Monthly Archives: November 2011

Water |

Asian Carp threat to Great Lakes

Friends of the Earth, represented by their attorneys, the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center and Ecojustice Canada, filed an amicus brief on November 22, 2011 urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the appeal by the States of Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. These States are in court to force the U.S. Corp of Engineers and other defendants to take urgent action to prevent the invasion of Asian Carp into the Great Lakes through the Chicago Area Water System.

“Friends of the Earth Canada is concerned that the U.S. Corp of Engineers has lost sight of the urgent need to stop the invasion of Asian carp into the Great Lakes,” says Beatrice Olivastri, CEO, Friends of the Earth Canada. “Families and communities that depend on the Great Lakes for their livelihoods are facing the most lethal threat yet from this invasive fish. We think this lethal threat could and should be stopped.”

Related content:

Media release: Latest lethal threat to the Great Lakes must be halted

Amicus brief

2011 Media releases | Water |

Latest lethal threat to the Great Lakes must be halted

For immediate release

Friends of the Earth Canada supports U.S. States’ case on invasion of Asian Carp

(Ottawa, November 28, 2011) Friends of the Earth Canada joins U.S. States in the fight to stop the Asian Carp invasion of the Great Lakes citing the mutual obligation of Canada and the U.S. under the Boundary Waters Treaty to prevent transboundary pollution including biological pollution by Asian carp.

Represented by their attorneys, the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center and Ecojustice Canada, Friends of the Earth filed an amicus brief on November 22, 2011 urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the appeal by the States of Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. These States are in court to force the U.S. Corp of Engineers and other defendants to take urgent action to prevent the invasion of Asian carp into the Great Lakes through the Chicago Area Water System.

“Friends of the Earth is concerned that the U.S. Corp of Engineers has lost sight of the urgent need to stop the invasion of Asian carp into the Great Lakes,” says Beatrice Olivastri, CEO, Friends of the Earth Canada. “Families and communities that depend on the Great Lakes for their livelihoods are facing the most lethal threat yet from this invasive fish. We think this lethal threat could and should be stopped.”

“To-date, the Courts have failed to consider the impact on Canadian interests and failed to consider the joint efforts and investment of the U.S. and Canada to restore the ecological health of the Great Lakes,” said Nick Schroeck, Executive Director, Great Lakes Environmental Law Center.

“Canada and the U.S. have worked together for over half a century to revitalize the Great Lakes — now is not the time to expose this collaboration to the destructive force of a ‘biological pollution’ like Asian carp,” said Hugh Wilkins, Ecojustice lawyer.

The Friends of the Earth amicus brief presents two unique issues for the U.S. Supreme Court’s consideration — one, that the earlier decision overlooked the important investments made to-date by the two countries for the restoration of the Great Lakes and two, that international treaty obligations require the U.S. Corp of Engineers to act in a manner that would prevent Asian Carp from invading the Great Lakes. The ultimate goal is to force the Corp to place block nets in the Little Calumet and Grand Calumet Rivers to prevent passage of Asian carp across these channels into the Great Lakes while also forcing the Corp to expedite completion of their study assessing options to restore the natural separation of the Great lakes and Mississippi River Basins.

In executing the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty, Canada and the U.S. agreed that the “boundary waters and waters flowing across the boundary shall not be polluted on either side to the injury of health or property on the other.” Subsequently, in 1972 and under the authority of the Boundary Waters Treaty, Canada and the U.S. entered into the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, aiming to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem.”

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For further information, contact:

Beatrice Olivastri, CEO, Friends of the Earth (613) 241-0085×26 or (613) 724-8690
Nick Schroeck, Executive Director, Great Lakes Environmental Law Center (313) 820-7797
Hugh Wilkins, Lawyer, Ecojustice (416) 368-7533 x534

2011 Media releases | Environmental justice |

Friends of the Earth, Ecojustice ask Supreme Court to respect polluter pays principle

For immediate release

Newfoundlanders shouldn’t have to pay to clean up AbitibiBowater’s pollution

(Ottawa, November 16, 2011) Ecojustice, representing Friends of the Earth, appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada today to argue that insolvent corporations cannot shift the cost of cleaning up environmental contamination to the taxpayer.

This is the first time Canada’s insolvency procedure has been challenged to deal with the polluter pays principle. In this case, the issue is historic contamination by AbitibiBowater Inc.’s mining, shipping and pulp and paper operations in Newfoundland.

“Businesses can’t restructure their way out of obligations to remediate the environment,” said William Amos, director of the Ecojustice Clinic at the University of Ottawa. “The system is broken when it forces the environment to line up with creditors and makes Newfoundlanders pay for a mess that AbitibiBowater created.”

AbitibiBowater operated industrial sites in Newfoundland for more than a century until 2008. Its operations have resulted in severe environmental damage, including the deposit of heavy metals and chemicals hazardous to human health into the surrounding lands and waters.

Newfoundland subsequently issued orders under the provincial Environmental Protection Act in November 2009, requiring AbitibiBowater to perform environmental remediation at a number of its former sites. However, because AbitibiBowater had filed for protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, a federal statute, two lower courts said that the company has no obligation to repair the environmental contamination it caused.

“This case has the potential to send a powerful signal to polluters, their bankers and investors on the need to not only disclose but to pay in real time for environmental messes,” says Beatrice Olivastri, CEO, Friends of the Earth Canada. “Future generations should not bear the costs of yesterday’s and today’s pollution.”

Ecojustice and Friends of the Earth are also concerned that allowing AbitibiBowater to shirk its responsibility to clean up its former sites threatens the ability of provincial governments to enforce environmental protection statutes and absolves insolvent corporations of any accountability.

“Insolvency processes should not grant a company a clean slate when it comes to environmental contamination,” Amos said. “AbitibiBowater has a new name [Resolute Forest Products], it is restructuring and expects to return to profitability within a few years. Newfoundlanders, on the other hand, are still waiting for those contaminated sites to be cleaned and wondering who will foot the bill.”

For further information, please contact:

Beatrice Olivastri, CEO, Friends of the Earth Canada (613) 241-0085 x26 or (613) 724-8690 (cell)
Pierre Hamilton, Ecojustice Communications Associate (416) 368-7533 x526
Will Amos, Director, Ecojustice Clinic at the University of Ottawa (613) 255-7505 (cell)

2011 Media releases | Environmental justice |

Friends of the Earth, Ecojustice fighting for polluter pays principle at Supreme Court

MEDIA ADVISORY, November 15, 2011

For immediate release

Should Newfoundlanders have to pay to cleanup AbitibiBowater’s pollution?

Why: This is the first time Canada’s insolvency procedure is challenged to deal with the polluter pays principle, in this case, for historic contamination by AbitibiBowater’s mining, shipping and pulp and paper operations in Newfoundland.

What: Friends of the Earth, represented by Ecojustice, will appear before the Supreme Court of Canada in the case of Newfoundland and Labrador v. AbitibiBowater Inc. The Supreme Court is considering whether insolvent corporations in Canada must fulfill their past environmental obligations to the public or whether taxpayers must bear the full cost of an environmental clean-up.

Friends of the Earth CEO Beatrice Olivastri and Ecojustice lawyers will be available for comment after the hearing, which is scheduled to end at 1 p.m.

When: Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Where: Supreme Court of Canada, 301 Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario

For further information, please contact:

Beatrice Olivastri, CEO, Friends of the Earth (613) 241-0085 x26 or (613) 724-8690 (cell)

Pierre Hamilton, Ecojustice Communications Associate (416) 368-7533 x526

Will Amos, Director, Ecojustice Clinic at the University of Ottawa (613) 255-7505 (cell)