Mary DeVany Wins Appeal of Censure in Formaldehyde Case

Mary DeVany, the industrial hygienist who was the Sierra Club volunteer who gave us expert advice and testified in Congress regarding the flawed CDC study that indicated the formaldehyde levels found in the FEMA trailers were acceptable, recently won a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals victory for a censure from Federal Judge Englehardt.

Mary was chosen by the plaintiff attorneys to test more than five thousand FEMA trailers for the lawsuits by former FEMA trailer occupants against FEMA and the trailer manufacturers. Mary’s testing found very high levels of formaldehyde in the trailers in Hope, AR, Hattiesburg, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and other locations throughout the Gulf.

Englehardt has been extremely pro FEMA, pro trailer manufacturers, and pro formaldehyde (which should be no surprise as he is “very, very good friends” with the formaldehyde Senator, David Vitter). Englehardt summarily dismissed all the FEMA mobile home occupants from the lawsuits saying the mobile homes’ formaldehyde was regulated by HUD. This was after hundreds of tests had proven the high formaldehyde levels (and probably lack of compliance with the HUD rules) in the FEMA mobile homes. The judge also dismissed FEMA as a defendant, despite the proof that FEMA knew about the high formaldehyde levels early on, and conspired to cover it up.

Then the judge went after Mary, and gave her a censure for making a statement in a totally unrelated workman’s comp case in Washington State in which she made an error in describing the multi district FEMA cases. It was really bizarre that the defendant attorneys dug so deep into Mary’s background and this was the only thing they could find—something that really had no bearing whatsoever on the case.

When the judge gave the censure he knocked Mary out as a witness in the cases, saying if the plaintiff attorneys put her on, he would state that jurors should not trust her testimony. This action impacted not just these thousands of cases, but Mary’s career.

Mary fought back, filed an appeal, and the Fifth Circuit recently vacated the censure. Functionally (and legally), it is as though the order never happened. It is really, really wrong that Mary had to spend a large amount of money to fight off a federal judge appointed to the bench on the recommendation of the formaldehyde senator.

The Weeks Bay Principles for Gulf Recovery

On October 4-6, 2010, ninety-five people representing forty-six
community, local, regional, national and international environmental,
social justice, and fishermen’s groups met at the Beckwith Camp and
Conference Center on Weeks Bay, Alabama. Together, we drafted the
following set of goals and principles that we believe must guide the
recovery and restoration of the Gulf of Mexico, our coast and our
communities in the wake of the BP drilling disaster.


Our Collective Goal

Six months after the BP oil disaster began, the diverse communities that
live, work, and derive benefit from the Gulf call on government to take
responsibility to:
• Make coastal communities whole again;
• Commit to cleaning up and restoring the Gulf;
• Hold BP accountable;
• Ensure local participation in decision-making;
• Conduct short and long-term monitoring; and
• Invest in economic opportunities to support locally-driven, sustainable
recovery that restores and enhances America’s Gulf coast.

The oil is still here and so are we.


Fundamental Guidelines

In all of our work together we will be guided by the following axioms:
• Build confidence and trust
• Be inclusive
• Act and communicate with full transparency
• Ground decisions in science


Community Recovery

1. Growing and diverse constituencies of Gulf residents and organizations
recognize that the future of their livelihoods depends on Gulf
restoration. Seventy-three percent of voters in Gulf coast states
support comprehensive coastal restoration*.
2. The people of the Gulf coast whose way of life and livelihood has been
most affected by the BP disaster must have a seat at the decisionmaking
table.
3. Recovery and restoration efforts must create tens of thousands of
new jobs and provide economic opportunities to local communities,
particularly disadvantaged and distressed communities.
4. Recovery must put our communities to work restoring the Gulf and
building a healthy economy – leading America into a renewable
energy future.


Public Health

1. Tens of thousands of response workers, community members and
tourists have been exposed to oil and dispersants. There is a lack of
health care providers who are trained to identify and treat chemical
illnesses. We need the Center for Disease Control and National Institute
of Health to provide our local health care departments with the
training and resources to provide the needed health care.
2. There are still millions of gallons of oil and dispersants in the environment
– while officials tell us that the water and air are fine, people
continue to be concerned and report health symptoms. We need federal
funding for independent, ongoing and long-term monitoring of
our water, soil and air across all affected areas so we can be assured
if and when the environment is clean.
3. The Gulf Coast provides 86% of the U.S. shrimp harvest, and 56% of
the U.S. oyster harvest* – and we need better evidence that it’s safe.
Current monitoring is inadequate and does not test for toxic heavy
metals or dispersants. It does not protect our children or our most
vulnerable populations. We need the Food and Drug Administration to
set monitoring standards that can guarantee the safety of the food we
harvest and eat.


