“It’s about time this multi-billion-dollar company complied with the law,” said CLF attorney Chelsea Kendall. “Toxic runoff from Schnitzer’s facilities has been contaminating waters that people depend on for drinking and recreation. This $3 million settlement will go a long way towards cleaning up these rivers and ensuring the company ends this harmful pollution”
“While Shell tries every trick in the book to avoid coming clean about its involvement in the climate crisis, our community is in danger” said Darrèll Brown, Vice President of CLF Rhode Island. “The evidence we have seen shows that the company has left this facility woefully unprepared for extreme weather. Major risks exist now and they’re only going to get worse as the oceans rise and storms intensify.”
“It’s critical that we separate fact from fiction when it comes to biofuels,” said Caitlin Peale Sloan, Vice President of CLF Massachusetts. “The fossil fuel industry is pushing solutions like renewable natural gas as a silver bullet to confront the climate crisis with little evidence. The truth is these fuels will still pollute our climate and our air, and they must be used only in limited cases.”
Melissa Hoffer has released a report outlining recommendations for the Healey Administration’s agenda to tackle the climate crisis. Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) released the following statement in response.
“The climate crisis is impacting every community in Massachusetts, and we wasted valuable years under the prior administration waiting for firm commitments and real action on the ground,” said Caitlin Peale Sloan, Vice President of CLF Massachusetts. “The Climate Chief’s report underscores the vast challenges facing the Commonwealth in this fight as well as the opportunities for climate solutions that work for all our residents. It’s time to get to work.”
“Harmful emissions from fossil fuel-powered cars and trucks are driving the climate crisis and polluting the air we breathe,” said CLF senior attorney Emily Green. “The clean car standards will save lives and clean up our air. But our leaders need to go beyond the rule they’re considering and go all electric by 2035. And rejecting the clean trucks standards would be absolutely the wrong move. Our future health, air, and climate depend on us taking bold action today.”
“Despite Shell’s many efforts to obstruct our case and avoid producing evidence, the court has recognized that this important case will now proceed to trial,” said CLF President Bradley Campbell. “The company’s inconsistent positions about climate risk and unlawful operation of its New Haven facility are putting families, businesses, and local waters in harm’s way. This decision brings us one step closer to protecting New Haven communities and the surrounding environment from Shell’s unlawful conduct.
“This level of dysfunction and irresponsibility defies explanation,” said CLF attorney Seth Gadbois. “The previous administration was clearly more interested in cutting a ribbon than getting this project done safely and correctly. CLF sued to ensure that this extension was built, and this is now an opportunity for the Healey administration to commit to public transit and repair public trust.”
“The owners of this landfill are blatantly ignoring the law and robbing Vermonters of the right to weigh in on a project that will affect public health and the environment,” said Nora Bosworth, Zero Waste Attorney at CLF. “State laws exist for a reason, and the Coventry landfill can’t be allowed to continue operating this system in defiance of the law. It’s time for the Agency of Natural Resources to step in.”
“Just seven months ago, another right whale was killed off Virginia Beach, yet nothing has changed on the water,” said Erica Fuller, senior attorney at Conservation Law Foundation. “NOAA Fisheries has proposed a strong rule and their Office of Law Enforcement has made clear they’ll do everything they can to enforce it. Unfortunately, special interest groups in Congress have created a campaign of misinformation that now threatens to derail and delay protections. These are unnecessary deaths — we urge the agency to take action now.”
“The ocean belongs to all of us and we allow fishermen access to these public resources for the cost of a permit,” said CLF Senior Attorney Erica Fuller. “But there are times, like this one, when the industry must shoulder a portion of the costs to gather data that ensures equity across fisheries. Without good monitoring on the largest boats in this fishery, we can’t prevent overfishing of Atlantic herring, a keystone forage species, or the further depletion of other valuable species such as haddock, shads, and river herring, caught as bycatch. The Supreme Court should reject the arguments being made in this case.”
