Upstream of the BDA factory, a child’s rope swing hangs on the Pawcatuck River, but locals describe the river downstream of the plant as an unusable “dead zone.” Photo: staff

Westerly, RI—On August 24, 2005, NELC attorneys filed suit in federal district court in Providence against Bradford DyeingAssociation, Inc. (BDA), which operates a large textile finishing plant in Westerly, R.I.

The suit was filed on behalf of the Rhode Island Public Interest Research Group, Toxics Action Center and Sierra Club.

The lawsuit alleges that, over the past five years alone, BDA has committed thousands of violations of its wastewater discharge and air pollution control permits. More.

NELC Challenges Dioxin Waste Site

Zilwaukee, MI—On May 3, 2006, NELC attorneys filed suit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the County of Saginaw, Michigan, for their failure to study the environmental impacts of the Army Corps’ proposed dredging of dioxin-contaminated sediments from the Upper Saginaw River and the disposal of these sediments on a floodplain in Zilwaukee, Michigan.

The suit was filed in federal court, on behalf of plaintiffs Environment Michigan and the Lone Tree Council,
to enforce the National Environmental Policy Act (for more on NEPA, see page 5).

NELC was alerted to the ill-conceived project by a Zilwaukee resident alarmed by the Corps’ proposal to dump dioxin-contaminated dredge spoils next to people’s homes without comprehensive review of potential environmental and human health hazards. More.