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106-541: In 2009 the U.S. federal government initiated investigations into the allegations of contaminated water and failures by U.S. Marine officials to act on the issue. In August 2012, President Obama signed the Janey Ensminger Act into law to begin providing medical care for people who may have been affected by the contamination. In February 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that

212-488: A 2012 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film On April 20, 2012, members of the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees signed a letter to President Obama asking that health care for Camp Lejeune contamination victims be expedited. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki responded that providing healthcare to Camp Lejeune veterans was "premature". The Government Accountability Office , on May 2, 2012, issued

318-410: A Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA). Natural resource trustees determine and quantify injuries caused to natural resources through either releases of hazardous substances or cleanup actions and then seek to restore ecosystem services to the public through conservation, restoration, and/or acquisition of equivalent habitat. Responsible parties are assessed damages for the cost of the assessment and

424-464: A Superfund site. In 1978, residents of the rural black community of Triana, Alabama were found to be contaminated with DDT and PCB , some of whom had the highest levels of DDT ever recorded in human history. The DDT was found in high levels in Indian Creek, which many residents relied on for sustenance fishing. Although this major health threat to residents of Triana was discovered in 1978,

530-539: A chemical or oil spill. From 2000 to 2015, Congress allocated about $ 1.26 billion of general revenue to the Superfund program each year. Consequently, less than half the number of sites were cleaned up from 2001 to 2008, compared to before. The decrease continued during the Obama administration , and since under the direction of EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy Superfund cleanups decreased even more from 20 in 2009 to

636-528: A claim on which relief could be granted, and is not against an immune defendant. Straw has 6 mental illness or neurological diagnoses and a cardiac birth defect, and his medications are also used to treat Parkinson's Disease. Straw has alleged symptoms of Parkinson's Disease, which is a Track 1 condition. ( Dkt. 23 , Case Management ORDER #2). The Fourth Circuit, Judges King, Agee, and Thacker, dismissed Straw's appeal ( Dkt. 51 ) but Straw petitioned for rehearing ( Dkt. 53 ). Straw withdrew ( Dkt. 55 ) his request for

742-460: A contribution action under the CERCLA. CERCLA liability has generally been judicially established as joint and several among PRPs to the government for cleanup costs (i.e., each PRP is hypothetically responsible for all costs subject to contribution), but CERCLA liability is allocable among PRPs in contribution based on comparative fault. An "orphan share" is the share of costs at a Superfund site that

848-594: A dismissal of the case, stating that the statute of limitations had expired and that regulations at the time did not include contaminants such as trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, vinyl chloride and benzene. U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle, however, rejected the Navy's arguments and ruled that the suit could go forward. Said Boyle, "The Department of the Navy's unwillingness to release information regarding contamination at Camp Lejeune or to provide notice to former residents remains relevant in that such conduct limited

954-453: A disproportionate amount. The EPA seeks to identify parties responsible for hazardous substances released to the environment (polluters) and either compel them to clean up the sites, or it may undertake the cleanup on its own using the Superfund (a trust fund) and seek to recover those costs from the responsible parties through settlements or other legal means. Approximately 70% of Superfund cleanup activities historically have been paid for by

1060-608: A federal health study examining possible birth defects among children born at the base during the contamination years. Up to this point, many families potentially affected by the water contamination attributed rare illnesses and cancers in their families to bad luck. In 2005 the US Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) investigated the USMC's handling of the issue, and reported that they found no criminal conduct by USMC officials. In 2007, however, one of

1166-461: A former servicemember's cancer was caused by his exposure to the contaminated water. Paul Buckley, a USMC veteran who was diagnosed with incurable hematological malignancy , was stationed at Camp Lejeune in the 1980s. In March 2010 the VA decided that Buckley's cancer was directly linked to his ingestion of contaminated water at Camp Lejeune and awarded him 100% disability benefits. This is believed to be

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1272-571: A jury trial right, among other things. The Court has also rejected simplifying the causation requirement, instead ensuring that every single claimant must prove via experts that their illnesses or death were the result of the Camp LeJeune poisoning "at least as likely as not." ( Dkt. 227 ) In October 2009 North Carolina Congressman Brad Miller announced his intention to add a companion bill to Richard Burr 's "Caring for Camp Lejeune Veterans Act of 2009" to provide assistance to possible victims of

1378-477: A lesser chance of successful listing and cleanup than areas with higher income levels. After the executive order had been put in place, there persisted a discrepancy between the demographics of the communities living near toxic waste sites and their listing as Superfund sites, which would otherwise grant them federally funded cleanup projects. Communities with both increased minority and low-income populations were found to have lowered their chances of site listing after

