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Civil rights group CASA and residents of Flower Branch apartment complex announce plans on Sept. 7  to file lawsuit. (Source: CASA)

Residents at a Silver Spring, Md., apartment complex are still complaining about strong natural gas odors one month after a devastating explosion and fire killed seven of their neighbors and injured dozens more.

Since the Aug. 10 disaster, the Montgomery County, Md., Fire and Rescue has been called to the Flower Branch apartment complex, located on Piney Branch Road, numerous times in response to unusually strong natural gas odors.

The latest visit by the fire department to the apartment complex reportedly occurred later on the same day that CASA, a nonprofit that advocates for low-income workers and tenants, held a press conference announcing that it is partnering with two law firms — Bailey & Glasser LLP and Gupta Wessler PLLC — to conduct an independent investigation of the natural gas-fueled explosion and fire at the apartment complex.

After completion of the investigation, the group is likely to file a civil lawsuit on behalf of more than 80 residents of the apartment complex, including about a dozen tenants who were directly impacted by the explosion and fire. Along with the deaths and injuries, 84 families were displaced from their homes at Flower Branch. Given the persistent smell of natural gas and the memories of the disaster, CASA officials said many residents are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Especially for kids, they are having nightmares. They are thinking there’s going to be another explosion. Some tenants are still afraid to cook,” CASA spokeswoman Fernanda Durand said.

Based on preliminary findings, investigators and building management are blaming a natural gas leak in a basement utility room. The National Transportation Safety Board has taken over the investigation into the causes of the disaster and is expected to issue a final report within 12 months.

CASA does not believe the residents should have to wait as long as a year to find out if their apartment complex is safe. “We’re conducting an independent investigation. Out of the results of that is how we’re going to decide to hold them responsible for this,” Durand said of the planned lawsuit. “We should complete the investigation within two or three weeks.”

After the Sept. 7 press conference announcing the lawsuit plans, a group of Flower Branch tenants and organizers walked to the apartment complex offices and delivered a petition signed by about 130 people. The group, known as the Flower Apartment Committee for Justice, Safety and Dignity, requested a meeting between the owners of the complex and all tenants of the Flower Branch complex. The tenants want to address a wide range of issues, including ending alleged mistreatment and harassment from apartment managers and security personnel and addressing the “deplorable conditions” at the apartment complex.

Residents march on management office at Flower Branch apartment complex on Sept. 7 to deliver petition seeking major improvements at complex. (Source: CASA)

“There’s been a pattern of intimidation from management, which goes back a long time, not just now. Security guards are using all types of intimation tactics. It takes people with a lot of courage to come forward,” Durand said.

In a Sept. 7 statement, Kay Apartment Communities, the managers of the complex, said it will reach out to the residents who signed the petition “so they know we are ready and willing to meet with them.” The management company also said it will continue to ask residents to report any safety concerns to its office and that the complaints will be immediately followed up on.

According to the petition, apartments that were evacuated during the fire and are now occupied have not been properly repaired, and other apartments have broken balcony railings and rotten floorboards. Evacuations due to natural gas leaks have continued to happen since the explosion, the petition reads.

“The smell of gas is around the buildings and management does nothing about. So the same problems that led to the explosion continue to happen,” Durand said. “The residents believe it wasn’t a one-off thing; there’s something wrong in the whole apartment complex.”

Kay Apartment Communities said it has met with the affected leaseholders and has been working to help them find new homes. “In less than 24 hours after the explosion, we began working collaboratively with CASA de Maryland and IMPACT Silver Spring to assist the residents, and on the night of Aug. 16, 2016 our management team met with the group for more than 2.5 hours at Clifton Park Baptist Church to answer resident questions directly, and to begin to distribute our relocation packages,” Kay Apartment Communities said in its statement.

Of the 24 apartments that are no longer habitable, all leaseholders and their authorized occupants have been contacted in an effort to secure other housing for them and provide financial assistance, Kay Apartment Communities said. Nineteen, or 79%, of those apartments’ leaseholders and authorized occupants have accepted other homes with Kay Apartment Communities, the company said.

Legal Battle Heats Up

Bailey & Glasser LLP attorney Cary Joshi speaks at Sept. 7 press conference announcing plans to conduct investigation and file lawsuit on behalf of Flower Branch tenants. (Source: CASA)

At the press conference, Bailey & Glasser attorney Cary Joshi said her law firm will “support the efforts of the community to bring about lasting, systemic changes that will ensure that what happened in Flower Branch never happens again.”

