The city of Brandon and Gold Coast want a 10-day extension on several motions that will be addressed in a hearing in August.
The city was supposed to respond to a motion by Gold Coast attorneys to excise expert testimony by today and Gold Coast was supposed to respond to the city's motion for summary judgement, also due today.
According to the filing made on June 28, the deadline would be extended to July 16, giving the parties time to prepare for a hearing on August 18 in Rankin County Circuit Court.
The city filed its lawsuit on July 11, 2018, alleging that Gold Coast Commodities damaged its sewer system by dumping its wastewater directly into it without treatment.
Gold Coast utilizes a process to convert used cooking oil and soapstock — which is a byproduct which originates from the refining of soybean and other oils — into animal feed and biodiesel using sulfuric acid. This wastewater is highly corrosive and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality ordered the company to stop dumping its wastewater into Brandon's system.
The company then pivoted to disposal in the city of Jackson's sewer system, which has also drawn a lawsuit.
The city of Jackson filed a new lawsuit last week against Gold Coast that removed one defendant (Andrew Walker, the owner of Rebel High Velocity Sewer).
Walker was indicted last year and later pleaded guilty to federal water pollution charges in a deal with federal prosecutors. The conditions of his plea agreement were ordered to be placed under seal.
The company started trucking its wastewater to Pelahatchie, where it had reached an agreement with the city to dispose of its wastewater in a treatment lagoon. The company was then to spray the treated wastewater on nearby land.
When odor complaints started to stream into the MDEQ and inspectors found violations of state wastewater regulations, regulators took action.
The Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality issued an order that mandated Gold Coast pay more than $505,000 in fines for 11 violations related to the disposal of its wastewater at the Pelahatchie lagoon.
On April 13, the state Permit Board, a separate body from the commission, revoked Gold Coast’s permit to dispose of its wastewater in Pelahatchie and the company filed a challenge on April 16 in Hinds County Chancery Court .
A judge’s order moved Gold Coast’s challenge to Rankin County, where Gold Coast does its business.
The company is now disposing of its wastewater in Memphis, Tennessee after the commission and the Permit Board ordered it to stop using its Pelahatchie lagoon.