1484-637: A loan for graduate work when the U.S. Department of Education approved him to have Direct Unsubsidized loans for his master's degree at University of Maine, where Straw was admitted in 2023. Thus, Straw's appeal (Opening Brief at Dkt. 7 ) is now solely to obtain a loan for medical purposes related to Straw's poisoning, to be repaid from his damage award. Straw was denied en banc review. ( Dkt. 61 ). Straw has requested U.S. Representatives Murphy and Ross to include health care in their proposed corrections litigation for Camp LeJeune Justice Act of 2024. The Department of Justice has demanded that Straw attempt to mitigate

1590-488: A mere 8 in 2014. In November 2021, Congress reauthorized an excise tax on chemical manufacturers, under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act . The new chemical excise tax is effective July 1, 2022, and is double the rate of the previous Superfund tax. The 2021 law also authorized $ 3.5 billion in emergency appropriations from the U.S. government general fund for hazardous site cleanups in

1696-419: A polluter could not be identified, could not or would not pay (bankruptcy or refusal), consisted of about $ 1.6 billion and then increased to $ 8.5 billion. Initially, the framework for implementing the program came from the oil and hazardous substances National Contingency Plan. The EPA published the first Hazard Ranking System in 1981, and the first National Priorities List in 1983. Implementation of

1802-647: A report recommending that the DoD update its processes for addressing possible health effects from toxic exposure. Retired Marine drill instructor Jerry Ensminger started a petition requesting that the US government begin providing healthcare to Camp Lejeune veterans exposed to the toxic water. More than 136,000 people signed the Change.org petition. In February 2014 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its report on

1908-412: A requirement by addressing low income populations and minority populations that have experienced disproportionate adverse health and environmental effects as a result of their programs, policies, and activities. The EPA regional offices had to apply required guidelines for its Superfund managers to take into consideration data analysis, managed public participation, and economic opportunity when considering

2014-488: A result, at least 850 former residents filed claims for nearly $ 4 billion from the military. The contamination appears to have affected the water from two of the eight water wells on the base. The main chemicals involved were volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as perchloroethylene (PCE), a dry cleaning solvent, and trichloroethylene (TCE), a degreaser; however, more than 70 chemicals have been identified as contaminants at Lejeune. The base's wells were shut off in

2120-528: A site for the NPL is intended primarily to guide the EPA in: Despite the name, the Superfund trust fund has lacked sufficient funds to clean up even a small number of the sites on the NPL. As a result, the EPA typically negotiates consent orders with PRPs to study sites and develop cleanup alternatives, subject to EPA oversight and approval of all such activities. The EPA then issues a Proposed Plans for remedial action for

2226-418: A site on which it takes public comment, after which it makes a cleanup decision in a Record of Decision (ROD). RODs are typically implemented under consent decrees by PRPs or under unilateral orders if consent cannot be reached. If a party fails to comply with such an order, it may be fined up to $ 37,500 for each day that non-compliance continues. A party that spends money to clean up a site may sue other PRPs in

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2332-560: A state Superfund law and may perform NRDA either through state laws or through other federal authorities such as the Oil Pollution Act. CERCLA created the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). The primary goal of a Superfund cleanup is to reduce the risks to human health through a combination of cleanup, engineered controls like caps and site restrictions such as groundwater use restrictions. A secondary goal

2438-593: A well was found to have a dangerously high concentration of a chemical normally found in gasoline, which should have mandated the well's immediate closure. Marine officials shut down one of the contaminated wells in November 1984 and the others in early 1985. The Marines notified North Carolina of the contamination in December ;1984. At this time the Marines did not disclose that benzene had been discovered in

2544-574: Is a separate consolidated case with Leadership Counsel that is litigating general issues that apply to all CLJA cases. Camp Lejeune Water Litigation v. United States , 7:23-cv-00897 (E.D.N.C.). The District Court has severely limited individuals' right to make motions in favor of the consolidated case. It was that motion limitation that led to Straw appealing to the Fourth Circuit. Straw had fully briefed motions months earlier that were simply denied without prejudice due to case management orders in

2650-449: Is attributable to a PRP that is either unidentifiable or insolvent. The EPA tries to treat all PRPs equitably and fairly. Budgetary cuts and constraints can make more equitable treatment of PRPs more difficult. Upon notification of a potentially hazardous waste site, the EPA conducts a Preliminary Assessment/Site Inspection (PA/SI), which involves records reviews, interviews, visual inspections, and limited field sampling. Information from

2756-480: Is listed in her Short Form Complaint ( Dkt. 5 ). Breast cancer is now a Track 2 trial condition. (Consolidated Litigation, Dkt. 144 ). Andrew Straw's in forma pauperis status was granted ( Dkt. 82 ) approximately 14 months after he requested it. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B), this " IFP " status means the case was reviewed by the Magistrate Judge and found not to be frivolous or malicious, that it stated

