Tag Archives: under the Clean Water Act
A former shrimper tries to revive Matagorda Bay and its fishing industry with $50 million pollution settlement
Few people still fish for a living on the Gulf Coast of Texas. The work is hard and pay is meager. In the hearts of rundown seaside towns, dilapidated harbors barely recall the communities that thrived here generations ago. But at the docks of Port Lavaca, one group of humble fishermen just got a staggering $20 million to bring back their timeless way of life. They’re buying out the buyer of their catch, starting the largest oyster farm in Texas and dreaming big for the first time in a long time. “We have a lot of hope,” said Jose Lozano, 46, who docks his oyster boats in Port Lavaca. “Things will get better.” It’s all thanks to one elder fisherwoman’s longshot crusade against the petrochemical behemoth across the bay, and her historic settlement in 2019. Diane Wilson, a fourth-generation shrimper from the tiny town of Seadrift, took on a $250 billion Taiwanese chemical company, Formosa Plastics Corp., and won a $50 million trust fund, the largest sum ever awarded in a civil suit under the Clean Water Act. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:47
U.S. Appeals Court’s unanimous decision supports shrimp trawling in state sounds
Commercial shrimpers in the state’s sounds received an overwhelming vote of confidence Monday, Aug. 7 with a unanimous decision by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals affirming a lower court ruling dismissing complaints against shrimp trawling under the Clean Water Act. The plaintiffs contend that shrimp trawlers in Pamlico Sound are violating the Clean Water Act by engaging in two types of unpermitted activity, “throwing bycatch overboard and disturbing sediment with their trawl net. Glenn Skinner, executive director of the N.C. Fisheries Association which represents the state’s commercial fishing industry, noted that this lawsuit had far-reaching impact and could have, if approved, closed the commercial industry. The North Carolina shrimp fishery is immensely important to the state’s commercial watermen but also to the state’s economy. Much of the fishery is in Pamlico Sound and its tributaries. >click to read< 12:55
