Learn about one woman’s fight against a multinational corporation and how to join the fight wherever you are
Learn the History of the $50M Clean Water Act Lawsuit Victory against Formosa Plastic Point Comfort
Diane Wilson and her scrappy crew of volunteer citizen-scientists took on a polluting billion-dollar plastics company and, nurdle by nurdle, won.
Texas Monthly
The Story of Diane Wilson and San Antonio Bay Waterkeepers
In 2019, after 30 years of work, Diane Wilson and the San Antonio Estuarine Bay Waterkeepers successfully sued a multi-billion dollar plastic manufacturing company with an all volunteer – citizen run team.
It’s a long and winding story, so we broke it out into sections. We feature quotes from Diane Wilson, Texas Monthly, Angela Pan, and National Geographic.
If text is not your thing, checkout the amazing 4-part documentary on Diane Wilson and her fight against Formosa Plastics included on this page.
It started with a insider tip and looking for pollution by kayak.
We tried to talk to Formosa, but when that didn’t work we sued.
After winning this historic settlement, we continue to push for no discharge of pollution and celebrate the many benefits from the lawsuit.
Join the fight for clean water across the country
Now we need your help to keep the pressure on Formosa and work toward eliminating plastic pollution across the state, country and world.
Step One: Gather Evidence
What is the issue?
In the case of Formosa, they were discharging billions of tiny plastic balls (nurdles) and other plastic residue into Lavaca Bay.
Who are you to take on such a big corporation?
Diane Wilson (DW): I’m a fourth-generation commercial fisherwoman and water is very special and immediate to me. Plastic pollution discharged from the factories into the waterways that flow into the Gulf of Mexico is a big problem in my county. – CEF
What are nurdles?
Nurdles are small plastic pellets used to manufacture most plastic products including containers in your refrigerator, the device you’re reading this on, office supplies, clothing, the list goes on.
How are nurdles harmful?
It’s estimated that 78% of all microplastic pollution is from nurdles that spill and leak during their production and transportation. They end up in our waterways, oceans, beaches. Fish and wildlife can die from ingesting them, and as they break down into even smaller particles, they ultimately find their way into our bodies. Pathogens and toxic substances also collect on the surface of the nurdles and are released over time as they travel.
For most of the world, nurdles are not classified as hazardous, so spills are often overlooked. Without oversight or regulation, nurdles are a growing toxic threat to all.
What have we done about nurdle pollution?
Here in Texas, we’ve taken on the biggest offender of nurdle pollution: Formosa Plastics Corporation. In 2019, after years of investigation, collecting nurdles as evidence, and building a case, Diane Wilson, founder of San Antonio Bay Estuarine Water Protectors, took Formosa to court for polluting local waters with nurdles and other hazardous waste. The case ultimately resulted in a $50 million settlement that will be used to help reverse the damage caused by Formosa.
Who is Formosa Plastics Corporation?
Formosa Plastics Corporation, one of the largest producers of plastics worldwide, operates a chemical manufacturing facility in Point Comfort, Texas. They are also rated as the worst polluter in the region.
How to collect evidence?
We got a tip from a former employee that they were discharging much more than was known.
So we starting collecting evidence in kayaks ourselves.
Where are they polluting?
Formosa Point Comfort is located in Calhoun County on the Texas Gulf Coast, just two hours southwest of the fourth largest city in the USA, Houston.
Formosa’s plant in Point Comfort has any outfalls which some are visible from the water, but others flow directly into the bottom of the bay.
Specifically, Formosa was discharging plastic pollution into Stormwater outfalls (2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,14) into Cox Creek and industrial outfall 001 into Lavaca Bay
How did you find the outfalls?
We began by wandering the shores of Lavaca/Matagorda and found pellets and powder around 20 square miles. Then later I got a kayak and began exploring Cox Creek (which is behind Formosa Plastics, Point Comfort, Texas) That’s where I discovered the stormwater outfalls and all the pellets and powder.
Find out more about the outfalls
Gathering evidence
A few of us–me and 3 former Formosa workers– started collecting samples of pellets and powder and put in bags and noted time , date, and location on the bays. We also took pictures and videos. I had approximately 6,000 pictures and videos. We had 2500 bags of evidence. We were not trying to pick up all the plastic pollution. There was too much. This was just evidence for the trial.
Wherever we went out to the water ,we took a sample from the area. There were perhaps 17 areas? . We began in January 2016 and took samples everyday until the trial began in March 22, 2019.
