United States v. Joint Meeting of Essex & Union Counties

997 F. Supp. 593, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10184, 1998 WL 111684
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedMarch 9, 1998
DocketNos. CIV. A. 89-3339, 94-4795(HAA)
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 997 F. Supp. 593 (United States v. Joint Meeting of Essex & Union Counties) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Joint Meeting of Essex & Union Counties, 997 F. Supp. 593, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10184, 1998 WL 111684 (D.N.J. 1998).

Opinion

OPINION

HAROLD A. ACKERMAN, District Judge.

This matter comes before the court on motions for summary judgment on behalf of both the plaintiffs, R.J. Longo d/b/a/ EPIC (“EPIC”) and Andrew Cappon, and the defendants, Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners (“PVSC”) and the Wheelabrator Defendants.1 For the reasons detailed below, plaintiffs’ motion is DENIED and defendants’ motion is GRANTED. After its failure in securing a wastewater treatment contract from PVSC, EPIC filed this action against PVSC and the vendor which was awarded the contract, Wheelabrator. The other plaintiff, Andrew Cappon is a resident taxpayer of the City of Newark and a PVSC ratepayer.

I. Terms Guide

In their papers, the parties have used a number of abbreviated terms and acronyms to refer to significant parties, events, and contract language. To remedy any potential confusion, I think it best to provide the reader with a guide to the terms used in this opinion. The parties involved are:

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In addition there are other terms of which the reader should be aware. These terms are:

II. Background

The facts of this case took place against the backdrop of a joint consent decree of which the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners (“PVSC”) became a part in 1989. Through the consent decree, six New Jersey sewerage authorities, including PVSC, were [596]*596required to cease ocean dumping and implement long-term alternative systems for land based sludge development. Ultimately, the decree envisioned the implementation of a long term alternative, but in the meantime, it .permitted PVSC to enter interim contracts for the management of sewerage sludge. In 1995, this court entered a modified consent decree adopting “beneficial use” as the long-term alternative. Additionally, the modified consent decree required that the procurement process be conducted under the New Jersey Wastewater Treatment Privatization Act, N.J.S.A 58:27-1 and guaranteed that this court would “retain jurisdiction to enforce [its] terms and conditions.”

PVSC initiated the procurement process in which it eventually awarded the contract to the defendant, Wheelabrator. Subsequently, EPIC filed a complaint against PVSC and the Wheelabrator companies alleging violations of the Water Treatment Privatization Act, breach of contract, tortious interference, and legal impossibility. See PVSC Appendix at Ex. 1 (copy of Complaint, Counts One through Four). The ease was removed to federal court.

Because the Wastewater Treatment Privatization controlled this situation, it is important to understand the process established by the Act. The Act creates a “comprehensive procedure designed to authorize local government units to contract with private firms for the provision of wastewater treatment services.” N.J.S.A. § 58:27-5. Under the Act, the PVSC must follow the following procedural steps:

1. Publish notice of its intent to contract, (N.J.S.A. § 58:27-5);
2. Issue a Request for Qualifications (“RFQ”) of vendors interested in providing their services (Id at 58:27-6);
3. After reviewing the qualifications submitted by vendors, establish a list of responding vendors and designate those vendors which are qualified to provide the wastewater treatment service, (Id at 58:27-7);
4. Transmit a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) to the qualified vendors, which shall include a detailed description of the wastewater treatment system and services required, the format and procedure to be followed ..., the specific information which the vendor must provide in the proposals, a statement setting forth the relative importance of factors, including cost, which the contracting unit will consider in evaluating a proposal submitted by a qualified vendor, and any other information which the contracting unit deems appropriate ... (Id at 58:27-8);
5. Review proposals submitted by vendors and if provided for in the RFP, conduct discussions with qualified vendors to clarify any information submitted in the proposal, (Id at 58:27-9);
6. Designate the selected vendor and include a list of qualified vendors, the basis on which the selected vendor was chosen, and a finding that the selected vendor’s proposal is the most advantageous, (Id at 58:27-10);
7. Negotiate with the selected vendor and publish proposed contract, (Id at 58:27-11);
8. Conduct public hearing and comment, (Id at 58:27-12);
9. Approval of the proposal contract by certain state agencies: the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for environmental and water quality standards and Division of Local Government Services for the fiscal and financial capabilities of the contracting unit, (Id at 58:27-13); and
10. Award of the negotiated contract after approval.

In 1993, PVSC published its RFQ pursuant to the Privatization Act. The RFQ “solicited Statements of Qualifications (“SOQ’s”) from companies who have the financial and technical resources to provide comprehensive sludge management services for a Sludge Management System,” the “primary goal” being to “develop a cost-effective and environmentally responsible land-based alternative for the sludge produced by PVSC.” [597]*597Coles Deel., Ex. 6 (copy of RFQ § 1.0). The RFQ further stated that:

The Vendor may propose a system with a capacity from one dt/d increment to the entire sludge production of PVSC. A single vendor may propose a system which consists of multiple increments with different technologies [as] long as each technology is sized to accept a minimum increment of 50 dt/d. Id.

On October 4, 1993, the defendant Waste Management of North Jersey, Inc. (“WMNJ”) submitted its Statement of Qualifications (“SOQ”). The SOQ identifies WMNJ as the “Primary Respondent” and Bio-Gro Systems, Inc. as the “Primary Vendor.” Subsequently, Bio-Gro changed its name to Wheelabrator Clean Water Systems. Inc. (‘WCWS”).2 WMNJ’s SOQ indicated that it intended to make proposals based upon “multiple alternatives for beneficial use and recycling of sludge.” Wheelabrator Br. at 12. These technologies included:

1. BIO*FIX Alkaline Stabilization
2. Swiss Combi Thermal Pelletization
3. Land Application Reclamation, and
4. Reclamation and IPS Composting.

Id

To assist in the procurement process, PVSC hired Malcolm Piraie, Inc. (“MPI”) for engineering consulting services. See PVSC Rule 56.1 Statement at ¶¶ 18-19. MPI played a significant role in evaluating the proposals. On July 13, 1994, based upon MPI’s recommendation, PVSC designated twenty vendors as qualified to submit proposals. PVSC required that each proposal be submitted on a stand-alone basis, i.e. a separate proposal for each technology. Of the twenty vendors, only EPIC and WMNJ requested and obtained permission to submit proposals for more than one technology.

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997 F. Supp. 593, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10184, 1998 WL 111684, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-joint-meeting-of-essex-union-counties-njd-1998.