Coastal Restoration

1. The BP disaster is only the latest, most visible evidence of
environmental destruction that has been ongoing in the Gulf for
decades.
2. The government must act now to restore our coastal wetlands. A
healthy Gulf is a prosperous Gulf crucial to storm protection, fishing,
recreation, seafood and tourism – the cornerstones of the Gulf culture
and economy.
3. Eighty percent of the coastal wetlands lost in our country are lost in
the Gulf coast*. For example, Louisiana loses a football field of wetlands
every 45 minutes**, and 40% to 60% of that is attributed to oil
and gas activity***. BP and the oil and gas industry must pay their
fair share for coastal restoration.


Marine Recovery and Resiliency

1. The first step to recovery of the Gulf marine ecosystem is to identify
all sources of past, present and future environmental degradation, including
fully understanding the long-term impacts of the BP oil disaster.
Specific restoration initiatives, both short and long-term, must be
implemented to address all sources of marine injury.
2. Robust monitoring programs that fully disclose process and results, as
well as access to impacted areas, are critical for ensuring effective
restoration.
3. In order to restore the entire Gulf ecosystem, it is essential that the
off-shore environment receive its fair share of attention and funding
for recovery. Specific funding sources for this work must be provided
immediately.
4. Everything possible must be done to prevent offshore drilling disasters.
Reforms in policy, regulations, oversight, and enforcement are
urgently needed to prevent more drilling disasters and to guarantee
rapid, non-toxic and non-destructive response and cleanup when accidents
do occur. Policies must be implemented that transition the
Gulf region to a clean, renewable energy economy.

* Turner, R.E. 1997. Wetland loss in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: Multiple working hypotheses. Estuaries. 20:1-13
** Dahl, T.E. 2006. Status and trends of wetlands in the conterminous United States 1998 to 2004. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. p 54, Table 4.
*** Ko, Jae-Young, Impacts of Oil and Gas Activities on Coastal Wetlands Loss in the Mississippi Delta, Harter Research Institute. Also Penland, Shea, et al., Process Classification of Coastal Land Loss Between 1932 and 1990 in the Mississippi River Delta Plain, Southeastern Louisiana. (1990). U.S. Geological Survey, Open File Report 00-418.


Conclusion

The Weeks Bay Principles for Gulf Recovery present a unified vision that will
guide our work towards restored and healthy natural resources in the Gulf
of Mexico region that support Gulf communities and wildlife, the region’s
unique cultures, and the nation.


Drafting Organizations

Alabama Chapter, Sierra Club
Apalachicola Riverkeeper
Asian Americans for Change—
Gulf Coast Angels
Bayou Interfaith Shared Community Organizing (BISCO)
Delta Chapter (Louisiana), Sierra Club
Emerald Coastkeeper
Environment America
Equity and Inclusion Campaign
Galveston Baykeeper
Grand Bayou Community United
Greenpeace
Guardians of the Gulf
Gulf Islands Conservancy
Gulf Restoration Network
Joe Yerkes, Florida Fisherman
Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation
Louisiana Association of Family Fishermen
Louisiana Bayoukeeper
Louisiana Environmental Action Network
Louisiana Shrimpers Association
Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper
Mississippi Center for Justice
Mississippi Chapter, Sierra Club
Mobile Baykeeper
National Wildlife Federation
Natural Resources Defense Council
Oceana
Oxfam America
Sassafrass
Sierra Club Environmental Justice
and Community Partnership Program
South Bay Communities Alliance
South Walton Community Council
Southwings
Surfrider Foundation
Turkey Creek Community Initiative
Waterkeeper Alliance / Save Our Gulf

The Weeks Bay Principles for Gulf Recovery
Document prepared by:
Gulf Restoration Network
338 Baronne St, Suite 200
New Orleans, LA 70112
For more information, contact Gulf Restoration Network
at 504-525-1528 or info@healthygulf.org.

