We applaud Houston and Harris County for announcing intent to sue over site that may be...
Delores Peterson, front, and Dianne Sutton Osborne join a group of Fifth Ward residents protesting environmental pollution by Union Pacific outside a rail yard along Liberty Road Monday, Feb. 28, 2022 in Houston.Even the most righteous environmental lawsuits can take years, if not decades, to get results. So, why should Houston be excited thatBecause the mere threat of a lawsuit, says environmental lawyer Jim Blackburn, is sometimes enough to prompt real action.
Residents today can recall playing in a lagoon near the west side of the site where it’s now believed contamination from unlined pits flowed for years. Families got sick. Loved ones died. At the urging of concerned residents, testing by the state health department finally confirmed what so many suspected: the presence of elevated levels of cancers in both adults and kids and, per the city health department, a toxic plume that spans for blocks beneath their homes.
Now with the city and county on board, this relatively unorthodox legal strategy has the support it needs to move forward. The city, for example, has already set aside some $950,000 for legal fees but said it will commit what’s needed to pursue the case vigorously.the approach is needed in a state where regulatory bodies often tend to favor business interests. “What we’ve seen is an unwillingness to take the meaningful action that we’re looking for,” he said.
Cleanup at the Union Pacific site won’t be easy. The chemicals are difficult to work with. And cleanup is just one part of justice for a community that is confronting years of impacts.
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