By Pacific Island Times News Staff
Guam Waterworks Authority (GWA) filed a motion to stay in the Superior Court of Guam, seeking to prevent the court from further action on a lawsuit involving the Northern District Wastewater Treatment Plant pending appeal of a recent ruling rejecting GWA’s motion for summary judgment.
The case was filed originally by the government of Guam, alleging that Core Tech International obtained GWA's land through foreclosure, obstructing the public’s right to the land.
“The Northern District Wastewater Treatment Plant is owned by the public and has never been owned by a private party,” said Miguel Bordallo, GWA general manager. “CTI’s assertion of any ownership to this property is wholly inaccurate.”
Since 1980, when the land was leased from the United States and the plant was put into operation, the property the plant occupies has been reserved by law for public benefit use, specifically “for the construction, installation, maintenance, operation, repair and replacement of a Wastewater Treatment Plant and sewer lines”, according to the 1980 General Purpose Lease Agreement between the United States and the government of Guam.
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CTI has filed against GWA for $220 million in inverse condemnation claims but has never owned an interest in the government property, the public use of which has been well-documented through public laws, adopted land use plans, and Federal and Government of Guam land and lease agreements.
“The government of Guam and GWA will continue to protect the interest of the public by ensuring the plant continues to provide vital wastewater services to the people of Guam, and is asking the Supreme Court to clarify the law, reverse the lower Court’s decision and effectively dismiss the case,” said Bordallo.
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