Agent Orange Lawsuit

January 28, 2005

Environmentalists intend on suing the Port Authority of New Jersey, Army Corps
Environmentalists fighting to clean up Newark Bay in New Jersey say evidence of contamination from the old Diamond Alkali Chemical plant, known for its Vietnam production of the highly toxic deforesting herbicide called Agent Orange, can be found by looking at the crabs.

Numerous tests conducted throughout the years confirm the crabs still contain the highest levels of dioxins ever recorded in aquatic animals. The toxicity is so high, according to scientists, that if regularly consumed by humans it would guarantee cancer.

A coalition of environmental groups has come together to fight the expansion of a dredging project to deepen Newark Bay and its surrounding channels to a depth of 50 feet. Port authority officials argue deepening the channels is needed to accommodate bigger ships to keep the area a world-class port destination, but environmentalists are concerned for the residents affected by the Bay's ecology.

Many residents are low-income minorities who rely on sustenance fishing from the Newark Bay, and the project would stir up the Agent Orange toxins in sludge. As a result, the Agent Orange toxins will be present again in the marine environment, which will be passed on to the human population.

Because of the way the Army Corps plans on dredging, GreenFaith, along with the Natural Resources Defense Council and the New Jersey/New York Baykeeper, has announced their intent to sue the Port Authority and Army Corps for violating the federal Resource Conservation Recovery Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. As of the January 4 notice date, the Port Authority and Army Corps have 90 days to respond.

According to New Jersey/New York Baykeeper Andrew Wilner, the Army Corps is required to conduct a supplemental impact study because it has issued a permit and contract for a project that is a navigational dredging project on a Superfund site. Wilner adds the group is opposed to time consuming and costly litigation and they hope to get the public interest issue resolved before it reaches the courts.

The environmentalists are not opposed to the deepening of the port, but want to ensure the Army Corp's contractors use the best dredging equipment and take every precaution to prevent the Agent Orange toxins from being reintroduced from the sediments into the water. Newark Bay was included in the Diamond Alkali Superfund study last February, which is the federal government's program to locate, investigate and clean up the worst uncontrolled and abandoned toxic waste sites around the country.

The EPA administers the program, but President Bush discontinued enforcement for the Superfund tax, eliminating the EPA's capacity to carry out its mandate.

Please contact us to confer with an Agent Orange attorney.