The Tulane Environmental Law Clinic

The Tulane Environmental Law Clinic is a cross between a law school class and a public interest law firm. Second and third year law students represent clients in court and in front of state and federal agencies, as part of an effort to help protect the environmental rights of those who can not afford lawyers.

Mission:

• To train effective and ethical lawyers by guiding law students through actual client representation;
• To expand access to the legal system, especially for those who could not otherwise afford competent legal help on environmental issues; and
• To bolster community members’ capacity to help themselves in their ongoing efforts for a cleaner and healthier environment.

When a company plans to destroy wetlands that are protecting residents all over southeastern Louisiana, in order to build high-end yacht motors, what can be done to stop it? For the vast majority of people, the time, energy and money required to take on a wealthy industrial entity, such as Boldmar, Inc., a luxury yacht motor manufacturer, is far beyond possible. Luckily, here in New Orleans, the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic (TELC) is up to the job.

This summer TELC has submitted comments to Department of Environmental Quality on a project proposed by Newport Environmental Services to infill almost 60 acres of wetlands in the corner of Bayou Bienvenue, near the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet. The project is planned on the same area of wetlands that TELC helped protect after Katrina when a landfill was proposed for the site. Outraged community members and organizations like the Sierra Club successfully killed the proposal with the help of TELC.

The new plans for an industrial park come at a time when just down the bayou coalitions have formed to save and restore the wetlands, a sentiment that is also reflected new state policies and in the Master Plan. “Wetlands within the levees are so important and need to be protected from development,” says Jill Witkowski, the Deputy Director of TELC.

Residents have become frustrated about the State spending millions of dollars on protecting wetlands with one hand, and letting them be destroyed with the other. Mike Murphy, the Community Outreach Director explains, “you got the ninth ward versus upper scale yacht.” Yacht motors and parts that the company boasts are for the “world’s wealthy elite.” By providing communities like the ninth ward and other concerned neighborhoods with affordable legal representation, the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic is effectively working to level the playing field in the world of American law.

The Clinic’s outreach program helps clients to best use the resources offered to them by the students (who are supervised by licensed attorneys) and to identify other tools that may be available to them. While TELC does not solicit clients for the program, Murphy is out circulating in the community, creating a profile. A profile that not only functions as a reminder to citizens that they have a resource to turn to, but also a reminder to industry and agencies that these communities have the power to file suit, and should not be ignored.

“We are a resource,” says Clinic Director, Adam Babich, “access to lawyers can give you a lot more power at the negotiating table and can create a situation where regulatory agencies will pay more attention to you.” Community organizations, lower-income individuals, and local governments, have used this resource in more than 300 cases brought before state and federal trial and appellate courts and before state and local agencies.

The Importance of Partnerships
“That’s our foundation. Everything we do is based on attorney-client relationships. We are also involved in a collaboration, which is a group of environmental groups and legal services organizations up and down the Mississippi river. The idea being to take a more consistent approach to cleaning up water quality in the Mississippi river basin and to learn from each other, because we are all fighting various aspects of the same battle.” -Adam Babich

Recent Accomplishments:

• Mercury contamination case settled: On July 2, 2009, TELC settled a case seeking cleanup of mercury contamination in the Monroe Gas Field in Union, Ouachita, and Morehouse parishes, Louisiana. (101-092)

• Coal-burning power plant on hold: On May 22, 2009-after more than 18 months of litigation and administrative proceedings-the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) approved “a longer-term suspension of three years or more” of Entergy Louisiana, LLC’s plan to convert its Little Gypsy power plant to burn coal and petroleum coke. (126-016.3 & 126-116.2A)

• Clean Water Act enforcement case settled: TELC settled Save Our Wetlands v. Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District, No, 08-2159 (E.D. La., Settled Feb. 11, 2009). (163-001)

• Wetland permit for landfill expansion revoked: In Oakville Community Action Group v. Plaquemines Parish Council, No 2008-CA-1286 (La. App. 4th Cir., Feb. 18, 2009), the Court of Appeals “revoke[d] the coastal use permit that the [Plaquemines Parish] Council issued” for expansion of the Industrial Pipe landfill into coastal wetlands. (104-014)

With funding from the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic will be able to better support their work in the Citizen Enforcement and Environmental Decision-Making Process.

Website: The Tulane Environmental Law Clinic

Adam Babich, Director
Jill Witkowski, Deputy Director
Mike Murphy, Community Outreach Director

Contact information:
Mike Murphy, Community Outreach Director
Phone: 504-865-5787
Email: mmurphy1@tulane.edu