Louisiana Activists Tell EPA: "Get Tough on Coal Ash"

Between September 7th and 9th, a group of vibrant, energetic individuals from Louisiana traveled with Sierra Club organizers Jordan Macha and Devin Martin to Dallas, Texas. The group stayed at the prestigious Hyatt Hotel overlooking the Dallas skyline, dined on local Tex-Mex fare, and mingled with activists from across the South. The weather was not sunny--remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine passed over the city for most of the day, and a group of volunteers even witnessed a violent tornado touch down and rip across the city from their 18th floor hotel window. The purpose of the trip, however, was not to socialize, chat about the weather, and pass a good time, although that inevitably happens anytime Delta Chapter Sierra Club members get together. People assembled at the Hyatt to attend an EPA public hearing on the issue of coal ash--specifically, whether or not the EPA should officially label coal ash as a hazardous material and regulate the use and disposal of it on a federal level.

Coal ash is the leftover waste product of burning coal, and the U.S. produces tons of it--131 million tons a year, to be exact. About half of this is "recycled" into products like concrete, bricks, and other construction materials. The other half gets disposed of in landfills, mixed with water and put into impoundments (sludge ponds), or simply dumped into local waterways like the Mississippi River. This is possible because coal ash is currently less regulated than household trash. For years, the coal industry has tried to convince people that coal ash is no more dangerous than the rocks or soil in your backyard. But new research has confirmed what environmental and community activists have stated for years: coal ash is toxic, and in nearly every single case where it is disposed, it is threatening communities and the environment.

People living near coal ash disposal sites are exposed to an environmental hazard equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. Coal contains nearly every element on the periodic table, including lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, chromium and selenium. When coal is burned, the carbon matrix that normally buffers these heavy metals is combusted and released into the air, adding the greenhouse gas CO2 to our atmosphere and leaving behind a concentrated toxic waste. In 2008, a large impoundment storing wet coal ash broke, spilling millions of cubic feet of coal sludge across the area near Harriman, Tennessee. This event spurred many to reconsider how we treat coal ash.

Fourteen Louisiana volunteers, mostly students and recent graduates eager to create a better future for themselves and their neighbors, took to the stand on September 8th to urge the EPA to carry out its mission of protecting human and environmental health by regulating coal ash as a hazardous material at a federal level. They were joined by more than a hundred other Sierra Club volunteers and community activists from several states and used personal stories and new research to get their message across--that people and the environment come before profits. With 11 coal ash landfills in Louisiana alone, our activists had a lot to talk about, from environmental justice issues to the risk of bio-accumulation of heavy metals in in the fish and wildlife of "Sportman's Paradise." Sadly, not everyone at the hearing agreed with this message, as several coal and concrete industry officials presented rather unconvincing arguments as to why the EPA shouldn't or couldn't properly regulate coal ash--arguments that mostly centered around the assumption that health-saving regulation would have a negative impact on their profits. As one woman exclaimed, to the applause of dozens of people in the audience, "you guys are talking about profits, and I'm talking about people!"

This trip would not have been possible without the tremendous help of members of the Society for Peace, Environment, Action, and Knowledge (SPEAK), a University of Louisiana at Lafayette environmental group, as well as the enthusiasm of members of ReConnect at Southeastern Louisiana University. Also, the Sierra Club Beyond Coal campaign was more than generous to provide the travel, lodging, and even some meal expenses to give people to opportunity to speak out. Next time, we hope to see you among the people who take it upon themselves to speak for the health of our families and our planet.

Image credit: Alan Morin/Citizens Coal Council/Hoosier Environmental Council

Speak Out Against Dangerous Coal Ash!!

Do you think toxic waste from coal fired power plants should be treated just like household trash?

Neither do we.

Believe it or not, coal ash is not currently considered hazardous, even though it is laden with mercury and other heavy metals that contaminates our air and water supplies. But finally, after decades of waiting, the U.S. EPA is proposing to regulate coal ash as a toxic substance.

We want to make sure the EPA adopts these historic regulations. This is a crucial step to moving the US to a clean energy future.

We need your voice. Your personal comments will go a long way to help protect public health, the environment of your community, and usher in a clean energy economy.

The closest hearing to us in is in Dallas, so the Sierra Club will provide buses and accommodations - all you need to do is come along for the ride. It doesn't matter where you are located in the state - we'll figure out a way to get you there!

