A settlement agreement has been reached between the city of Manitowoc and the Newell Operating Company for the Newton Gravel Pit site.
The Mutual Release and Covenant Not to Sue Agreement was approved unanimously by the common council. According to the city documents, Manitowoc and Newell are considered responsible for the contamination at the former Gravel Pit by the Wisconsin DNR.
The agreement allows both the city and the company to resolve their dispute concerning the liability of costs through the year 2022.
Some parts of the agreement include Manitowoc not suing the Newell Operating Company from past claims.
The same would go for the company.
City Attorney Eric Nycz explained, “The agreement calls for Newell to pay the city $1,416,482.50 to settle all disputes between Newell Operating Company and the city of Manitowoc regarding 2022 costs.”
Nycz explained that it’s only for 2022 costs and not for the past two years.
There was also a concern to get this done prior to any court action taken because it could take a long time and it’s not known what the city would have got in return.
This is also separate from a water main installation project for water wells affected by contamination from the Newton Gravel Pit.
“The money that is in this cost settlement agreement, that will go towards continued remediation efforts in the future,” Nycz told SeehaferNews.com.
The new water main project could start before winter but would have to be finished in 2025.