2862-411: Is often pointed to as the roots of the environmental justice movement. PCBs were illegally dumped into the community and then it eventually became a PCB landfill . Community leaders pressed the state for the site to be cleaned up for an entire decade until it was finally detoxified. However, this decontamination did not return the site to its pre-1982 conditions. There has been a call for reparations to

2968-740: Is presented in a Proposed Plan for public review and comment, followed by a selected alternative in a ROD. The site then enters into a Remedial Design phase and then the Remedial Action phase. Many sites include long-term monitoring. Once the Remedial Action has been completed, reviews are required every five years, whenever hazardous substances are left onsite above levels safe for unrestricted use. As of December 9, 2021 , there were 1,322 sites listed; an additional 447 had been delisted, and 51 new sites have been proposed. Historically about 70 percent of Superfund cleanup activities have been paid for by potentially responsible party (PRPs). When

3074-707: Is seeking health care and education payments under CLJA, currently before the Fourth Circuit because the District Court in Eastern District of North Carolina denied him. See above. Efforts to create a Camp Lejeune Justice Act were renewed in 2022 and the Camp Lejeune Justice Act became Section 706 of the SFC Heath Robinson Honoring Our PACT Act, H.R. 3967. This Act was packaged as S. 3373 with

3180-609: Is the Church Rock uranium mill spill on the Navajo Nation. It was the largest radioactive spill in the US but received a long delay in government response and cleanup after being placed as a lower priority site. Two sets of five-year cleanup plans have been put in place by US Congress, but contamination from the Church Rock incident has still not been completely cleaned up. Today, uranium contamination from mining during

3286-773: Is the prerequisite for compensation. This includes in-utero exposure. There is a jury trial right that is not present in the Federal Tort Claims Act. Also, there is no requirement to prove negligence, making this what is known in tort law as a strict liability relief. All immunities that were used in the Multi-District Litigation are stripped by this new law, making it much easier for veterans, their family members, and others poisoned and injured to get relief. Many mass tort law firms have begun advertising for Camp Lejeune clients and there are conferences being held on this subject. Various errors in

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3392-554: Is to return the site to productive use as a business, recreation or as a natural ecosystem. Identifying the intended reuse early in the cleanup often results in faster and less expensive cleanups. EPA's Superfund Redevelopment Program provides tools and support for site redevelopment. CERCLA was enacted by Congress in 1980 in response to the threat of hazardous waste sites, typified by the Love Canal disaster in New York , and

3498-417: The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). In March 2010 a congressional investigation led by Miller asked the Navy and a contractor, Baker Environmental Inc., for documents related to the contamination issue. Miller also asked for access to the Navy's electronic database of documents related to the contamination, which heretofore had not been made publicly accessible. " On March 22, 2010,

3604-625: The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 ( CERCLA ). The program is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The program is designed to investigate and clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances. Sites managed under this program are referred to as Superfund sites . Of all the sites selected for possible action under this program (and there are tens of thousands across

3710-706: The Hazard Ranking System (HRS) to calculate a site score (ranging from 0 to 100) based on the actual or potential release of hazardous substances from a site. A score of 28.5 places a site on the National Priorities List, eligible for long-term, remedial action (i.e., cleanup) under the Superfund program. As of March 23, 2022 , there were 1,333 sites listed; an additional 448 had been delisted, and 43 new sites have been proposed. Superfund also authorizes natural resource trustees, which may be federal, state, and/or tribal, to perform

3816-578: The Valley of the Drums in Kentucky . It was recognized that funding would be difficult, since the responsible parties were not easily found, and so the Superfund was established to provide funding through a taxing mechanism on certain industries and to create a comprehensive liability framework to be able to hold a broader range of parties responsible. The initial Superfund trust fund to clean up sites where

3922-627: The 1981 document. Ensminger served in the Marine Corps for 24 and a half years, and lived for part of that time at Camp Lejeune. In 1985 his 9-year-old daughter, Janey, died of cancer. An advocacy group called The Few, The Proud, The Forgotten was created to inform possible victims of the contamination at Lejeune. The group's website includes an introduction with some basic information about the contamination at Lejeune, including that many health problems, such as various types of cancer, miscarriages, and birth defects, have been noted in people who drank

4028-477: The ATSDR admitted that the water had been contaminated with benzene and withdrew the 1997 report. The benzene most likely occurred as a result of 800,000 gallons of fuel that leaked from the base fuel farm during the years in question. The fuel leaks occurred near the main well that serves Hadnot Point, location of enlisted and officer's quarters and the base hospital. For unknown reasons, the presence of benzene in

4134-415: The ATSDR formally complained to the USMC for withholding details of and access to databases containing more than 700,000 electronic documents related to the water contamination. Said ATSDR Deputy Director Thomas Sinks, "It's interesting that there is information that we continue to discover that we need to go through." The Navy/USMC responded by providing access to ATSDR to the databases and denied that there