**All travel expenses will be covered by the Sierra Club**

We will leave Louisiana on Tuesday, September 7th and return the morning of Thursday, September 9th. There will be coordinated pick-up locations along I-10 and I-49.

If you're interested in coming along for the ride, or would like more information on how to make a comment, please contact me at jordan.macha@sierraclub.org or 504.861.4837. If you can't make the trip but would still like to send comments to the EPA, contact us and we can send you an email or postcards to do so.

Hope you can join us at this important event!

http://action.sierraclub.org/coalash_dallasLA

Sierra Club Gulf Coastal Monitoring Continues:

Barataria Bay

On Wednesday, July 21 a group consisting of representatives from Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, Sierra Club Delta Chapter, National Public Radio and the American Birding Association set out from eastern Grand Isle north into Barrataria Bay to make observations of then current conditions. We traveled to Queen Bess Island, Grand Terre Island, and Cat Island. These islands are rookeries for Pelicans, Egrets, Spoonbills and numerous others. Our observations took place at a time when active inundation of oil had subsided for the previous three weeks. So we did not see oil on the water but were able to see oiled vegetation in island shorelines and some partially oiled birds. Some oiled boom had been washed up into the shoreline but was being left there for later retrieval. Partially oiled boom surrounded sensitive parts of the islands. Bird population looked generally good to my inexperienced eye but we were advised that overall population was down about 15 percent and that the worst effects on population would occur in the reproductive cycle when newly fledged birds try to make it through oiled vegetation and inner pools of water that have not been well cleaned of oil. Grand Isle and Barataria Bay have been some of the areas most affected by BP oil.

Freshwater Bayou

On Saturday, July 24 another group consisting of eight volunteers set out in four canoes down Freshwater Bayou which is west of Atchafalaya Bay and Marsh Island. The group split up, two boats going east and two going west paddling for several miles in each direction along the gulf shore. The water was very smooth and conditions were unusually favorable for paddling on the gulf. No new oil or affected wildlife was observed during the outing. The monitoring trip in the area of Freshwater Bayou is an area that has been consistently monitored by Sierra Club Acadian Group and Water Sentinals volunteers since the time of the BP disaster. This area appears to be doing well in response to only very light oil.

The Deep-Water Drilling Moratorium

Documents prepared by the oil industry as environmental assessments for oil leases in deepwater show that blowout preventers have a predicted failure rate of 28 percent. Experience with blowout preventer malfunction on Deepwater Horizon and in numerous other cases bears this out. Conversations with working drillers indicate that the occurrence of well blowouts and near blowouts is much more frequent than generally reported. The willingness of big oil companies and workers to take these risks for big financial rewards does not mean that the rest of us should be willing to accept the same risks to devastation of our coastal waters and those portions of our economy and culture that depend on them. The drilling moratorium is a reasonable response by government to the BP oil disaster because many other deep water rigs are using the same technology that failed with Deepwater Horizon.

It is high time to evaluate the risks and our legal, regulatory and technical mechanisms for controlling that risk. The negative impact on local jobs is an unfortunate but unavoidable outcome to the necessary reassessment of the escalating risks of offshore oil development in deep water. Assumption by the oil industry of full financial responsibility in all cases would help to limit risk taking behavior and would encourage industry investment in safety technology. That is not the current situation. Currently the oil industry enjoys limits to its financial risk through a congressionally authorized $75 million cap on liability. So the taxpayers can be left holding the bag for substantial cleanup costs from large incidents. The taxpayers certainly have a right to regulatory control if they are expected to pay numerous and substantial tax subsidies for oil exploration and development as well as assume risk for cleanup costs. Indeed the failure of BP to invest in adequate technical capability to immediately stop the flow of oil from a deepwater incident clearly shows the need for more thorough government oversight and for greatly increased industry investment in safety.

This does not mean that we shouldn’t seek a timely conclusion or adjustment to the drilling moratorium. Louisiana jobs and the families they support are important to the economic health of our region. Unfortunately they have been caught up in a spiral of unchecked increase in risk for financial return. We think it is important to find a balance of financial liability and regulatory oversight that represents the interest of the taxpayers in protecting our coastal economy, cultures and environment from future oil disasters.

Haywood (Woody) Martin, Chair, Sierra Club Delta Chapter