FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, January 28,
2013
Contact: Krista
Collard, 614.622.9109
Sierra Club Wins Major Transparency Victory
for
Oregon Families in Coal Export Public Records
Case
COOS BAY, OR-- Today, the Coos County Circuit Court upheld
the ideals of fairness and transparency in a case brought by the Sierra Club
against the Port of Coos Bay for its refusals to comply with routine requests
for public records. The Port of Coos Bay's efforts to dissuade the
Sierra Club from inquiring about its plans to develop a coal export
facility included attempts to extort nearly $20,000 in fees and invasive
demands for information about the Sierra Club's members and donors as a stipulation
for the records release. The Court has ordered the Port to turn over
records without a fee and prohibited the Port from posing invasive questions
involving constitutionally privileged information to the Sierra Club and other
public interest groups in the future.
Cesia Kearns, Campaign Representative for the
Sierra Club's "Beyond Coal" campaign released the following statement
in response:
"The court’s
decision offers renewed hope that the public's interest and open discourse
remain top priorities to those charged with protecting the law and our local
families. Despite having countless opportunities to be transparent
with Oregon families, the Port of Coos Bay resorted
to deceitful tactics to try to scare away public interest groups from
learning more about their coal export plans, and opted to violate the Oregon
Public Records Act rather than reveal even the names of the companies they are
courting to develop a dangerous and unstudied coal export facility.
While local leaders throughout
the Northwest are asking tough questions about coal exports, Coos Bay’s active
resistance to transparency begs the question – what are they hiding?
What we do know is
that the potential impacts of mining and transporting coal on our families’
health and safety, the harm to Oregon’s existing industries, and an unreliable
and declining interest in coal from the Asian market are a bad deal for Oregon
families. We ought to know the extent of these risks, and this decision is a testament
to how important the need for transparency is to our communities. As Oregon
leaders like Governor Kitzhaber face decisions about the fate of these
dangerous proposals, they should follow the court’s lead: safety and open and
honest accountability must take precedence over the coal industry’s desire to
make a quick buck at the expense of our local families.”
The Sierra Club is
represented by attorneys David Bahr, Law Offices of David Bahr; Jessica Yarnall
Loarie, Sierra Club Law Program; and Duane Bosworth, Davis Wright Tremaine.
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