4240-470: The Camp Lejeune Justice Act and finally passed by a vote of 86–11 on August 2, 2022. President Biden was scheduled to sign this bill on August 8, 2022, in a White House Rose Garden ceremony. The language of Section 804 provides for monetary relief for those injured by exposure to the Camp Lejeune base and its toxic water by 30 days of "living", "working", or otherwise being exposed between 1953 and 1987

4346-586: The Camp Lejeune Justice Act. The Camp Lejeune Justice Act would allow those exposed to the contaminated drinking water at the Marine Corps Base to file a Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit and recover compensation for their injuries. A Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Attorney, Andrew U. D. Straw, is a Camp LeJeune CLJA claimant, along with his mother's estate. Straw v. United States , 7:23-cv-162-BO-BM (E.D.N.C.). Straw v. United States , 7:23-cv-1475-FL (E.D.N.C.). Straw's mother died of one of

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4452-591: The Cold War era remains throughout the Navajo Nation, posing health risks to the Navajo community. The data in the Superfund Program are available to the public. While the simple and relatively easy sites have been cleaned up, EPA is now addressing a residual number of difficult and massive sites such as large-area mining and sediment sites, which is tying up a significant amount of funding. Also, while

4558-575: The EPA investigators told Congress that he had recommended obstruction of justice charges against some Camp Lejeune officials, but had been overruled by Justice department prosecutors. In 2007, Jerry Ensminger, a retired Marine master sergeant, found a document dated 1981 that described a radioactive dump site near a rifle range at the camp. According to the report, the waste was laced with strontium-90 , an isotope known to cause leukemia and other cancers. According to Camp Lejeune's installation restoration program manager, base officials learned in 2004 about

4664-605: The Federal Circuit in 2021. Straw v. Wilkie , 20-2090, 843 F. App'x 263 (Fed. Cir. 1/15/2021); Straw v. Wilkie , 32 Vet. App. 374 , 375 (2020). While CLFMP has such a base address requirement, the CLJA does not. Thus, while a person may receive millions of dollars for their exposure and injuries under CLJA, they may be excluded from the health care under CLFMP that would help screen for those CLJA-covered conditions. Congress has not addressed this inconsistency yet, but Straw

4770-552: The Fourth Circuit ( Dkt. 33 , DENIED) to force DOJ attorney Adam Bain to verbally make a mea culpa statement whenever he appears for any Camp LeJeune matter given Bain opposed the victims in MDL-2218 and other cases. Straw asked the District Court refusal to provide declaratory reliefs ( Dkt. 65 , text order) to be overturned (DENIED). Those District Court motions were to alleviate harms of discrimination ( Dkt. 57-4 ) and establish facts that are indisputable ( Dkt. 58 ). Straw asked for

4876-536: The Lejeune water contamination. The proposed bills would authorize treatment at a US Veterans Administration facility to any veteran or family member who was based at Camp Lejeune during the time the water was contaminated and suffers from adverse health effects. Miller and Burr's proposed bill, "Caring for Camp Lejeune Veterans Act of 2011", was approved by the Veteran's Affairs Committee on 29 June 2011 and

4982-539: The Marine Corps to retract the booklet, which contains information its critics have called "misleading". In April 2011, five members of Congress sent the Navy a letter criticizing its continued behavior regarding the issue. They accused the Navy of continuing to mischaracterize the 2009 report by the National Academy of the Sciences' National Research Council, which concluded there was no concrete link between

5088-528: The PA/SI is used by the EPA to develop a Hazard Ranking System (HRS) score to determine the CERCLA status of the site. Sites that score high enough to be listed typically proceed to a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS). The RI includes an extensive sampling program and risk assessment that defines the nature and extent of the site contamination and risks. The FS is used to develop and evaluate various remediation alternatives. The preferred alternative

5194-481: The Superfund program, the EPA and state agencies use the HRS to calculate a site score (ranging from 0 to 100) based on the actual or potential release of hazardous substances from a site through air , surface water or groundwater . A score of 28.5 places the site on the National Priorities List, making the site eligible for long-term remedial action (i.e., cleanup) under the Superfund program. Federal actions to address

5300-602: The U.S. Supreme Court. His panel, led by a former U.S. Department of Justice lawyer, denied him but en banc review has yet to be decided. If Straw wins this case, every petition for writ of certiorari filed each year will receive a merits decision, including any Camp LeJeune appeals. Currently and since 1925, petitioners needed 4 justices to give their consent. If Straw prevails, it would mean instead of less than 100 U.S. Supreme Court decisions each year, more than 7,000 would be decided. Straw v. United States , 23-16039 (9th Cir. 2024) ( Dkt. 20 Petition for Rehearing En Banc ) There

