Brown County Judge Marc Hammer ruled against the Oneida Seven Generations Corporation in a lawsuit against the city of Green Bay over the rescinding of a conditional use permit for a waste-to-energy facility. In circuit court Wednesday, OSGC claimed that the city had no authority to pull the permit since they did not violate the permit. However the city argued, and the judge agreed, that OSGC made misrepresentations about the west-side plant in attaining the permit.
Oneida Seven Generations Corp. CEO Kevin Cornelius made several statements about no emissions and no smokestacks that Judge Walsh felt were wrong. The judge also took issue of a OSG’s artist rendering of what the building could look like. The picture featured no smokestacks or exhaust pipes as OSG would later call them.
Attorneys with OSGC implied during court that if the city’s actions were upheld, they would seek damages in a separate lawsuit. That figure is reported to be between $4 and $5 million. OSG lawyers also hinted at a possible appeal after the ruling.
Oneida Seven Generations is the economic development arm for the Oneida Tribe. Tribal Councilman Ed Delgado spoke briefly afterwards. “The Oneida Tribe values and will continues to value it’s relationship with the city of Green Bay and people of Green Bay. We are obviously disappointed and we will consider our options as we go forward,” said Delgado.
WTAQ