Watts Bar lake resort owners agree to settle suit against plants' operators

Watts Bar lake resort owners agree
to settle suit against plants' operators

By Frank Munger
News-Sentinel Oak Ridge bureau

"I believe this settlement is in the best interest of all the parties. These persons, these marinas, were certainly deserving under the circumstances. But it is probably in their best interest to get past this. ... This will give them a better chance to look to the future."

Bill Vines
Lawyer for Watts Bar property owners

OAK RIDGE - A tentative out-of court settlement has been reached in the federal lawsuit filed by Watts Bar Lake resort owners, who claimed that pollution from the upstream nuclear facilities in Oak Ridge and the perception of health risks had undercut the lake's tourist trade and reduced property values.

The agreement was reached between lawyers representing the resorts and those representing Martin Marietta and Union Carbide – the present and past operators of the government plants in Oak Ridge. The trial was scheduled to start Monday in U.S. District Court in Knoxville and expected to last more than a month.

While complete terms were not announced Thursday, the lake resorts reportedly will receive more than $2 million in the settlement. The Department of Energy, which must approve the settlement, is committed to pay the contractors' legal costs associated with the lawsuit.

Bill Vines, a lawyer for the Watts Bar property owners, said "procedures" still must be worked out to complete the agreement, but he added: "We feel that a settlement has been reached ... No one is anticipating any difficulty." The agreement may be slow to complete somewhat because two of the nine resorts associated with the suit are currently in bankruptcy proceedings.

Vines said the out-of-court settlement was negotiated over several weeks.

"I believe this settlement is in the best interest of all the parties," he said. "These persons, these marinas, were certainly deserving under the circumstances. But it is probably in their best interest to get past this . . . .This will give them a better chance to look to the future."

Carol Grametbauer, a spokeswoman for Martin Marietta Energy Systems, said the company was not ready to comment, although several Martin Marietta employees confirmed that a preliminary settlement had been reached in the case. Union Carbide's lawyers were unavailable.

Marilyn Jakobsen, one of the owners of Euchee Marina and a spokeswoman for the property owners who filed the lawsuit nearly three years ago, said the settlement - if approved - would help some Watts Bar businesses recover financially.

"Of course we didn't get nearly what the suit was asking, but it's going to be enough to help the people most badly hurt," Jakobsen said. "We're delighted."

The lawsuit had sought more than $20 million in damages from Union Carbine and Martin Marietta.

Vines and Jakobsen said it was important now to change the public's perception of Watts Bar Lake.

"Frankly, we have to convince the public that Martin Marietta and Union Carbide are serious when they say the lake is in good shape and that there's no reason why people shouldn't use it," Jakobsen said.

Martin Marietta apparently is poised to release a new study that shows little, if any, risk associated with use of the lake. The latest results reportedly indicate the water in the lower end of the lake meets drinking standards.

Jakobsen said many questions about the lake's pollution have been answered in the three years since the lawsuit was filed.