Appendix
Examples of Citizen Action in California
Below is a list of representative cases brought by environmental, public health,
and community groups to enforce California law. They illustrate the importance
of private enforcement to protect our drinking water, coasts, water, air, and
to consumer products that affect our health.
Stopped oil companies from polluting drinking water (statewide)
Communities for a Better Environment (CBE) sued the biggest oil companies in
the nation in a major drinking water contamination case. The companies had polluted
drinking water sources across the state with the gasoline additive MTBE (CBE v.
Unocal Corp., SF Sup Ct, Case No. 997013). CBE's legal action led to clean-up
measures at more than 1,000 California gas stations, as well as the production
of key documents that were used in successful MTBE litigation throughout the country.
Stopped diesel truck pollution (statewide)
In a case led by NRDC, the Coalition for Clean Air, and ELF, environmental groups
brought action against the largest grocery chains in California for their failure
to warn local communities of the cancer risk posed by the thousands of diesel
trucks concentrated at distribution centers. Many of these centers are located
in low-income and minority communities. (People v. Lucky Stores, BC 190090, and
consolidated cases (against Vons, Ralphs, and Stater Brothers). The cases were
consolidated with a case brought by the AG under Proposition 65 against the same
defendants. The ultimate settlement resulted in warnings and the purchase of cleaner,
alternative-fuel, yard tractors and big rigs.
Forced oil company clean-up of massive leak under coastal beach community (Avila
Beach)
CBE, the Environmental Law Foundation (ELF), and the Avila Alliance brought suit
against oil giant, Unocal, to clean up a massive petroleum and oil leak from Unocal's
underground pipeline network and storage tanks that ran through the beach community
of Avila Beach, near San Luis Obispo. The petroleum plume was contaminating the
beach and groundwater and threatened to make the beach unusable. The citizen groups
won a landmark settlement that obliged Unocal to excavate the most polluted sections
of Avila Beach.
Protected children from lead poisoning (Los Angeles)
In ELF v 938 S. Lake Street Inc. environmentalists teamed up with local legal
aid attorneys to protect low-income residents and their children from the dangers
of lead in the buildings where they lived. The UCL was used to bring the action
and enforce a number of federal, state, and local laws including LA County's ordinance
protecting against lead hazards in buildings. Because of severe budget constraints,
the county was unable to pursue enforcement of their own protective ordinance.
Additionally, the ordinance lacks a citizen suit provision. The UCL was the only
mechanism for ensuring this childhood-health protection law against lead poisoning
was enforced.
Halted illegal clear-cutting (Sierra Nevada mountains)
In a landmark citizen action, Hewlett v. Squaw Valley Ski Corp. (54 Cal.App.4th
499), a major commercial developer chose to ignore a court order protecting pristine
Sierra forest, clear-cutting scores of trees from 300 to 600 years old. Under
the UCL, the Sierra Club and Hewlett-Packard co-founder William Hewlett stopped
the developer from clear cutting. A most significant consequence was a permanent
injunction against further development of land where the clear-cutting occurred
and an order to the developer to return the area to its natural state.
Cleaned up toxic plume polluting SF Bay and drinking water
The environmental watchdog group Baykeeper brought action against Dow Chemical
(Baykeeper v. Dow Chemical Company. The group successfully forced the chemical
giant to deal with an immense toxic plume beneath its site that was running into
the Bay and adjacent drinking water intake for nearby communities. Dow paid $3.25
million for the purpose of preserving, protecting, and enhancing the San Francisco
Bay-Delta through educational, scientific, charitable, and other related activities.
Dow also agreed to implement a new technology, in situ bioremediation, to clean
up the groundwater contamination at the facility and comply with quantified, chemical-discharge
limits in its storm water outfalls.
Cleaned up air pollution caused by oil tankers (LA Basin)
CBE, et al v. Chevron was a community environmental enforcement action which
used the UCL to enforce key federal and state environmental clean air laws against
toxic emissions by oil tanker facilities in Los Angeles-area ports. CBE was able
to force the use of pollution control devices to stop toxic emissions. Money from
the settlement went to fund childhood asthma prevention and treatment.
Halted false advertising on raw milk (statewide)
One of the most important citizen actions to protect public health was Consumers
Union of US Inc. v. Alta-Dena Certified Dairy, 4 Cal. App. 4th 963 dealing with
false or misleading advertising. Consumers Union brought a UCL action because
of the failure of one of the nation’s largest dairies to warn consumers of the
dangers of raw milk. The dairies falsely claimed in their advertising that raw
milk is as safe as pasteurized milk. Consumers Union obtained a permanent injunction
against the dairy company from making false or misleading claims about the health,
safety, or nutritional qualities of its raw certified milk or the standard under
which it was produced. Dairies were ordered to place a mandatory warning on advertisements
about the risks of raw certified milk and to make restitution.
