then abused its authority by entering a CJ, while
Repsondent Lucas was not a party to any of the settlement negotiations or even invited
to them. Respondent has a current appeal at the Oregon Court of Appeals regarding
the entry of the Consent Judgment. In the settlement agreement between DEQ and the
PRP, it specifically names Respondent's company and states that if Respondent
appeals their settlement, that the settlement money would be placed in escrow, awaiting
the outcome of the appeal, and if Respondent was successful, the money would be
returned to the PRP's so that they could settle with Respondent Lucas. Currently $2.6
million is in escrow, of which 1.4 million is money spent and rightfully due to Respondent
Lucas. Respondent Lucas has claimed an offset against that money should the OAH
case require Respondent to pay any fine associated with this OAH case. (See answer)
The State of Oregon DOJ and DEQ did everything they could to inhibit Respondent from
accessing capital needed to perform repairs and comply with DEQ demands in a timely
manner, yet Respondent was successful in almost every effort. At no time was the
environment harmed. DOJ attorneys John Dunbar and Karen Moynahan, or their
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10. associates, actually called Respondent's banks and financial partners on unrelated
projects in order to instill fear and make it difficult for respondent to acquire the
necessary capital needed to comply on a timely basis. (Tr.Vol 2, pg 100-101)
This pattern of litigious conduct is borne of punitive and vindictive zealotry, not
objective protection of the public health and safety. DEQ’s evidence and arguments
must be viewed skeptically.
CONCLUSION
Respondent Lucas adopts and incorporates by this reference, the closing
argument submitted by Respondents Lehman Hot Springs, LLC and Lehman
Development Corporation.
DATED: September 28, 2012.
John Patrick Lucas
_____________________________
John Patrick Lucas
16004 SW Tualatin-Sherwood Rd #432
Sherwood, OR 97140
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