FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 5, 2004

CONTACT: Bill Magavern, 916-557-1100, x102
Rico Mastrodonato, 510-271-0900, x315
Michael Schmitz, 510-337-9149

STATEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERS OPPOSING PROPOSITION 64

INITIATIVE WOULD OBSTRUCT ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT

California's air, water and earth are simply too precious to allow polluters immunity from prosecution. That is why California environmentalists oppose the big-business-sponsored initiative, Proposition 64, that would protect polluters. The initiative would severely limit enforcement of the state's unfair business competition law, which has become a crucial tool to protect the environment from the unlawful practices of polluters.

Prop. 64 would allow companies to put profits ahead of public health and safety without consequences. If this initiative passed, only the government would be able to enforce laws to protect public health and the environment against polluters. Public prosecutors simply do not have sufficient resources to fill the void that would result. Banning groups like ours from bringing legal action to stop polluters means that companies that violate California's clean air and water safeguards can continue to harm the environment with impunity.

The measure would limit private actions enforcing environmental protection laws to those who have lost money or property. But many environmental violations cause long term risks to public health, with the tangible losses not apparent for years. One of the strengths of the current law is its ability to prevent harm before people are injured, an ability that the initiative would strip away.

The Unfair Competition Law has been used to remove lead from drinking water fixtures and medications, to force oil companies to pay for polluting drinking water in communities across the state with the gasoline additive MTBE, to require a factory to cease poisoning its workforce of Latinas and Asian women with a solvent used under improper ventilation, and to reduce toxic emissions from industrial facilities.

When greedy lawyers abuse the system, we should crack down on them, not throw out the law itself. We have supported legislative efforts to weed out frivolous lawsuits, but this initiative goes way too far and would take away one of the best tools for enforcing our clean air and water safeguards.

Environmental groups cannot come close to matching the millions of dollars that big business is spending on this initiative, but we can tell the truth about Prop. 64. We will use grassroots communications to inform communities that this proposal will make them more vulnerable to polluters.

Bill Magavern, Senior Legislative Representative, Sierra Club California
Rico Mastrodonato, Northern California Director, California League of Conservation Voters
Michael Schmitz, Executive Director, California League for Environmental Enforcement Now (CLEEN)