BNSF Railway, Coal Shippers Receive Notice of Intent to Sue
for Coal Contamination in Waterways. Coal export proposals would worsen existing water pollution.
The Sierra Club and its partners, represented by the Law Offices of Charlie Tebbutt, sent a 60-day notice of intent to sue to Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) and several coal companies for violations of the federal Clean Water Act. The Sierra Club, Puget Soundkeeper, Columbia Riverkeeper, RE Sources for Sustainable Communities, and Friends of the Columbia Gorge have found evidence that the companies are responsible for emitting coal into waterways in many locations across Washington. By BNSF’s own figures, the four daily coal trains travelling through Washington heading to Canada or to the state’s last remaining coal plant combine to lose a staggering 120 tons of coal dust per day. Local residents and conservation groups are concerned that the problem will only worsen if coal companies receive approval to move forward with their hotly contested plan to develop five coal export sites in Washington and Oregon, which could send an additional 60 trains through Washington daily.
Read the Oregonian article, April 2, 2013 . . . Read the press release . . .
Groups File Lawsuits to Stop Groundwater Pollution From Industrial Dairies; Citizens React to Dairies' Failure to Change Practices and Regulators' Wait-and-see Approach.
Community Association for Restoration of the Environment (CARE) and the Center for Food Safety (CFS), represented by Public Justice, P.C., Law Offices of Charles M. Tebbutt, and the Center for Food Safety, jointly filed lawsuits in federal court against four major Yakima Valley industrial dairies for violating critical environmental protection laws. The groups charged that the violations present a dangerous threat to the health of Yakima Valley's residents and to the environment. Of chief concern is the leaking and overapplied manure which causes nitrates, antibiotics, and other pollutants to enter into nearby soils and drinking water. These lawsuits allege that the dairies are a major public health and environmental threat. A 2012 EPA study showed that 20 percent of the 331 wells tested in the Yakima Valley had nitrate levels above federal drinking water standards. Read the press release . . .
Read the Cow Palace Complaint (8 MB) . . .
Read the Yakima Herald Article, Feb. 15. 2013 . . .
Note: CARE, represented by Tebbutt, has worked for over a decade to get federal and state agencies to hold the CAFOs accountable for water and air pollution.
Sierra Club Reaches Legal Settlement Obligating Utilities to Clean Up Water Pollution from Coal Facilities.
"On March 28, 2012, the Sierra Club, represented by the Law Offices of Charlie Tebbutt (and others), lodged a Consent Decree in the federal district court in New Mexico with the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) and the San Juan Coal Company (a subsidiary of BHP Billiton). The Decree is the result of a 2010 lawsuit which alleged that the companies were contaminating surface and ground water with toxic heavy metals as a result of their disposal practices of coal combustion waste. The Decree obligates the companies to spend approximately $8 million dollars on structural improvements designed to prevent the migration of pollutants to the San Juan River. The companies will also have to pay for other environmental remediation projects, as well as identifying and addressing ongoing pollution sources. “This settlement will help clean up northern New Mexico’s water after years of exposure to pollution from the San Juan Generating Station and coal mine,” said Nellis Kennedy-Howard, of Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign. Read the Consent Decree. . . Read the Press Release. . .
Welcome to the Law Offices of Charlie Tebbutt.
Charlie is an environmental lawyer who assists communities, organizations, tribes, unions and individuals across the United States in protecting themselves and their members from industrial pollution and chemical injury and has done so for over 20 years. Through litigation, negotiation, and grassroots campaign building, Charlie helps his clients enforce our nation’s environmental laws and hold polluters and regulatory agencies accountable.
During his career at the Western Environmental Law Center, the Atlantic States Legal Foundation, and in private practice, Charlie has brought citizen suit and toxic tort cases concerning pollution and chemical exposure against dozens of Fortune 500 companies in more than 20 states enforcing a broad spectrum of environmental laws. Charlie has experience with many environmental statutes, including the Clean Water Act (CWA), Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), Clean Air Act (CAA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), Emergency Planning and Community Right To Know Act (EPCRA), and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
| Recent cases include actions against BP and Transocean for the Gulf disaster, large concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), an EPA rule that improperly attempted to exempt pesticide discharges from Clean Water Act compliance, and the coal mining industry. Charlie also represents victims of toxic chemical exposure seeking compensation for and relief from their injuries. |
Charlie with John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry on
This Moment on Earth booktour. |
In Charlie's words "I advocate to give voice to the people whose voices are ignored or not heard and to the natural systems that have no voice."
Check out our Urgent Issues page for news and links on pressing, national environmental issues.
To inquire about legal assistance, please contact Charlie at info@charlietebbutt.com or call 541-344-3505.
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