Today is Earth Day 2008! On Earth Day, we are bombarded by messages that talk about the need to protect and conserve our planet. We hear about groups of school children starting recycling programs in their communities, or new technologies that create less pollution or assists us with cleaning up old problems. What you don't usually hear about is one of the most effective tools we have in this country to protect our environment: The Civil Justice System.
A report released earlier this year, by The Center for Justice & Democracy, details many situations where private citizens brought civil cases and made polluters clean up their mess. One of the cases highlighted is the "Love Canal" case:
In the early 1970's, a young mother named Lois Gibbs became concerned by her children's recurring illnesses, including rashes, respiratory difficulties and a serious blood disorder. She began talking to her neighbors about it, and her informal survey suggested that there were a high number of babies with birth defects in homes near Love Canal on the outskirts of the City of Niagara Falls, New York. This spurred the State Department of Health to study the area.
Between 1942 and 1952, Hooker Chemicals & Plastics Corp. buried more than 21,000 tons of hazardous chemical wastes in a 3,000-feet long trough called Love Canal. Over the next 20 years, chemicals from the site seeped into people's basements, contaminating underground sewer pipes and soil, and polluting the indoor air. The Department found an unusually high number of miscarriages among women living near Love Canal, and an elevated number of birth defects - including cleft palate, deformed ears and teeth, and other significant abnormalities. Approximately 950 families were evacuated from a 10-square block surrounding the landfill.
By February 1982, more than 600 personal injury cases had been filed against Hooker (which was bought by Occidental Chemical Co.). In January 1985, 1,336 residents agreed to a $20 million settlement with Occidental that established a $1 million medical trust fund. Thirteen years later, the last of the Love Canal cases brought by 899 victims settled for $6.75 million.8 Funds from the settlements have helped pay medical expenses of former Love Canal residents who have illnesses that have been linked to the contamination.
This case spurred passage of the Comprehensive Environmental Remediation, Liability and Compensation Act (CERCLA), also known as “the Superfund law,” which mandates cleanup of toxic sites. In March 2004, the federal EPA declared cleanup at the site complete, despite lingering concerns of some community leaders, and removed Love Canal from the “Superfund list” of hazardous waste sites.
Citations Omitted. Click here to view full report.
Because of cases like Love Canal, and others, many individuals have gotten justice and redress. However, these cases not only benefit them, but benefit all of us. While the civil courts have been a major tool in the fight for environmental justice and accountably it is under attack by the organizations that commit much of the harm: Big Business.
Big Business and their "tort reform" movement has taken aim at the civil justice system, to limit the access to justice for millions of Americans. Not only have they tried to limit access, but through lobbying efforts they have tried (and succeeded) in passing legislation that limits their liability (and accountability) when they do harm. We need to send a clear message to our legislators that we need open access to our civil courts to hold wrongdoers accountable for their misdeeds.
On this Earth Day let us remember how, among many other tools, the Civil Justice System has helped protect people and the environment.