Bailey & Glasser plans to interview survivors, Kay Management and Washington Gas personnel as well as first responders. “As more people are interviewed, more leads will be developed, so this process does not have bookends,” the law firm said in an email.

While Bailey & Glasser will be leading the independent investigation, co-counsel Gupta Wessler will focus on the legal issues in the case and possible appeals. “This is the first time CASA has had a case of this kind,” Gupta Wessler founding principal Deepak Gupta said in an interview. “They don’t seek out cases like this. This case came to their doorstep.”

The lawsuit, once it is filed, will not depend on the official findings by the NTSB, which are not usually admitted as evidence in civil suits anyway, Bailey & Glasser said.

Charleston, W.Va.-headquartered Bailey & Glasser has represented other communities impacted by disasters, including serving as co-counsel in a jury trial that alleged a Massey Coal subsidiary had damaged or destroyed the wells and water supplies of residents of Mingo County, W.Va. The plaintiffs and their attorneys won a total cash recovery of $3.2 million, plus injunctive relief.

The firm also won a 2011 jury trial for 40 Huntington, W.Va., residents whose homes and properties were flooded by a municipal storm-water control system. The total recovery for the residents exceeded $1 million. When Huntington’s system again caused flood damages, Bailey & Glasser sued again in 2012, and, after another jury trial, obtained a second million-dollar judgment. In 2014, the firm won an appeal at the West Virginia Supreme Court when the court ruled that monetary damages awarded to homeowners but cut by the judge be restored.

This article was originally published on Energy Action News.

The post Silver Spring Residents Prepare for Legal Fight as Natural Gas Odors Linger appeared first on DCMediaGroup.

Standing Rock Sioux block pipeline construction vehicles during an action near their reservation. Photo: Doug Grandt

The Department of Justice on Friday issued a non-binding statement requesting a “voluntary pause on all construction” of the Dakota Access Pipeline near Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. The request was released jointly with the Department of Interior and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and came immediately after U.S. District Court Judge James E. Boasberg ruled against a Standing Rock Sioux motion to stop construction of the pipeline near their reservation.

The joint statement was seen as a strong intervention in an intensifying standoff between Dakota Access, LLC and over 150 tribes encamped at three sites near Lake Oahe, and Cannon Ball, North Dakota. The Standing Rock Sioux have been locked in a battle with the Army Corps of Engineers and Dakota Access, LLC over the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline with the future of the Standing Rock Sioux water rights and preservation of their ancient burial sites in the balance.

The three-agency request came a day after North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple activated the National Guard to support police and private security already deployed near the Sacred Stone and Sicangu Rosebud Camps in response to a massive influx of Standing Rock Sioux allies and supporters.

These developments are significant in showing that organized resistance can influence political forces to stop industry machinations dead in their tracks. In this case the rallying call of the Sioux drew thousands to its front lines in support of the water and land protectors, and challenged authority until it blinked.

By continuing steadfast and unpredictable actions, the Sioux have raised national and international awareness of indigenous strife, forcing the Obama administration to react against the energy industry standard of land grabs and pipeline permits which are almost never rejected.

Sacred Stone Camp Reacts to Statement with Jubilation

As copies of the DOJ joint statement were circulated, there were cheers of jubilation from end to end of the Sacred Stone camp. After a month of escalating conflict, there was a sudden outporing of celebration. Tribes held dance circles by fire sides and prayer groups at the banks of Lake Oahe and the Missouri River on Friday and Saturday morning.

Rose from Washington State messaged unity. Photo: Doug Grandt

As evening fell, the 7 Council of Fires, including the Dakota, Lakota and Nakota people, dressed in traditional attire and held a massive ceremony of thousands, welcoming everyone who came. “This was a hiatus to the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline under Lake Oahe,” said Doug Grandt, an environmentalist who has been staying at the Sacred Stone camp for the last week.

“It’s not just about oil anymore,” said Grandt. “It’s the first time in 140 years the 7 Council Fires have come together with unity of the entire Sioux Nation.” The 7 Council Fires represent the seven divisions among the Dakota and has been traditionally referred to as the Great Sioux Nation. Grandt confirmed the spirit and camaraderie in the camps was strong as ever and growing in a common cause as the Sioux Nation came together not just to talk about land and water rights but to work through long standing disputes and discuss their future.

The Camp will not be disbanded as thousands of land and water protectors have gathered and many plan to remain there to “monitor the situation” until at least January 1, according to Grandt. They are ready with their next steps of actions against builders of the 1,172-mile pipeline in the event Dakota Access continues building, encroaches on traditional indigenous peoples land or further damages sacred burial sites which pipeline work crews bulldozed last week.