I have a kayak, so I went to every single Formosa Plastic outfall and took pictures and samples as evidence. I gathered approximately 15,000 photos, some of which were used for the 2019 lawsuit.
Also, after San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeepers and I obtained documents during the trial in the discovery phase, we exposed the fuller extent of the plastic pollution. For instance, we found out that 170,000 pounds of pellets (or called nurdles) flooded from outfall pipe six in one single release. There were 22,000 pellets per pound, which translated into 4.25 billion pieces of plastic nurdles dumped into the water in one release.
Our 2,500 samples were evidence that built up into a citizen lawsuit against Formosa for violating the Clean Water Act. Plastic as a floating solid is a violation of the plant’s wastewater permit, but the state and federal agencies had never acted or charged them with a violation, so we filed a citizen lawsuit.
“What’s really powerful and unusual is that our clients gathered the evidence but also that they gathered it in such a tremendously consistent and voluminous manner,” Johnson said. The case has already served as a model for lawyers and citizens across Texas: attorneys from other legal aid organizations traveled to watch the trial, and another client of Johnson’s recently started taking photos of algae growth in a river near her home, downstream from her city’s wastewater treatment plant. “I’ll get a call from some fisherman who’s been out there, and they’ll say, ‘Amy, there’s a whole lot of powder out here today,’ ” Johnson said. “They’re feeling stewardship.”
Texas Monthly
Key Points
We learned a lot in the process. Here are some of our lessoned learned in the field.
Be methodical
Be methodical. Document every date and chain of custody. For instance, who picks up the pellets/powder bags and where do you put them? Remember you are taking this to court and the opposition will want to poke holes in everything. If this is for a lawsuit or a complaint, it is helpful to return to the same place and show that the discharge is repeated. We went to the same places, every day, for 2 ½ years.
– Diane Wilson
Take lots of photos and videos
Take lots of photos and videos. If you know how to use, try an app that has GPS coordinates stamped on the photos.
– Diane Wilson
Save and store evidence
Keep it safe any keep all of it.
– Diane Wilson
Now Wilson’s trove of pellets is part of the evidence against Formosa in a federal lawsuit that could help revolutionize the way citizens hold corporate polluters to account.
Texas Monthly
Sources:
Fighting the Flood of Nurdles: Texas Fisherwoman takes on Taiwan Plastic Company – New Security Beat Sept 2022
Step Two : Escalate
Research & Engage
Research state and federal regulations
Learn about existing federal and state regulations on plastic pollution. Check the facility's wastewater permit. Check their wastewater violations at the state environmental agency. Is the state agency fining them? Contest their wastewater permit when it comes up for renewal. How are the floating solids regulated? How are stormwater outfalls regulated?
Once you gain samples of possible violations, file a complaint with the state environmental agency. Be sure and file correctly.
- Diane Wilson
Ask them to stop
Wilson spent the next seven years contacting state regulators and filing Freedom of Information Act requests to see if Formosa had been disciplined for apparent violations of the Clean Water Act. She found citizen complaints and even photographs depicting nurdles but no record of enforcement. Her sleuthing eventually spurred the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to reevaluate Formosa’s wastewater permit. During permit negotiations in 2015, Formosa conceded to the TCEQ that releasing nurdles into the environment would “indisputably be a permit violation” that must be reported within 24 hours. Yet the pellets kept coming, and the company never bothered to report the problem to the TCEQ. Wilson finally decided to take matters into her own hands.
Hoyt also condemned the TCEQ for its “difficulty or inability . . . to bring Formosa into compliance.” Despite numerous citizen complaints and documentation by TCEQ inspectors of nurdles escaping the facility, the agency had fined the company just $122,000.
Organize community support
Nearly every week since January 2016, she and a scrappy crew of citizens, including Jurasek, have hiked and kayaked along the banks of alligator-infested Cox Creek in search of nurdles. They are organized loosely as the San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper, part of a global network of groups affiliated with the Waterkeeper Alliance, a New York nonprofit. Wilson and her Waterkeepers snap photos and use miniature nets from Walmart to scoop pellets into Ziploc bags, which they label with the date, time, and location of the sample. A former Formosa supervisor named Ronnie Hamrick, 65, goes out four or five days a week. (He likes a good rainstorm, because it tends to dislodge nurdles from the weeds.) “If we were trying to pick up everything we could find, there’s no way we’d ever finish, so we take a sample,” said Wilson, who’s 70. “It’s overwhelming sometimes.”