5406-418: The U.S.), 1178 (as of 2024) remain on the National Priorities List (NPL) that makes them eligible for cleanup under the Superfund program. Sites on the NPL are considered the most highly contaminated and undergo longer-term remedial investigation and remedial action (cleanups). The state of New Jersey , the fifth smallest state in the U.S., is the location of about ten percent of the priority Superfund sites,

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5512-543: The Vietnam War era, about 50% of the USMC families lived off base while using the base as long as the veteran was stationed there. This means that for a large part of the children affected, they are not covered by CLFMP (Camp LeJeune Family Member Program, created by the Janey Ensminger Act) due to this on-base address requirement. Andrew Straw litigated this for himself for 7 years and was finally denied by

5618-503: The base as well as those who came onto the base for work. From August 1, 1953 through December 31, 1987 (sometimes from January 1, 1950 through December 31, 1985), Marines and personnel of any branch of the armed forces and their families stationed at Camp Lejeune's main base, barracks, family, temporary housing, Tarawa Terrace and Hadnot Point may have consumed or bathed in water contaminated with hazardous toxins at concentrations from 240 to 3400 times levels permitted by safety standards. As

5724-472: The base began testing the water for trihalomethanes in response to new regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). That same year, a laboratory from the U.S. Army Environmental Hygiene Agency began finding halogenated hydrocarbons in the water. In March 1981, one of the lab's reports, which was delivered to U.S. Marine officials, stated, "Water is highly contaminated with other chlorinated hydrocarbons (solvents)!" Possible sources of

5830-520: The base wells appeared to be poisoned. The water from the contaminated wells, however, continued in use at the base. Grainger continued to warn Marine officials of problems with the water in December 1982, March 1983, and September 1983. In a spring 1983 report to the EPA, Lejeune officials stated that there were no environmental problems at the base. In June 1983, North Carolina's water supply agency asked Lejeune officials for Grainger's lab reports on

5936-556: The burden of the cost was shifted to taxpayers in the general public. Since 2001, most of the cleanup of hazardous waste sites has been funded through taxpayers generally. Despite its name, the program suffered from under-funding, and by 2014 Superfund NPL cleanups had decreased to only 8 sites, out of over 1,200. In November 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act reauthorized an excise tax on chemical manufacturers, for ten years starting in July 2022. The EPA and state agencies use

6042-454: The cancer for nearly 2½ years before succumbing to it. Right after her death, her parents divorced. H.R. 1742 was introduced into Congress by U.S. Representative Brad Miller on May 5, 2011. It was the result of Jerry Ensminger's conviction that Janey's leukemia was caused by toxic chemicals in the drinking water at Camp Lejeune, which Jerry did not know about until 1997, when a federal government report concluded that for nearly three decades

6148-418: The cancers associated with the Camp LeJeune toxins a few months before he graduated from law school at Indiana University. Straw has appealed and objects to the denial ( Dkt. 59 ) of his motion ( Dkt. 56 ) for health care (including cancer and other health screening and mental health treatments) and education benefits while the case proceeds, given Straw was exposed in utero and after his birth for 583 days, and

6254-455: The chemicals trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene and the ailments suffered by veterans and family. The Navy states that the report also assessed benzene exposure, which is false, according to the members' letter. In June 2011 the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry began sending a survey to approximately 350,000 former employees or residents of Camp Lejeune. The purpose of

6360-415: The cleanup of the lead-contaminated hot spots. It wasn't until 1993 that the site was declared a Superfund site, and at the time it was one of the largest ones. However, it was not until 2004 when the EPA completed the clean-up efforts and eliminated the lead pollutant sources from the site. The Afton community of Warren County, North Carolina is one of the most prominent environmental injustice cases and

6466-644: The community which has not yet been met. Bayview-Hunters Point, San Francisco , a historically African American community, has faced persistent environmental discrimination due to the poor remediation efforts of the San Francisco Naval Shipyard , a federally declared Superfund site. The negligence of multiple agencies to adequately clean this site has led Bayview residents to be subject to high rates of pollution and has been tied to high rates of cancer, asthma, and overall higher health hazards than other regions of San Francisco. One example

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6572-466: The consolidated case. His renewed motion for medical care payments was denied a second time. ( Dkt. 59 ) The issue of ongoing health care payments to help victims mitigate damages has not arisen in the consolidated case. In October, the DOJ revealed that there were 117,000 CLJA claimants asking nearly $ 3.3 trillion in damages. In November, this number rose to over 129,000. CLJA cases and claims amount to one of

6678-437: The contaminated water at Camp Lejeune significantly increased the risk of possibly contracting multiple diseases, though they did not say that the water actually caused any disease. The PACT Act of 2022, Sec. 804, is the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022. It provides damages for past injuries from Camp Lejeune toxic exposure. It is the first such law that provides compensation to the civilian family members of veterans stationed at