Grandt also said that National Guard troops deployed along the highway leading to the camps made it difficult getting through a road security check point where about a dozen guards were stationed. The Guard checkpoint outside Cannon Ball, was set up as an “information” point but a press release by Standing Rock Sioux reported that vehicles were being subjected to searches.

The physical conditions at the camp were becoming more difficult with Autumn. Rain over the past few days had muddied the main roads in the Sacred Stone Camp, challenging efforts to organize actions. It also stymied heavy earth moving equipment used by pipeline construction crews which had been idle anyway due to the temporary Court injunction.

Direct Actions Proved Effective

A series of protectors’ direct actions have already resulted in dozens of arrests. A brutal dog attack on peaceful protectors by a security firm near the reservation resulted in a cascade of overwhelming public support. As word spread of heavy police deployment, and the activation of the National Guard, even more joined in the days after the dog attack. The camps mushroomed in size from a few hundred to many thousands, requiring three separate camps to house and feed the massive influx.

A tipi which was signed by hundreds of land and water protectors. Photo: Doug Grandt

Protectors organized under night cover and moved by early daylight, confounding construction crews. They used lock boxes to fasten their arms to bulldozers, stopping excavation for hours and preventing pipeline workers from progress on the project. Police came to cut their chains and dozens were arrested for trespassing.

In another action protectors spray painted graffiti on equipment. Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein also spray painted equipment, and a warrant was issued for her arrest. Protectors were constantly challenging private security officers, rallying supporters to join the camps and were not afraid to push the envelope in how they could challenge authority.

Supporters arrived at the camps by car, canoe and kayak. Some even traveled along the Missouri River from Bismark in a large flotilla of canoes, a traditional means of travel, which effectively circumvented the National Guard check point.

Uncertainty Remains Despite Victory

There was, however, some amount of uncertainty over what would happen next.

“They understand this is not the end-all solution,” said Grandt. “The Tribes realize that although there is a moment of victory here, they have to reamain vigilant and continue to monitor the situation and be ready to respond.”

The standoff is not likely to escalate in the immediate future but legal maneuvering is still far from over, so the pipeline may still be built. The question remains: will the pipeline be stopped and if not, where will the new route be?

The post Standing Rock Sioux Celebrate as Pipeline Halted Near Reservation appeared first on DCMediaGroup.

Replica of flag taken from General Custer, held by Sacred Stone Camp defenders/Photo by Rob Wilson for Bold Alliance

The Obama administration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today made a stunning announcement which nullified a much-anticipated federal court ruling regarding a pipeline opposed by Dakota Native American tribes.

A U.S. District Court decision removed a major barrier to construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which would deliver Bakken shale oil from North Dakota to Illinois. But in a joint statement shortly following the court’s ruling, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of the Interior issued a joint statement saying that the Army Corps would not grant Dakota Access, LLC a crucial permit needed to complete the pipeline and might even reconsider previous decisions.

In addition, the government called for a discussion on a major sticking point in the case just considered in federal court: how much tribes are consulted during the permitting of major infrastructure projects.

This fall, according to the statement, they “will invite tribes to formal, government-to-government consultations” on two points: how the federal government can better ensure tribal input into infrastructure-related reviews, and whether new legislation should be proposed to Congress to adjust the “statutory framework” governing the permitting of infrastructure projects.

The Army Corps was expected to grant an easement for Dakota Access to bore under Lake Oahe, but now says, in the statement just released, it will refrain from granting the permit until it conducts a review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) or other federal laws. The Environmental Protection Agency, in disagreement with the Corps’ previous position, had pushed for such a review.

The statement also calls on Dakota Access to voluntarily refrain from construction activity within 20 miles of the lake. So far, Dakota Access has declined to comment on the ruling and the government’s announcement.

Thousands have flocked to North Dakota to block construction of access roads and clearing and grading for a section of the 1,172-mile pipeline which the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe says will pollute their drinking water supply just north of its reservation. Two encampments, in addition to the original Sacred Stone Camp, were established to accommodate members of numerous Sioux tribes and their supporters from all over the country, who call themselves protectors rather than protesters.

The government’s announcement immediately followed U.S. District Court Judge James E. Boasberg’s denial of a motion of preliminary injunction on the Army Corp’s permitting of Dakota Access construction around Lake Oahe. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe had sought the injunction on the basis of irreparable harm to sites of cultural and historical importance under the National Historical Preservation Act.