File a Lawsuit
If they are not stopping the pollution and they are violating the Clean Water Act then, you can and should sue them.
Find a lawyer
Find a lawyer to file a Citizen Clean Water Act lawsuit. If your group has no money, you can try to find a pro bono lawyer. I used Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid which helps folks if they have very little money and have a legal issue.
TRLA is a legal aid group which also addresses environmental problems.. It is pretty rare, but it can happen. I found TRLA by going to a meeting where they were talking and immediately asked for help. They helped me file for a contested case hearing on the company’s wastewater permit and then, after our small group collected 1,000 samples, TRLA filed a 60 day notice of Citizen Clean Water Suit against Formosa Plastics. - Diane Wilson
Organize evidence
Our 2,500 samples were evidence that built up into a citizen lawsuit against Formosa for violating the Clean Water Act. Plastic as a floating solid is a violation of the plant’s wastewater permit, but the state and federal agencies had never acted or charged them with a violation, so we filed a citizen lawsuit.
File the lawsuit!
In March of this year, Diane Wilson, alongside other environmental activists, made a powerful statement at the Waterkeeper v. Formosa trial. Wilson and her team towed 30 plastic bins, which contained an estimated 26 million nurdles, to the federal courthouse in Victoria, where the trial was taking place. Although security refused to allow the bins inside, Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt intervened and had them stored in the courthouse basement for future inspection.
During the trial, Formosa attorney Steve Ravel cross-examined Wilson, asking her if she had ever seen pellets exit an outfall. Wilson replied that she had, having explored the area on foot with her colleagues before being banned by Formosa's security team. In June, Judge Hoyt ruled in favor of Wilson and the Waterkeepers, stating that Formosa had committed "enormous" violations of the Clean Water Act. The ruling was a significant victory for Wilson and her team, highlighting the need for accountability and action against corporations that harm the environment.
“Have you ever seen any pellets actually exit an outfall?” Formosa attorney Steve Ravel asked Wilson during cross-examination.
“Yes, I have. I’ve been in Outfall 006, literally inside Outfall 006,” Wilson replied. She, Hamrick, and Jurasek had explored the area on foot—before Formosa’s security team banned them from the bank.
In June, Hoyt ruled in favor of Wilson and the Waterkeepers, writing that Formosa’s violations were “enormous.” Of the engineering expert who defended Formosa’s stormwater systems, Hoyt wrote, “His conclusion is illogical. Formosa cannot be in compliance simply by saying so.”
Source: Texas Monthly
Diane Wilson and her scrappy crew of volunteer citizen-scientists took on a polluting billion-dollar plastics company and, nurdle by nurdle, won…
Texas Monthly
Now Wilson’s trove of pellets is part of the evidence against Formosa in a federal lawsuit that could help revolutionize the way citizens hold corporate polluters to account.
We won the lawsuit!
We won the lawsuit!
The judge’s ruling called Formosa a “serial offender” whose “violations are enormous.” Following the verdict, the company, part of Taiwan-based Formosa Plastics Group—the world’s sixth largest chemical maker—agreed to pay $50 million into a trust funding local conservation projects, scientific research, and a sustainable fishing co-operative. Formosa also committed to stopping the spills and cleaning up its mess. - NatGeo
Win! $50 million in funding for local projects
When we won the lawsuit, we had a settlement with Formosa and asked for zero discharge of plastics, $50 M in mitigation that was used for fisheries cooperative, funds for Greenlake Park, funding for kids camps, stop erosion of beaches, funding for scientific research on the bays of Calhoun County. We also got monitoring for zero discharge of plastics and enforcement for the violations that were then used for community environmental projects. Currently we have over 400 violations and $9.5 M in penalties. We also got cleanup of plastic in Cox Creek that costs around $ 40 M and clean up of Lavaca/Matagorda Bay that is to be determined.
No settlement money went to Diane Wilson or the San Antonio Bay Waterkeepers.
Win! Zero Discharge...not pollution without penalty!
A December 2019 judgment adopted a settlement the parties developed following the liability determination. The most striking features of the settlement were a $50 million package of benefits for the local environment (and, thus, for the local citizenry) and the first-ever “zero discharge” commitment for most circumstances and a “zero-plastics” discharge commitment for all circumstances by 2024. Source
Formosa Plastics Point Comfort agreed to not pollute our bays and streams! This is a huge win for us and future generations.