6784-536: The contaminated water. According to their site, numerous base housing areas were affected by the contamination, including Tarawa Terrace, Midway Park, Berkeley Manor, Paradise Point, Hadnot Point, Hospital Point, and Watkins Village and Knox Trailer Park (Frenchman's Point). In 2008, the USMC began a Congressionally required notification campaign to notify former base residents of the issue. An online health registry now contains more than 135,000 names. United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has determined that

6890-456: The contamination could not be linked to any health problems. However, on October 22, 2010, a letter from the Director of the government agency tasked to study health effects at Superfund sites, such as Camp Lejeune, illustrated the limitations of the 2009 literature review and advised that there "was undoubtedly a hazard associated with drinking the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune". In 1980,

6996-593: The contamination include solvents from a nearby, off-base dry cleaning company, from on-base units using chemicals to clean military equipment, and leaks from underground fuel storage tanks. In 1982, a private company, Grainger Laboratories, contracted by the USMC to examine the problem provided the base commander with a report showing that the wells supplying water for the base were contaminated with trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene (also known as perchlorethylene). The contractor delivered repeated warnings to base officials, including base chemist Elizabeth Betz, that

7102-450: The contamination. The Department of Veterans Affairs is assigned to provide medical care. To fund the medical care, the bill extends higher fees for VA home loan guarantees to October 1, 2017. While this law applies to all veterans who served at the base for 30 days regardless of where they slept at night, the same is not true of civilian family members, who are excluded if they did not live on base with an on base address for 30 days. During

7208-484: The damages to him from his poisoning. ( Dkt. 17 , page 29, Aff. Def. #13). For this reason, Straw is suing Indiana for its property takings of his 5 law licenses, initiated as attacks on Straw's 6 mental illnesses, which were caused by Camp LeJeune toxic water. ( Complaint ) Straw is also asking the 9th Circuit to decide whether the Judges Act of 1925 is unconstitutional for oppressing the absolute right to appeal to

7314-427: The disproportionate health and environmental disparities that minority and low-income populations face through Executive Order 12898 required federal agencies to make environmental justice central to their programs and policies. Superfund sites have been shown to impact minority communities the most. Despite legislation specifically designed to ensure equity in Superfund listing, marginalized populations still experience

7420-418: The effects of the water contamination. The report found that Lejeune Marines had about a 10 percent higher risk of dying from any type of cancer compared to the Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton . Lejeune Marines had a 35 percent higher risk of kidney cancer , a 42 percent higher risk of liver cancer , a 47 percent higher risk of Hodgkin lymphoma , a 68 percent higher risk of multiple myeloma , and double

7526-521: The end of FY 2003. Since that time Superfund sites for which the PRPs could not pay have been paid for from the general fund. Under the 2021 authorization by Congress, collection of excise taxes from chemical manufacturers will resume in 2022. The Hazard Ranking System is a scoring system used to evaluate potential relative risks to public health and the environment from releases or threatened releases of hazardous wastes at uncontrolled waste sites. Under

7632-431: The environment, until the Navy confirmed that it had funded and initiated programs to study the mortality rate of possible victims of the contamination and a plan to compensate any victims for their injuries. The Navy notified Burr the week of March 1, 2010, that it had released $ 8.8 million to fund the requested study and Burr allowed the nominations of Sanz and Pfannenstiel to go forward. The study will be conducted by

7738-401: The executive order, while on the other hand, increases in income led to greater chances of site listing. Of the populations living within 1 mile radius of a Superfund site, 44% of those are minorities despite only being around 37% of the nation's population. As of January 2021, more than 9,000 federally subsidized properties, including ones with hundreds of dwellings, were less than a mile from

7844-456: The federal government did not act until 5 years later after the mayor of Triana filed a class-action lawsuit in 1980. In West Dallas, Texas , a mostly African American and Latino community, a lead smelter poisoned the surrounding neighborhood, elementary school, and day cares for more than five decades. Dallas city officials were informed in 1972 that children in the proximity of the smelter were being exposed to lead contamination. The city sued

7950-437: The first time the government has admitted liability. On February 22, 2012, the VA agreed that retired Marine Frank Rachowicz' terminal cancer was caused by exposure to the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. On July 6, 2009, Laura Jones filed a suit against the U.S. government over the contaminated water at the base. Jones previously lived at the base where her husband, a Marine, was stationed. The U.S. Navy requested

8056-510: The geography of toxic waste site remediation. Some environmentalists and industry lobbyists saw the Clinton administration's environmental justice policy as an improvement, but the order did not receive bipartisan support. The newly elected Republican Congress made numerous unsuccessful efforts to significantly weaken the program. The Clinton administration then adopted some industry favored reforms as policy and blocked most major changes. Until

