Sunday Read: Environmental Disasters and Whistleblowing
Environmental crises are making headlines lately, from the catastrophic train derailment and subsequent toxic contamination in Palestine, Ohio to the concerns around the ConocoPhillips’ Willow Project, a massive and decades-long oil drilling venture on Alaska’s North Slope.
National Whistleblower Center (NWC) has been active in environmental whistleblower claims and has represented those who have come forward about fraud, ineffective crisis management and severe public risks.
In this Sunday Read, NWC focuses on current environmental disasters and the laws that protect whistleblowers. We also honor whistleblowers whose bravery helped improve this complex legal landscape.
Train Derailments and Whistleblower Protections
A Norfolk Southern train derailment occurred Feb. 3, 2023 in East Palestine, Ohio. Fifty of the 150 train cars derailed; 20 cars in total were carrying hazardous materials. The spills and leaks will potentially affect the air, water and soil in the immediate area for decades to come. Cleanup efforts are expected to last into this Spring. And ahead of final results, EPA’s review of the preliminary data indicates levels of semi-volatile organic chemicals and dioxins in the soil samples are similar to typical background levels.
On March 31, EPA in coordination with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio and the Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division announced a complaint against Norfolk Southern related to the February 3 derailment.
High-profile catastrophes struck again in March, with another Northern Suffolk derailment in Cleveland, Ohio on March 7, resulting in the death of the 46-year-old conductor (the train reportedly did not contain hazardous materials).
Additionally, a BNSF-operated train hauling ethanol in Minnesota derailed on March 30. The fire forced the evacuation of 800 residents in the city of Raymond. No injuries or fatalities were reported. The EPA indicatedthat it had not found any (particulate matter) levels of concern” and that “low levels below health concerns of (volatile organic compounds) have been detected only immediately downwind of the cars in a non-populated area.”
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a statement highlighting its efforts “to protect the safety and health of railroad workers in light of recent events.” OSHA noted that railroad operators need to ensure that employees are aware of their whistleblower rights.
Whistleblower Network News recently reported on OSHA’s protections for railroad workers.
Project Willow
Even in the face of undeniable climate change, oil giant ConocoPhillips’ $8 billion project, Willow seems to be progressing. On March 13, the Biden Administration approved the oil and gas project in Alaska–one of the largest proposed new oil operations on public land in the U.S.
Greenpeace USA estimates that drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska could produce 600 million barrels of oil, but also unleash 278 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions over its 30-year lifetime.
Whistleblowers could play a role in the final outcomes of Project Willow. By reporting violations of government contracts, mismanagement within relevant agencies, and/or any other related violation of law, rule, or regulation, whistleblowers would be critical to holding ConocoPhillips accountable for how they extract resources in Alaska.
Legal action is already being taken, environmental defenders Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, along with the Alaska Wilderness League, Environment America, the Northern Alaska Environmental Center, the Sierra Club and the Wilderness Society, are all parties to a lawsuit charging the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of Interior with violating their respective duties under the National Environmental Policy Act, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act, and the Endangered Species Act. Acts related to the protection of fish and wildlife need improved whistleblower provisions, sign the Wildlife Pledge today to learn more.
Localized Water System Concerns
Safe drinking water continues to be a major concern in the U.S. as well. Continued litigation against government agencies and utilities in Flint, Michigan and Jackson, Mississippi, shine a light on contamination and failures of the respective water systems.
Employees are speaking up about water safety and whistleblowers continue to make a difference. Last week, the City of Delray Beach and Christine Ferrigan, a former Delray Beach Industrial Pretreatment Inspector, reached an $818,500 settlement to resolve Ferrigan’s whistleblower retaliation lawsuit against the city.
Ferrigan was hired by the city in 2017. She sued last year on the grounds that she was terminated from her position after having blown the whistle on wastewater contaminating Delray Beach’s drinking water. According to the Delray Beach website, the city’s “drinking water meets all health advisory standards set by the EPA and the Florida Department of Health (FDOH).”
Ferrigan found otherwise while on the job, helping to expose what was reportedly part of a years-long pattern of poor water management by the city. According to The Coastal Star, Delray Beach paid a $1 million fine to the state in December 2021 after a lengthy investigation by Palm Beach County health officials confirmed that partially treated reclaimed water had been allowed to mix with drinking water supplies.
Ferrigan’s lawsuit claimed that in 2018–10 years after a reclaimed water program was instituted–residents in began complaining that their drinking water was smelly, yellow with algae, and sandy, and that some residents and their pets were getting sick. Whether this is the final chapter in Delray Beach’s recent history remains to be seen.
“The people of Delray Beach, and people everywhere, deserve clean water and to know when their health is at risk,” Ferrigan said following the settlement. “I hope today’s settlement will encourage potential whistleblowers everywhere to speak up and know their legal protections.”
Trailblazing EPA Whistleblowers
William Sanjour
An EPA employee, William Sanjour was a lead whistleblower in the Reagan Administration EPA scandals and advocated for public access to environmental information. Supported by NWC whistleblower lawyers, he challenged the rules restricting EPA workers’ right to speak to environmental community groups.
Although controversial when it was decided, the decision in Sanjour v. EPA is now widely accepted and has been cited to favorably by judges such as Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.
In its decision, the court ordered a nationwide injunction upholding the First Amendment right of federal employees to criticize their agencies. Sanjour now counsels other whistleblowers and received the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Cliff Robertson Sentinel Award in 2007.
Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo
An MIT-PhD social scientist, Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo landed her dream job at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the 1990s.
She tried to get the government to investigate allegations that a U.S. multinational corporation was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of South Africans mining vanadium — a vital strategic mineral. She ultimately found that the EPA was the first line of defense for the corporation. When the agency stonewalled, Coleman-Adebayo blew the whistle.
Though she won a historic jury verdict, the EPA continued its retaliation. Undaunted, Coleman-Adebayo organized a grassroots struggle to bring protection to all federal employees facing discrimination and retribution from the government. The No FEAR Coalition that she organized waged a two-year-long battle with Congress over the need to protect whistleblowers — and won, resulting in the passage of the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002, better known as the No FEAR Act. The No FEAR Act requires “that Federal agencies be accountable for violations of antidiscrimination and whistleblower protection laws.”
Dr. Coleman-Adebayo chronicled her experiences in her 2011 memoir, No Fear: A Whistleblower’s Triumph Over Corruption and Retaliation at the EPA.
Taking Action
With concerns about climate protections continuing to escalate, it is important to be aware that whistleblowers voluntarily come forward with information to the government.
Do not wait for investigators to call you, find an attorney and make a report now. Thanks to the bravery of William Sanjour, Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo and several others, whistleblowers at the EPA, transportation agencies and other utilities are protected from retaliation. They can report to the government in secret and are eligible for awards.
Support NWC
NWC fights to bolster whistleblower programs and raise awareness about the value of climate and environmental whistleblowers. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit our awareness building work is made possible with the support of our generous donors. Please consider donating $50 today to help us continue to educate the public about whistleblower experiences and the role whistleblowers play in putting an end to fraud and discrimination.
This story was written by Justin Smulison, a professional writer, podcaster and event host based in New York.