Judge Boasberg agreed with the Army Corps that it had adequately reached out to the Standing Rock tribe, yet the tribe had largely refused to engage in the process. He contended that he lacked jurisdiction on areas west of Lake Oahe because they are private property and not subject to Army Corps permitting, which applies only to waterways on federal land. Furthermore, the judge noted that the purpose of an injunction is preventive. Since 48% of the pipeline has already been completed, he wrote, “the risk that construction may damage or destroy cultural resources is now moot.”

Dakota Access, with the support of local law enforcement, has seemed determined to flatten any resistance which would delay getting the $3.8 million project completed. The governor of North Dakota has firmly backed the company by declaring a state of emergency and deploying the National Guard. Dakota Access and law enforcement allege that protectors have engaged in violent conduct and vandalism, at times wielding “hatchets” and sticks, while the Sacred Stone Camp maintains that its tactics are nonviolent.

About 50 people gathered outside the U.S. District Courthouse in Washington, DC on Sept. 9 when the court was about to release a crucial ruling./Photo by Alex Lotorto

After the Army Corps gave Dakota Access permission to proceed with clearing and grading in late July, water protectors have conducted blockades and chained themselves to construction equipment. Conflict climaxed last weekend when a private security company hired by Dakota Access sicced dogs on tribe members, who were incensed that the company was bulldozing an area just identified as a burial site and possible archeological goldmine.

The optics of Natives bitten and wounded by vicious dogs egged on by hired white guards dressed like military were devastating. The Army Corps did not oppose an emergency motion to halt construction until Friday’s court decision. Rallies in sympathy with the Standing Rock Sioux tribe have been held around the country.

Jim Gray, former chief of the Osage tribe, calls the Sacred Stone Camp “the biggest story no one is covering.” In particular, the confluence of the Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota tribes, often called the Sioux, is unprecedented when there have habitually been inter-tribal conflicts.

In the last year, thousands of Native people have traveled to Standing Rock’s reservation to join their brothers and sisters in what could be a long sustained presence to resist the construction of this pipeline project. In recent months, over 150 tribal governments across the U.S. have passed letters of support, resolutions and have sent tribal delegations with provisions to the reservation to assist the “Protectors”. This kind of commitment is unprecedented in the modern era. Even during the height of the 70’s, there never was this level of support both politically and in resources to help another tribe in their time of need.

Following the U.S. District Court’s denial of a motion for a temporary restraining order on construction west of Lake Oahe on Sept. 6, people are reported to be arriving at the camps at an even greater rate and preparing for a long stay. The Great Sioux Nation is united and determined.

In his ruling, Judge Boasberg referred to the long history of “indignities visited upon the Tribe over the last centuries” by the U.S. government. The U.S. Army has of course historically played an outsized role in persecuting the Sioux, among them the Massacre at Wounded Knee.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has also inflicted harm on Native American tribes. The Standing Rock Sioux and surrounding tribes have reason to bear a grudge after the Corps dammed the Missouri River in 1958, flooding an area where tribes for many long years had met for trade and ceremony, land they considered sacred. The result was Lake Oahe, under which the Dakota Access now wants to drill to place a pipeline transporting shale oil from North Dakota.

The Obama administration may have wanted to avert an inevitable and possibly violent crackdown after the U.S. District Court unequivocally denied the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s motion. It’s also likely that Obama doesn’t want to leave office with the legacy of having started another “war” with the “Indians.”

Whether the U.S. government, with its history of breaking every single treaty it has ever made with Native American tribes, is dealing in good faith with the Sioux Nations remains to be seen. It hasn’t actually stopped the Dakota Access Pipeline, only requested a “pause” for further review, perhaps in the hopes that delay will allow time to disband the encampments or exhaust them by winter.

“We have a long history of working with Army Corps of Engineers, a long history of them not being truthful, and a long history of them destroying land,” Sacred Stone Camp Director LaDonna Bravebull Allard said after the government’s announcement. “The Army Corps has never been truthful with the tribes, so we must always be cautious of whatever they say.”

UPDATE: Sacred Stone Camp posted the following on its Facebook page:

Let’s be cautious about celebrating this. On one hand it seems clear that our pressure is having an effect. Let’s keep it up.

But we have seen time and time again a consistent strategy from the State in these situations: string out the process, break it to us gradually to avoid a big confrontation, present the illusion of careful thoughtful review of the case, tempt us with promises of modest reforms…but then in the end make the same decision that serves money not people. So far this is just talk, not actions, and actions are all we should care about.

Stop the pipeline, and then we’ll celebrate.

We are not leaving until this is over.

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