8162-639: The immediate future. CERCLA authorizes two kinds of response actions: A potentially responsible party (PRP) is a possible polluter who may eventually be held liable under CERCLA for the contamination or misuse of a particular property or resource . Four classes of PRPs may be liable for contamination at a Superfund site: The liability scheme of CERCLA changed commercial and industrial real estate, making sellers liable for contamination from past activities, meaning they can't pass liability onto unknowing buyers without any responsibility. Buyers also have to be aware of future liabilities. The CERCLA also required

8268-505: The information available to potential clients." Boyle dismissed a claim by the Navy in November 2010 that Jones had violated the 10-year statute of repose. Said Boyle, "To summarily bar such claims from entering the courthouse would be a profound miscarriage of justice." In January 2011, retired Marine Joel P. Shriberg filed suit against the US Government, claiming that Lejeune's contaminated water caused his breast cancer. Shriberg

8374-774: The largest mass tort lawsuits in U.S. history. As of May 9, 2024, a status report revealed that as of that date there were 227,309 CLJA claims. ( Dkt. 201 ). The June 5, 2024, status report ( Dkt. 229 ) revealed that there were as of that date 1,813 lawsuits filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina and 232,892 CLJA claims to the Navy JAG office. The plaintiffs' leadership counsel provide an official website with information about this massive lawsuit. The Court decided that there will be no jury trials under CLJA lawsuits.( Dkt. 133 ). The proposed Camp LeJeune Justice Act of 2024 introduced in May 2024 would reverse this and give every claimant

8480-444: The lead smelters in 1974, then reduced its lead regulations in 1976. It wasn't until 1981 that the EPA commissioned a study on the lead contamination in this neighborhood and found the same results that had been found a decade earlier. In 1983, the surrounding day cares had to close due to the lead exposure while the lead smelter remained operating. It was later revealed that EPA Deputy Administrator John Hernandez had deliberately stalled

8586-560: The mid-1980s, after which the water met federal standards, then they were placed back online in violation of the law. The National Research Council of the National Academies released a report based upon a literature review of PCE and TCE in July ;2009. The report failed to assess other contaminants, such as benzene and vinyl chloride , and concluded that the water at the base was tainted between 1950 and 1985, but that

8692-515: The mid-1990s, most of the funding came from an excise tax on the petroleum and chemical industries, reflecting the polluter pays principle. Even though by 1995 the Superfund balance had decreased to about $ 4 billion, Congress chose not to reauthorize collection of the tax, and by 2003 the fund was empty. Since 2001, most of the funding for cleanups of hazardous waste sites has come from taxpayers. State governments pay 10 percent of cleanup costs in general, and at least 50 percent of cleanup costs if

8798-525: The original Act were identified and a corrections bill was introduced in May 2024 by Rep. Ross and Rep. Murphy. Death of Janey Ensminger The death of Janey Ensminger led to the creation of H.R.1742, known as the Janey Ensminger Act, an act of the 112th United States Congress which established a presumption of service connection for illnesses associated with contaminants in the water supply at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune between

8904-509: The oversight subcommittee of the United States House Committee on Science and Technology held hearings into the contamination. The committee focused in part on the 1997 ATSDR report and on a booklet the USMC released in July 2010 about the contamination which Miller described as "more public relations than public health." Congressional investigators and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry have asked

9010-517: The party either cannot be found or is unable to pay for the cleanup, the Superfund law originally paid for site cleanups through an excise tax on petroleum and chemical manufacturers. The last full fiscal year (FY) in which the Department of the Treasury collected the excise tax was 1995. At the end of FY 1996, the invested trust fund balance was $ 6.0 billion. This fund was exhausted by

9116-436: The potentially responsible parties (PRPs), reflecting the polluter pays principle . However, 30% of the time the responsible party either cannot be found or is unable to pay for the cleanup. In these circumstances, taxpayers had been paying for the cleanup operations. Through the 1980s, most of the funding came from an excise tax on petroleum and chemical manufacturers. However, in 1995, Congress chose not to renew this tax and

9222-689: The program in 1986 through an act amending CERCLA. The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA) added minimum cleanup requirements in Section 121 and required that most cleanup agreements with polluters be entered in federal court as a consent decree subject to public comment (section 122). This was to address sweetheart deals between industry and the Reagan-era EPA that Congress had discovered. In 1994 President Bill Clinton issued Executive Order 12898, which called for federal agencies to make achieving environmental justice

9328-483: The program in early years, during the Ronald Reagan administration , was ineffective, with only 16 of the 799 Superfund sites cleaned up and only $ 40 million of $ 700 million in recoverable funds from responsible parties collected. The mismanagement of the program under Anne Gorsuch Burford , Reagan's first chosen Administrator of the agency, led to a congressional investigation and the reauthorization of