Win! Matagorda Bay Mitigation Trust
The settlement document for the case is the consent decree and it established the Matagorda Bay Mitigation Trust, which administers the $50M from the Clean Water Act Lawsuit Victory.
The Matagorda Bay Mitigation Trust was established as a result of a Final Consent Decree in Cause No. 6:17-CV-00047 on December 9, 2019, San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper and S. Diane Wilson, vs. Formosa Plastics Corp., Texas and Formosa Plastics Corp., U.S.A., in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Victoria Division.
The Consent Decree disposed of the lawsuit by requiring changes at the Formosa Plastics facility, review and monitor of discharges, efforts to clean up the discharges, mitigation projects and imposition of penalties until the discharges cease.
In addition to the required changes outline above, the Consent Decree further required the separate establishment of the Matagorda Bay Mitigation Trust with the appointment of an independent Trustee to manage and distribute Funds paid by the Defendants for certain projects along with associated funding, funding schedule and objectives, and scope of the mitigation projects to be implemented and administered under the Matagorda Bay Mitigation Trust.
Win! Matagorda Bay Fishing Cooperative
$20 million of the consent decree establishes a fishing cooperative to help revitalize fishing in the Matagorda Bay Area. Continue reading to find out more about this big success!
(Reference Paragraph 56 of the Consent Decree)
The Federation of Southern Cooperatives, a non-profit organization with offices throughout the South, will be charged with forming a Matagorda Bay Fishing Cooperative and, if necessary, a netting and/or transportation cooperative to support the Fishing Cooperative under a project called the Matagorda Bay Cooperative Development Project.
The Matagorda Bay and San Antonio Bay Systems have historically had a thriving fishing, shrimping, and oystering industry that has declined due, in part, to pollution of the Bays. The purpose of this project is environmental restoration and protection, specifically to revitalize the marine ecosystems and promote long-term sustainable fisheries by supporting the fishing community to work together to sustain harvests from the Bay Systems in an environmentally responsible manner.
The Federation will work with local fishermen, shrimpers and oystermen to organize a local Cooperative with the goal of improving the ecosystem and developing sustainable fishing, shrimping, and oystering of the Bay Systems. Funds may be expended for:
- Organizing a local Cooperative;
- Implementing sustainable fishing practices;
- Promoting mechanisms to create sustainable harvest;
- Analyzing best markets for environmentally responsible seafood harvest; and
- Determining and investing in necessary infrastructure as explained below.
The Federation may make zero interest loans to the Cooperative(s) for:
- The purchase of infrastructure or other needs consistent with the goal of improving the ecosystem and developing sustainable fishing, shrimping, and oystering of the Bay Systems.
- Repayments of loans will go to Federation to be used exclusively on the Matagorda Bay Fishing Cooperative Project.
The Federation may determine that formation of other cooperatives, such as netting or transportation cooperatives, are necessary to support a sustainable fishing community and may expend funds towards organizing those cooperatives.
The Cooperative may recommend to the Federation that funds earmarked for the Project be spent in coordination with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department on oyster reef restoration and aquaculture projects in the Bay Systems.
Win! Green Lake Park Restoration
Another victory of this historic Clean Water Act lawsuit is to restoration and protection of Green Lake Park. It's the second largest natural lake in Texas and it was damaged during Hurricane Harvey.
(Reference Paragraph 57 of the Consent Decree)
The purpose of this project is environmental restoration and protection of Green Lake, Calhoun County, specifically to restore the lake to its historic condition, including repairing a recent breach due to Hurricane Harvey and provide Funds for development of public access to the Park.
Green Lake is the second largest natural lake in the State of Texas, but does not have public access, and has not been developed or protected in a way to ensure its natural environment is sustained. Green Lake was recently purchased by Calhoun County.
Calhoun County will use Trust funds to repair the current breach from Green Lake waters which is causing seepage from Green Lake into adjacent waters (Contract #004). Thereafter, funds will be used to develop, operate and maintain Green Lake Park as a publicly available park without recreational vehicle hook-ups, but otherwise consistent with the Green Lake Master Plan (Contract #017).
Any funding left after construction of the Park will be spent on operation and maintenance of the park.
