A settlement may be near in the Environmental Protection Agency’s lawsuit against Nashville entrepreneur Rich Roberts.
The EPA sued Roberts in September, seeking potentially huge civil penalties against him for constructing a large dam on farm land he owns in Humphreys County. Roberts built it without state or federal permits, and EPA said he then defied an order to restore the property’s wetlands and streams.
In a motion filed yesterday with Nashville's U.S. District Court, government attorneys reported that the two sides met earlier this week "to discuss a potential resolution of this action without the need for further litigation" and that the meeting was "productive." The filing said EPA plans to put a settlement proposal in front of Roberts by early December.
"The United States is hopeful that the current discussions will result in the settlement of the claims against defendant," the motion said. Proceedings in the case are on hold pending the result of the talks.
Former Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner J.W. Luna of Nashville is Roberts' lawyer. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa S. Rivera is the feds' local counsel in the case, with lawyers from the Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice.
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