|
|
CASE DOCKET
Air
Water
Other
Earthjustice is working on
many cases across the country and worldwide
to keep
our air and
 water
clean. Below is a list of our current cases.
 |
Air Cases |
AGRICULTURAL AIR
POLLUTION Earthjustice is challenging EPA’s new permitting
system that would allow farmers to underreport their air pollution
emissions to
escape regulation. This case is part of a series of lawsuits
aiming to end California
longstanding
exemption of agri-business from any
regulation under the Clean Air Act.
BRICK KILNS
We have filed a lawsuit against the EPA for setting inadequate emission
standards for brick and clay kilns. Each year, brick and clay kilns emit
over 6,500 tons
of heavy metals and toxic gases into the atmosphere.
DUST AND SOOT
POLLUTION Earthjustice is challenging EPA’s approval of
inadequate dust control regulations in California’s Central Valley. Dust
and other
particulate matter contribute to more than 1200 deaths every
year in California.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE FOR MOSSVILLE, LA
Our attorneys in our International
Program are seeking action before the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights to
gain justice for residents of a small African-American community poisoned
by industrial
facilities. The concentration of refineries and other polluting
facilities in and around
Mossville are among the highest in the country.
IMPERIAL VALLEY AIR
POLLUTION Earthjustice is challenging EPA’s decision to
exempt
California’s Imperial Valley from meeting clean air requirements. The
agency claims that Mexico is to blame for the region’s poor air quality,
but
Earthjustice contends the area would have failed to meet the standards
even
without pollution from Mexico’s.
INCREASING PUBLIC
TRANSPORTATION Earthjustice is suing the Bay Area’s
Metropolitan Transportation Commission for failing to meet Clean Air Act
obligations to increase ridership in the public transit system. The Bay
Area has
seen a 30 percent increase in population over the past twenty
years, but only a
modest increase in the number of people who use mass
transit. Moving people
from their cars onto public transit is a critical
method of reducing air pollution
throughout the nation.
KEEPING CLEAN AREAS
CLEAN Earthjustice is filing a petition to force the EPA to
obey a 13-year old court order that requires it to regulate nitrogen
oxide, one of the
precursors to smog, in areas that currently meet clean
air act requirements. EPA has
the duty to protect areas with good air
quality from deteriorating, but it currently
has no plan to prevent that
from happening.
MARINE DIESEL POLLUTION
We are challenging EPA’s
approval of an air
pollution regulation that fails to curb pollution
emissions from US and foreign ships
sailing in US waters and docking at US
ports. Oil tankers, cruise ships, and cargo
vessels use extremely dirty
diesel fuel, which emits vast amounts of air pollution
in port and coastal
cities.
MOBILE SOURCE AIR
TOXICS We have notified EPA of our intent to file a lawsuit
over its failure to make promised improvements in its emission standards
for the
cancer-causing pollution that comes from cars and trucks.
Currently, they spew
over one million tons of toxic air pollution each
year; with the application of currently
available technology these
emissions could be drastically reduced.
NEW SOURCE REVIEW
We are challenging the Bush administration’s decision to
weaken
key Clean Air Act safeguards and allow polluting facilities to increase
harmful
emissions without installing up-to-date pollution controls.
NEW YORK CITY SMOG Earthjustice is challenging EPA actions that weaken anti-
smog
requirements for New York City, where air pollution poses a special risk
to
more than half a million people with asthma.
OHIO AIR POLLUTION We are challenging EPA’s failure to properly regulate Ohio’s air
pollution. Ohio is allowing old polluting facilities to operate without
the proper permits,
and the EPA has not stepped in take over the state’s
clean air program as required by
the law.
OIL INDUSTRY
EXEMPTION We are intervening in an oil industry challenge to
EPA’s decision to end its exemption from the Clean Air Act. In response to
an earlier
Earthjustice
lawsuit, the EPA struck down exemptions that would
have exempted all
facilities west of California’s Highway 5 from following
clean air regulations, even
though the region has three of the top four
most polluted areas in the nation.
STEEL MILLS
Earthjustice has sued the EPA for setting inadequate air pollution limits
for steel mills. Even while the more advanced mills are taking steps to
clean up their
toxic emissions, EPA’s standards will allow the laggards to
continue pumping tons
upon tons of toxic metals into the air.
WASHINGTON DC SMOG We are challenging the EPA’s decision to delay stronger
clean air
requirements in Washington, DC, even though the nation’s capital suffers
from some of the worst smog levels in the country. In 2002 alone, DC
suffered from
36 days of unhealthy air when children were warned to limit
outdoor play.