Link to the Calhoun County Parks Improvement Plan 2021 (Green Lake Park is located on Pages 69-77)
Win! YMCA Summer Camp Funding
The lawsuit against Formosa Plastics also brought money to fund summer camps for children in Calhoun County!
(Reference Paragraph 58 of the Consent Decree)
The purpose of this project is environmental education, specifically to give local children the opportunity to learn about and enjoy the local ecosystem.
The Port Lavaca YMCA is a branch of Young Men’s Christian Association of the Golden Crescent, Inc. located in Victoria, Texas.
Beach erosion and pollution of the Bay Systems and their shores has limited recreational opportunity to children of Calhoun County. The Port Lavaca YMCA will conduct camps for children and teenagers in the area, which will be focused on education about how to be a good steward of the local ecosystems and will teach outdoor education and recreation activities.
Free transportation will be offered to the camps and children who meet federal low-income standards will be given a scholarship to attend and will be provided free meals and snacks.
Funding may also be spent for housing for summer staff to conduct the camps and to train staff on the ecology of the Bay Systems. Funding may also be used for the purchase of equipment for the camps.
Win! Magnolia Beach Restoration
(Reference Paragraph 59 of the Consent Decree)
Funds from the lawsuit will be used for environmental restoration and protection specifically to restore Magnolia Beach and to allow use by the public.
Calhoun County will undertake projects for erosion control and beach restoration at Magnolia Beach including the purchase and use of clean and uncontaminated fill material, planting of native plants, necessary construction to prevent future erosion and necessary maintenance to prevent beach erosion.
Beach erosion and pollution of Lavaca Bay and its shores has limited recreational opportunities for the people of Calhoun County. Magnolia Beach has sustained harm from erosion and is also a location where plastics has been found.
Win! Nurdle Patrol Funding
(Reference Paragraph 60 of the Consent Decree)
The purpose of this Mitigation Project is environmental quality assessment and environmental education, specifically to support the Nurdle Patrol which documents the discharge of plastics on the Gulf Shore, and to host conferences on environmental issues on the Gulf Coast.
The University of Texas Marine Science Institute is to use funds to support the Nurdle Patrol and for workshops and meetings, and to provide scholarships for attendance, food, transportation and expenses at conferences.
Nurdle Patrol Year 1 Final Report 2020-2021
Nurdle Patrol Report August 2021
Nurdle Patrol Report December 2021
Nurdle Patrol Report March 2022
Nurdle Patrol Year 2 Final Report - June 2022
Nurdle Patrol Report August 2022
Nurdle Patrol Report November 2022
Nurdle Patrol Report February 2023
Funding scientific research is another focus of the trust. Tunnell’s Nurdle Patrol has more than 5,000 volunteers, who have done 11,000 pellet surveys. The metric they use is how many nurdles one person can gather by hand in 10 minutes; participants scoop as many as they can, count them afterwards, and report the results. - NG
CEF - DW: That would be Jace Tunnel from Nurdle Patrol, the director of the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve at the University of Texas. He started his research around Corpus Christi, collecting plastic pellets on the beaches. His work led to the creation of Nurdle Patrol in 2018, a nationwide community of citizen scientists collecting and monitoring nurdle and plastic pollution. The Nurdle Patrol group gathered 1,500 members to survey more than 1,000 sites spanning across the Gulf of Mexico.
Win! Cleanup efforts on Cox Creek and Lavaca Bay
An RFP process is used to solicit project proposals under Paragraphs 61 and 62 of the Consent Decree.
The 2020-2021 RFP cycle:
On October 30, 2020 the Matagorda Bay Mitigation Trust published a Request for Proposals for coastal environmental projects in four categories: habitat restoration, environmental research, public education, and improving public access. The Matagorda Bay Mitigation Trust received a total of 39 proposals, from 16 entities, totaling 14.5 million dollars. Of those, nine projects, from six entities, totaling 3.2 million dollars were approved for funding.
The 2021-2022 RFP cycle:
On September 1, 2021 the Matagorda Bay Mitigation Trust published a Request for Proposals for coastal environmental projects in five categories: habitat restoration, environmental research, public education, improving public access, and youth camps. In response to the published advertisements a total of 37 proposals, from 20 entities, totaling 11.2 million dollars were received. Of those, twelve projects, from eight entities, totaling nearly 3.3 million dollars were approved for funding.
