DT
PC
ATTORNE:YS&COUNSELORS
Dallas
I
Houston
I
Austin
March
15,2012
ViaFacsi
mi/e(214)
670-0622Electronic.Ma
il
chris.bowerS@da/lascitvltalLcom
&
james.mcguire(ji)dal/ascitrltal/.com
ChristopherBowersFirstAssistantCityAttorney
City
Of
Dallas1500MarillaRm7DN
Dallas,TX7520I
JamesB.M
cGu
ireAssistantCityAttorney
City
of
Dallas1500MarillaStreet7BN
Dallas,TX75201
Re:ColumbiaPackingCo.,Inc.
DearCounsel:
3800LincffinPfaza
SO
;}
N.
AKard
StreetDallas.
Texas75
201-13£59
'-fa
in
£1
4855
.7500
Fax
214.855.75<34
AmyRickers
Writer
's
DirectDial:214.880.7692
E-Mail:aric
k=
@munscl1com
DirectFax:
214.978A339
IreceivedyourcorrespondencefromMarchColumbiaPackingCo.,Inc.
("
Columbia")doesnotobjecttothe
City's
appropriateregulatorye
nf
orcementeff
orts
toprotectthepublic.Infact,inresponsetotheCi
ty's
claimsregardingallegedlyillicitdischargesandpurported
publichealth
or
environmentalviolationsColumbiaestablishedtheCity
's
allegationsofintentional
wrongdoingbyColumbiaareunfounded.
TIle
Cityhasnowecl
ip
seditse
nf
orcementauthorityinthis
matterandbeganharassingColumbiabyfabricatinghypotheticalconcernswithnobasisfor
establishingaviolation
of
applicablecodes,awellasd
ema
ndingaresponsefromColumbia
extendingbeyondanyreasonable
enf
orcementauthority
of
theCity
of
Dallas.Specifically,theCity'Srequestforacomprehensivereportisexcessiveandunnecessary.Despiteyour
contrary
contentionacomprehensivereportwouldnot"assuage[Columbia
's
legitim
at
e]worriesthattheCity
is
'hidingthe
ball'
inanefforttodelayColumbia'sabilitytocomply;"rather,theonlywaytoassuage
Columbia's
concernsisfortheCitytoprovideacompletedetailedandfinal
list
of
concernstheCityrequirestobeaddressed.Columbiahasbeencooperativeinrepeatedly
supplyinginformationtotheCity.H
owe
ver,theCityhasprovidednobasisforrequiringthe
informationdemandedinthecomprehensivereport.Further,theCity'srequestfor"acomprehensive
Bowersandi"1cGuire
March
15,
2012
2
reportdetailingcurrentandhistoricalconditionsthefacility"isoverreachingandunnecessarytoanevaluation
of
thecurrentsituation.IftheCityhasspecificquestionsitshouldsubmitthemtoColumbia.IfCitydoesnothavespecificquestions,itshouldsimplyadmitColumbiahasconclusivelyandcomprehensivelycuredallallegedviolationsatsiteandhasdocumentedsuchtotheCitymultipletimes.TheCity'sconstantportrayalColumbiaasanuncooperativeandunresponsiveentityisfactuallyincorrectandoffensive.Specifically,theCity'sclaimsthatColumbiahasnotactedingoodfaithorevendonethebareminimumtoaddressallegedcodeviolationsissimplyuntrue.ColumbiahastakenextensivemeasuretoaddressCityallegations.ColumbiaappliedforandobtainedapermittobeginresolvingthismatterasearlyasJanuary20,2012;threedayslater,Columbia's
permit
wasinspectedandtheworkwasverifiedcomplete.Thereafter,at
a
meetingwithCitypersonnelonJanuary25,
201
onedayafterreceivingcorrespondencewiththeCity'sfirstlist
of
issues,CityRepresentativesexpresslyacknowledgedthatColumbiahad.infact,addressedmany
of
theCity'sconcerns.ColumbiahascontinuedtoquicklytakeextensiveactiontoaddressCityconcernsateachtumandwitheachnewallegation.
Furthermore,
anyperception
ofa
piecemealapproachtocompliancestemsfromthe
fact
that,onceColumbiaaddressestheCity'snotedissues,theCityprovidesanewlist
of
previouslyunidentifiedissues.Fromthebeginning
of
thisprocess,Columbiahasrequested
a
comprehensiveletterlistingtheCity
of
Dallas'sallegedviolationsatthefacility.whichtheCityhasrefusedtoprovide.alwaysreservingconcernsandrelayingadditionalliststhatColumbiamustanddoesresolveandwhichthenrequireadditionaldocumentationandinspections.Notably,ColumbiahasrequestedgroupmeetingswithannecessaryCitypersonneltoensureallconcernsarecollectively,efficiently,andcompletelyaddressed;theCity
of
DallasdeniedColumbia'smostrecentrequestforsuchameeting.constant
mischaracterization
Columbia'sbut
Columbia
is
ottensrve,
Bowersand
McGuire
2012
anythingunderlyingthemetalplate.Columbia,thesameafternoon,exposedentirety
of
underlyingpipeforinspectionby
tile
City
of
Dallasandrevealedtherewas
nol:hirlg
flowingthroughthepipeforquitesometime.Thereisnodocumentation
of
theabandonedpipeonanyformssubmittedtotheCity
of
Dallasbecause,aswasverifiedbytheCity
of
Dallas,pipingwas
not
usedasaconveyance.Infact,pipewasnotconnectedtoanyconveyance.
It
was,quitesimply,anabandonedportion
of
pipe,compactedatmultiplepointswithdirtandbrick,incapable
of
conveyingany
flow,
allfactsverifiedbyCity
personnel.
It
isnotnecessarytodocumentpipingthatisnotinuseonanyschematics
or
formsdepictingactivepiping,
nor
is
it
aviolation
of
anyDallasCityCodetohaveabandonedpipingwhichdoesnotconveywastewaterunderyou
facility.
Furthermore,
Columbiadidnot
refuse
toinformitsengineer
of
thepipingbutratherassertedthatsuch
information
doesnottheschematicsdepictingactiveplumbingontheproperty.Infootnote
1
toyourMarch
2012
letteryouindicatethatColumbia'sresponsetoyourrequestforanengineertocertifytherearenomore"unknown"pipesonthepropertyimpliesthatthere
are
additionalpipes.However,myFebruary
24,2012
correspondencecontinuesontonotethattherearenootherknownconnectedorunconnectedpipesonfacility.Thisinformation,combinedwiththefactthattheCity,alongwith
Columbia,
has
videoed
anddyetestedan
lines
anddischargepointsatthefacilityclearlyestablishesthelack
of
crossconnectionsorpotentialdischargelines.ColumbiahasneveraskedtheCitytorelyon"blindtrust"regardingColumbia'srepresentationstotheCityandhasinfactdoneeverythingitcantomakethepropertyavailableforinspectionandreviewbyCityinspectors.
However,
theCityisconstantly,butunreasonably,demandingadditional
confirmation,
requiringmultipletapingsandtestingandrepeatedinspections
of
areasalreadyreviewed.ColumbianotonceduringprocessrefusedaInspectoraccesstoarea
of
propertyandbeenwillingtoprovideallavailablerecordsapplicabletoCity
's
concerns.
It
is
hardtoamorecooperativeandtobelievewhat
own
haveanditis
refusal
tobelieveColumbia
offered
to
undertake
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Columbia Packing attorney accuses Dallas officials of harassment
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