WASTE INCINERATORS
We are challenging EPA’s failure to set emission standards
for a variety
of incinerator categories, including sewage sludge incinerators, municipal
waste combustors, agricultural waste incinerators, and residential waste
incinerators.
These incinerators emit highly toxic pollution and tend to
be located in or near
residential areas.
 |
Water Cases |
AGUAS DEL TUNARI v. BOLIVIA We are intervening in a
case filed by Aguas
del Tunari, a subsidiary of Bechtel Inc., against
Bolivia for terminating a water
privatization contract. The company claims
to have lost profit when its water
rate hikes sparked massive public
protests that lead to the terminations of the
contract. The case is one of
several Earthjustice cases defending the right of
governments to protect
important public interests – like the right of all people
to water –
against corporate challenges made possible by new international
trade
rules.
ANACOSTIA WATER
POLLUTION We are litigating to clean up pollution in the
Anacostia River in Washington, DC. The river is currently so contaminated,
the
government advises residents to avoid swimming or fishing in its
waters.
FLORIDA
SEWAGE POLLUTION
Our attorneys in Tallahassee are
working to
stop the disposal of sewage sludge in areas that wash into Horse Creek,
Florida and
other nearby residential communities.
LAKE
OKEECHOBEE AND ST. JOHN'S RIVER POLLUTION
We are
challenging
the State of Florida's weak water quality standards for Lake Okeechobee
and St. John's
River. Lake Okeechobee is the nation's second largest freshwater
lake and is suffering
from agricultural run-off and other pollutants.
MAUI DRINKING WATER
Earthjustice is working to
protect the `Iao and Waihe`e
Aquifers, the principal source of drinking
water for Central and South Maui, by
moving water management from
ineffective county control to responsible state
management. Both aquifers
are in danger of being overdrawn and polluted.
METHANEX v. UNITED STATES We are intervening in a
case filed by a Canadian
corporation demanding one billion dollars in
compensation for profits it believes
it will lose when California bans MTBE, a toxic gasoline additive made with the
company’s product that
contaminated vast groundwater reserves in California.
Claims like these
discourage governments from taking action to protect public health.
OIL SPILL RULE Earthjustice is intervening in two cases filed by the oil industry
challenging the Clean Water Act’s oil spill regulations. Developers want
the regulations
to only apply to waterways that can support boats or
ships. If they win, more than
half of the nation’s waterways will be at
risk of increased pollution.
SIERRA LOGGING WAIVER We are suing the Central Valley Regional Water Board
for granting the
logging industry an exemption from the California Environmental
Quality
Act. The exemption would allow logging companies to discharge sediments,
pesticides, and other pollutants into one of the most important watersheds
for
California’s drinking water.
WETLANDS AND STREAMS We are intervening to oppose an industry suit against a
Clean Water Act
rule that protects streams and wetlands. Developers, miners, and
others
want to damage and even destroy these precious waters without following
the safeguards required by the Clean Water Act.
 |
Other Cases |
BIOPHARMING IN HAWAI`I
Earthjustice attorneys in Honolulu are filing a suit to
force the U.S. Department of Agriculture to comply with environmental laws
in regulating
and testing genetically engineered crops that produce pharmaceuticals and
other chemicals.
Current regulations are inadequate in protecting public health.
CRUISE SHIP POLLUTION
Earthjustice is challenging Hawai`i’s decision to allow
cruise ships to dock at Moloka`i, an island
ill-equipped to handle the vast amounts
of visitors and pollution the
cruise industry would bring.
TOXIC
SHIPS
Earthjustice
is challenging the US government's decision to send a fleet
of old decaying ships contaminated with PCBs, asbestos, and old fuel oil
to be recycled in
the UK. Environmental groups are questioning the safety of
transporting toxic ships
across the ocean, and US ship recyclers are questioning the decision
to send the ships to
the UK when it can be safely recycled here.
PLAN COLUMBIA Working with the Inter-American
Association for Environmental
Defense (AIDA), Earthjustice is challenging
a US-financed program to destroy illegal
coca and poppy crops by spraying
potent herbicides throughout Colombia. The spraying
contaminates water,
jeopardizes health in poor and indigenous communities, and
destroys unique
and fragile ecosystems in Columbia.
US TRADE NEGOTIATIONS Earthjustice has filed
lawsuits to force the US Trade
Representative to disclose proposals made
in secretive international trade
negotiations over rules affecting human
health and the environment. Past
experience has shown that without public
oversight – which requires access to
documents like these – negotiators
often ignore environmental and labor
considerations.
|
donate