Mercury from Chlorine Plants 05/21/04

Mercury is a well-known byproduct of burning coal in power plants, but another source -- chlorine plants -- goes unmeasured, let alone regulated. An Earthjustice lawsuit seeks to force the Environmental Protection Agency to correct this dangerous situation.

California Logging Clean Water Exemption 04/20/04

The Clean Water Act is meant to clean up the nation's waterways. In some areas, however, exemptions have been issued that have hampered the goal. One such is in California, where three water boards have ruled that loggers are exempt. Earthjustice is challenging the exemptions in court.

Grand Canyon Humpback Chub 03/04/04

The population of humpback chub in the Grand Canyon has fallen by two-thirds since the species was protected 30 years ago. The reason: Glen Canyon Dam and invasive species. The recovery plan for the chub is totally inadequate to the task. Earthjustice is in court to force a better plan.

New York Title V Permits 03/02/04

The state of New York issued operating permits to two large coal-fired power plants that violate provisions of the federal Clean Air Act. The Environmental Protection Agency should have invalidated the permits but failed to do so. Earthjustice is suing EPA to force it to enforce the law.

Pesticide Protection for Farmworkers 01/21/04

The Environmental Protection Agency is allowing the continued use of azinphos-methyl and phosmet, two highly dangerous agricultural chemicals that attack human nervous systems and can cause death. Earthjustice represents farmworkers and others to halt the use of the chemicals. In April 2005, the United States Supreme Court upheld the right of people to sue pesticide maufacturers to compensate for injuries caused by toxic pesticides. Earthjustice Managing Attorney Patti Goldman was the chief author of the friend of the court brief.

Pesticide Protection for Children 12/31/03

The 1996 Food Quality and Protection Act requires the Environmental Protection Agency to take special steps to protect children -- including the children of farmworkers -- from agricultural chemicals. The agency has failed to do so. Earthjustice is in court to make EPA do its job.

Lake Okeechobee Backpumping, Florida 10/22/03

Millions of gallons of polluted water coming off of half a million acres of sugar cane fields and cities are pumped into Lake Okeechobee by the South Florida Water Management District. The discharge contaminates drinking water supplies and fertilizes toxic blue-green algae blooms. Earthjustice filed suit demanding the district obtain Clean Water Act permits for its discharges and comply with water quality standards in the lake. 

On December 11, 2006, a federal district judge in Miami ruled that the district must comply with the Clean Water Act. And on Jun 15, 2007, a federal court issued an injunction requiring the South Florida Water Management District to apply for pollution permits to engage in pumping dirty water into the lake.

As a result of our victory in court, one of the larger landowners near Lake Okeechobee, U.S. Sugar -- which farming operations resulted in polluted water being pumped back into Lake Okeechobee -- negotiated with the state of Florida to sell its 185,000 acres of lands and shut down the sugar growing and processing operations. With large-scale sugar processing phased out, once again the natural flow of water will return and help to restore the Everglades. 

Okinawa Dugong & Proposed Airbase 10/21/03

The American military is trying to force the Japanese government to build a new airbase on a reef used by endangered dugong (cousin to the Florida manatee) for feeding and resting. In January 2008, a federal judge ruled against the Department of Defense, ordering the DoD to consider the impact of the base on the dugong's habitat.

International Right to a Healthy Environment 08/27/03

Earthjustice is involved in an effort to persuade the United Nations that the right to a safe, healthy, and healthful environment is a basic human right and, as such, is protected by various existing human rights agreements and conventions. Considerable progress has been made.

Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog: ESA Protection 08/08/03

A couple of years ago conservationists sued to gain Endangered Species Act protection for the yellow-legged frog in the Sierra Nevada. The government stalled, then said the species was "warranted but precluded" from protection. The suit now seeks to overturn that decision.

Peruvian Smelter Emits Toxic Pollutants 05/05/03

The people (especially the children) who live in La Oroya, in the Peruvian Andes, have dangerous levels of lead in their blood. The source is a smelter operated by a company based in Missouri. Earthjustice is working to persuade the company to provide desperately needed medical care.

Plan Colombia Threatens Human Health, Environment 12/18/02

Widespread aerial spraying of herbicides in Colombia by the US is eradicating coca and poppy crops but is also destroying rural communities through harm to human health and livestock, destruction of food crops and water contamination.

Methanex Corp. Challenges US Environmental Protections 12/18/02

MTBE is a gasoline additive that has contaminated groundwater, provoking a decision by California to phase out its use. The manufacturer in turn sued the United States, demanding nearly a billion dollars to compensate for lost profits. Earthjustice has intervened to block the blackmail.