The Umstead Coalition's contested trial to restore the 50-year Sunset Clause and protective buffers was held over 6 days on June 18, 19,  20,  24, 26 and July 1.  The court venue:  The Office of Administrative Hearings,  Admirative Law Judge van der Vaart assigned himself to the case.

BIG thank-you for all of you who came to court and showed your support!

Current status:  The Umstead Coalition's case was strong and we presented a solid, convincing case full of compelling evidence.  DEQ threw at us 80,000 pages of Discovery hoping we won't find the 'gems'  but we could not be fooled by this stunt!  We now await the transcripts, after which which the judge has asked each side to write a draft order (ruling) for him to consider.  The judge does not have any deadline upon which to issue his decision.  Either (or both) sides has the right to appeal his decisions to Wake County Superior Court.  

More: After six years of DEQ-Mining staff telling us (incorrectly) we could not appeal the loss of the 50 year sunset clause and park protection buffers done in secret in March 2018, huge citizen response (big thanks to all of you!), court filings, overcoming several "Motions to Dismiss" our case, being sent back and forth to different courts, filings and hearings to try to get to court — we finally got a contested trial on the merits of our case!

In this trial, Wake Stone is not a party to the case - their lawyers were allowed to argue the case. It was the Attorney General (AG) lawyers defending DEQ vs the Umstead Coalition lawyers defending our Park.

- Dr. Jean Spooner, Chair, The Umstead Coalition