Blocked tobacco billboard ads near schools (statewide)
The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) won a major case against tobacco advertising
on billboards near schools and playgrounds in violation of California law (CEH
v. Eller Media, Cal. Sup. Ct. No. 993843). CEH was able to get tobacco ads taken
down within 1,000 feet of schools as well as getting free anti-smoking messages
posted on billboards for 500 billboard months statewide.
Successfully stopped cruise ships from repeated dumping (statewide)
In the case of Bluewater Network v. Carnival et al the Environmental Law Foundation
(ELF) brought a case against cruise ships for repeated violations of California's
Ballast Water Management Act, which requires ships traveling from foreign waters
to dump their ballast water outside of ports in order to prevent invasive marine
organisms from entering California waters. ELF successfully enjoined the cruise
ship lines from dumping their waste into California's water.
Forced bottled water companies to filter out arsenic and bacteria (statewide)
ELF v. Crystal Geyser (SF Superior) was an action brought by an environmental
group on behalf of the public against several purveyors of bottled waters that
contained illegal levels of arsenic, bacteria, and trihalomethanes. The lawsuit
resulted in the removal of contaminants through better filtration and several
hundred thousand dollars to improve water quality in California.
Stopping sales of cigarettes to minors
The California Supreme Court affirmed the right of private individuals to bring
actions for relief and to prosecute lawsuits on behalf of the general public in
this landmark case involving a group working to curb youth smoking suing the Lucky
grocery store chain for selling cigarettes to minors in violation of the state's
penal code (Stop Youth Addiction v Lucky Stores, 17 Cal. 4th 553).
Forced proper treatment of vended water (statewide)
ELF v. Glacier Water Services, Inc. was a case brought against owners of vended
water machines for violating state health and safety code requirements regarding
trihalomethanes (cancer causing byproducts of water disinfection). An investigation
conducted by public health groups revealed that the vending machines, patronized
primarily by low-income and minority groups, were not treating the water. In addition,
the filtering mechanisms were not being maintained. The company's failure to effectively
treat the water led to the contamination. As a result of the suit, the court ordered
an injunction against further violations and continued random inspections to ensure
compliance. Civil penalties, which went to the LA City Attorney's office, were
also awarded.
Ended misleading ads about global warming (statewide)
Ozone Action v. Amana et al. (San Francisco) was a legal action by the citizen
group CBE seeking to take on the causes of global warming. The action forced refrigerator
manufacturers to stop using misleading ads that claimed their products were sensitive
to the environment. In fact, the coolants being used were HCFCs, which contribute
to ozone depletion and global warming. The group successfully forced all the major
manufacturers to withdraw their misleading ads.
Warned of pesticide dangers to children (Los Angeles and statewide)
CALPIRG v. Unibid (Alameda) and companion, Los Angeles cases involved pest-control
companies that advertised termite services with terms expressly forbidden by federal
law such as "safe", "safe for children and pets", and environmentally friendly."
Companies changed their advertising, removing misleading and illegal terms and
handed out safe-use instructions to new customers.
Stopped deceptive marketing of steroids (statewide)
In the case CEH v. Braswell, et al (SF Superior Court Case 402482) an environmental
group stopped the deceptive marketing of the steroid androstenedione, which was
being marketed as a dietary supplement. Federal enforcers had been trying to stop
the defendant for years but lacked the grounds under federal law.
Cleaned up toxic workplace
In Badenell v. Wilkins Regulator (San Luis Obispo), workers in an assembly plant
were found to have extremely high blood lead levels resulting from brass machining
operations. Wilkens Regulator told them to keep it quiet and told other workers
the levels of lead in the air were "safe." Workers at the plant were also instructed
to dump heavily lead-laden water out the back loading dock 100 yards from city
drinking water wells. The Environmental Law Foundation was able to successfully
bring a private enforcement action to protect workers with respirators, clean
up the plant, provide worker education, and clean up contaminated land behind
the plant before the toxins migrated.
Removed lead from water filters
The Center for Environmental Health brought a series of citizen actions that
transformed the entire water-filtration industry, protecting consumers from lead
exposures caused by the use of leaded brass in water filtration systems. Consumers
bought these systems to remove lead from their drinking water, but CEH's study
found that many systems were actually adding lead to drinking water. This study
and the resulting litigation brought by CEH against the worst offenders in the
industry, led to rapid conversion of the filtration industry to lead-free materials.
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