Greenpeace Charged By Prosecutors ... For Breaking Environmental Laws
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State prosecutors charge Greenpeace
MISDEMEANORS: Ship didn't have paperwork or show it could clean up spill.
By MATT VOLZ
The Associated Press
(Published: July 23, 2004)
Alaska prosecutors Thursday filed criminal charges against Greenpeace, saying the activist group broke environmental laws by not submitting oil spill prevention documents before its ship entered state waters.
The Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise, with 27 activists aboard, is touring Southeast Alaska to protest logging in the Tongass National Forest.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation cited the ship on July 14 for not filing an oil spill response plan or having a certificate of financial responsibility in case of a spill.
Greenpeace officials said it was a paperwork mishap that was quickly corrected.
Department of Law spokesman Mark Morones said the misdemeanor charges were filed Thursday after DEC completed an investigation.
"They had no plan to show they were capable of responding to (an oil spill), they had no way to show they were financially responsible for paying the cost," Morones said. "You'd think that they'd be out in front of this."
State law requires a non-tank vessel larger than 400 gross tons to file an oil spill response plan application five days before entering state waters.
Prosecutors filed charges against Greenpeace, Arctic Sunrise Capt. Arne Sorenson and the ship's agent, Willem Jan Beekman. The criminal negligence charges carry a maximum sentence of a year in prison and a $10,000 fine for an individual and $200,000 for an organization.
A Greenpeace spokeswoman said Thursday she did not know charges had been filed. Carol Gregory said the matter was an oversight and the proper forms were filed as soon as it was discovered.
"It was a clerical error about paperwork and not about environmental protection," Gregory said. "We're Greenpeace. Of course we want to work within all environmental laws."
DEC Commissioner Ernesta Ballard in a statement said there was no such thing as a paperwork violation.
"Compliance is not a mere technicality. We require evidence of spill response capability because we know that any ship can hit a rock at any time," Ballard said in the statement.
The ship was ordered to anchor July 14 until the documents were filed. The ship resumed its passage in violation of the order and was stopped again, according to DEC.
The ship and the activists were in Angoon on Thursday, headed to Juneau.
"We're dealing with the issue but we're maintaining focus on the forest," said spokeswoman Mary MacNutt from the Arctic Sunrise.
http://www.adn.com/alaska/story/5332520p-5270544c.html
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