Health & Safety Task Force Report Proposes Changes To Better Protect the Health of Workers and the Public During Oil Spills

A ground-breaking report identifies new programs and specific law changes to better protect worker health and public health during oil spills and chemical releases. The report is the initial work of the Health & Safety Task Force, co-chaired by ALERT and state officials from Washington and Oregon, that was chartered by the federal Regional Response…

Read More

ALERT Report Provides Nexus to Implement EPA Dispersant Use Regulations

Dr. Riki Ott’s report, “An Opportunity to Make it Right,” explains how EPA’s new rules for dispersant use during oil spill response (driven in part by ALERT’s lawsuit) provide an opportunity to institutionalize proactive state and local involvement in Area Committees to decide what dispersants to use, if any, during oil spill response. Ott recommends ways to get started,…

Read More

Amicus Letter Granted By Eleventh Circuit of Appeals

Written by ALERT’s Dr. Riki Ott, the Eleventh Court of Appeals accepted an amicus letter written in support of the plaintiff-appellants in BP Deepwater Horizon BELO cases v. Lester Jenkins, et. al. Her amicus advocates for the reversal of the district court’s order excluding the expert testimony of Dr. Freeman and Dr. Solomon. Ott calls…

Read More

PRESS RELEASE: Lawsuit Filed to Halt Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – [download PDF here]. Lawsuit Filed to Halt Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project  Army Corps Project Would Divert Mississippi Fresh Water, Mud and Toxins into the Barataria Wetland Basin with Devastating Impacts   New Orleans, Louisiana –– Local commercial fishing organizations, health advocates, and conservationists filed a lawsuit today to halt the massive…

Read More

EPA’s New Rules on Oil Dispersants, Explained.

This background is intended to broaden the public understanding of the scope and significance of the 2023 updates to our nation’s emergency response plan – the “National Contingency Plan” (NCP) to protect our environment against hazardous waste releases, including oil spills. The rules were updated as a result of a 2020 lawsuit (Alert v. EPA). When…

Read More

The Guardian: Environmental Protection Agency US government toughens rules on chemicals used to break up oil slicks

“Environmental activists sued EPA to update regulations, after thousands of people sickened from Deepwater Horizon cleanup The Environmental Protection Agency has announced more stringent rules governing offshore oil spill response, amid continuing concerns about the effects on public health and wildlife from chemical disasters, including BP’s Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010.” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/14/epa-chemical-regulation-oil-spill-cleanup-exxon-valdez-bp

Read More