The 2022-2023 RFP cycle:
On September 1, 2022 the Matagorda Bay Mitigation Trust published a Request for Proposals for coastal environmental projects in five categories: habitat restoration, environmental research, public education, improving public access, and youth camps. In response to the published advertisements a total of 26 proposals, from 19 entities, totaling 10.5 million dollars were received. Of those, fifteen projects, from twelve entities, totaling nearly 5.8 million dollars were approved for funding.
Win! Wastewater Sampling Mechanism (WSM)
Another significant victory from the Clean Water Act lawsuit was to create a Wastewater Sampling Mechanism that can help monitor and capture small about of pollution coming from the Formosa plant. This technology may go on to be used at many other plants and factories across the country to curb pollution solids from entering waterways.
“Our thinking was we needed some system to be able to monitor the wastewater discharge before it entered Lavaca Bay,” said Jennifer Richards, an attorney with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid who has worked on remediation efforts related to the settlement. “We were hoping the (monitoring facility) would provide irrefutable evidence that plastics were exiting Formosa’s wastewater system and entering the bay.”
Attorneys working with Wilson on the lawsuit enlisted Aiza Jose-Sanchez, an engineer who has worked in stormwater and wastewater management in both municipal and industrial settings, to design a facility that would allow a third party to monitor plastics emitted through the pressurized 30-inch pipe that carries wastewater from Formosa’s treatment plant into Lavaca Bay.
Sources
Nurdles All the Way Down – Texas Monthly Oct 2019
Step Three: Enforcement
Enforcement
Even after the hard work of the lawsuit, you are not done yet!
Document the cleanup
Freese and Nichols is working on cleaning up Cox Creek at the moment. We go out and document the efforts in order to maintain transparency and accountability in the process. Checkout the photos and updates on our blog.
Continue water monitoring
Even years after the Clean Water Act lawsuit, we continue to monitor the water by boat and foot looking for pellets. Unfortunately, we continue to find plastic pollution.
Track and publish violations
We had to fight a legal and political battle to get the EPA, TCEQ and other agencies to enforce violations and update plastic regulations. There are over $8 million dollars in violations against Formosa for wastewater since the consent decree went into effect.
Sources:
How a dramatic win in plastic waste case may curb ocean pollution – National Geographic Feb 2022
Call to Action
Want to get involved?
Haragan, the UT law professor, considers their project proof that organized citizens can hold polluters— and regulators—accountable.
Texas Monthly
Want to help stop plastic pollution?
Donate to No More Nurdles
It takes a lot of fuel, community engagement and social outreach to make these changes happen.
Give a financial gift to San Antonio Bay Waterkeepers via the nonprofit Calhoun County Resource Watch, 501c3 Tax ID: 74-2585960. All financial donations are tax deductible.
Donations are used for boat maintenance, fuel for monitoring plastic pollution and industrial discharges, activities related to fighting petrochemical and fossil fuel build ups, engaging and educating community, and website/media management and costs.
Help track plastic pollution with Nurdle Patrol
The Nurdle Patrol looks for plastic pellets on waterways across the USA and world. See how you can help their research.
Hold plastic polluters accountable in your backyard
Grassroots projects can also help environmental organizations bring polluters to court. Armed with samples and photos, plaintiffs like Wilson and the Waterkeepers have a better shot at winning lawsuits that often hinge on physical evidence. Kelly Haragan, the director of the environmental law clinic at the UT School of Law, believes that the future of environmental regulation is “people-powered.” Regulators, she noted, currently rely on companies to report their own violations. “We’re on the cusp of the public being able to hold industry much more accountable.”
Contact your Representatives
Contact your representatives and ask for legislative bills banning zero discharge of plastic and ranking PVC waste as hazardous.
Contact banks to divest from Formosa
Contact Formosa Executives
Get your friends together and have a letter writing party or phone bank! Contact them that you care about the air and water in Lavaca Bay and Point Comfort and want them to stop polluting.
“What’s really powerful and unusual is that our clients gathered the evidence but also that they gathered it in such a tremendously consistent and voluminous manner,” Johnson said. The case has already served as a model for lawyers and citizens across Texas: attorneys from other legal aid organizations traveled to watch the trial, and another client of Johnson’s recently started taking photos of algae growth in a river near her home, downstream from her city’s wastewater treatment plant. “I’ll get a call from some fisherman who’s been out there, and they’ll say, ‘Amy, there’s a whole lot of powder out here today,’ ” Johnson said. “They’re feeling stewardship.”
Texas Monthly