9434-687: The restoration of ecosystem services. For the federal government, EPA, US Fish and Wildlife Service, or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may act as natural resource trustees. The US Department of Interior keeps a list of the natural resource trustees appointed by state's governors. Federally recognized Tribes may act as trustees for natural resources, including natural resources related to Tribal subsistence, cultural uses, spiritual values, and uses that are preserved by treaties. Tribal natural resource trustees are appointed by tribal governments. Some states have their own versions of

9540-555: The revision of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan 9605(a)(NCP). The NCP guides how to respond to releases and threatened releases of hazardous substances , pollutants, or contaminants. The NCP established the National Priorities List, which appears as Appendix B to the NCP, and serves as EPA's information and management tool. The NPL is updated periodically by federal rulemaking. The identification of

9646-529: The risk of ALS . On July 18, 2012, the US Senate passed the Janey Ensminger Act authorizing medical care to military and family members who had resided at the base between 1957 and 1987 and developed conditions linked to the water contamination. The measure applies to up to 750,000 people. The House approved the bill on July 31, 2012. President Obama signed the bill into law on August 6, 2012. The bill applies to 15 specific ailments believed to be linked to

9752-424: The state operated the facility responsible for contamination. By 2013 federal funding for the program had decreased from $ 2 billion in 1999 to less than $ 1.1 billion (in constant dollars). In 2001, the EPA used funds from the Superfund program to institute the cleanup of anthrax on Capitol Hill after the 2001 anthrax attacks . It was the first time the agency dealt with a biological release rather than

9858-406: The survey was to determine what diseases may be linked to the water contamination. The agency's report was expected to be completed in 2014. In 2011 a documentary film on the water contamination was produced and released by Wider Film Projects/Tracks Films called Semper Fi: Always Faithful . The film, directed by Tony Hardmon and Rachel Libert, made the 15-film short list for consideration for

9964-520: The tap water at Camp Lejeune had been contaminated by toxic chemicals associated with childhood and adult cancers, especially leukemia. President Barack Obama signed the bill into law in 2012, saying at the White House ceremony that the country has a “moral and sacred duty” to care for those sickened by the contaminated drinking water. Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by

10070-468: The trial judge to be changed. ( Dkt. 66 ). The Clerk of the District Court would not do so. ( Dkt. 70 text order). Straw asked the Fourth Circuit to change the judge in his Docketing Statement ( Dkt. 6 ) and Opening Brief ( Dkt. 7 ) (DENIED) and notified the appellate court that the district court was refusing to change the judge. Straw's Camp LeJeune conditions can be found in his Short Form Complaint ( Dkt 55 ). His mother's wrongful death from breast cancer

10176-424: The water and stated to the media that the EPA did not mandate unacceptable levels of PCE and TCE. In 1997 the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) investigated the well water and concluded that cancer derived from exposure to the water was unlikely. According to a federal investigation, ATSDR investigators overlooked evidence of benzene in the water when preparing the report. On April 28, 2009,

10282-451: The water had been omitted from the USMC report submitted for federal health review in 1992, in spite of the USMC being aware of its presence. The report had been prepared by a contractor, Baker Corp. State officials had also reportedly informed the ATSDR in 1994 about the presence of benzene in the water. In 1999 the USMC began to notify former base residents that they might have consumed contaminated water. The notifications were directed by

10388-414: The water testing. Marine officials declined to provide the reports to the state agency. In December 1983 Lejeune officials scaled back the water testing performed by Grainger. In July 1984, a different company contracted under the EPA's Superfund review of Lejeune and other sites found benzene in the base's water, along with PCE and TCE. At this point, chemists were testing individual wells. In one case,

10494-514: The water was contaminated. A representative from Grainger, Mike Hargett, stated that he went with Betz in July 1982 to inform an unnamed Marine lieutenant colonel who was deputy director of base utilities about the problems with the water. According to Hargett, the Marine was unwilling to discuss Hargett's concerns. In August 1982, a Grainger chemist, Bruce Babson, sent a letter to the base commander, Marine Major General D. J. Fulham, warning him that

10600-581: The world on July 30, 1976 in South Carolina. Her father is American, while her mother is Japanese. She was the only one of the Ensmingers’ children to have been conceived, carried or born while the family was living at Camp Lejeune. Janey was diagnosed with leukemia in 1983 and was the only child in the entire family’s known history to have been diagnosed with cancer. She was subjected to many bone marrow extractions and spinal taps, fighting

10706-536: The years 1957 and 1987 and which provided healthcare to family members of veterans who lived at Camp Lejeune while the water was contaminated. Ensminger was one among thousands of victims of the Camp Lejeune water contamination scandal, which is believed to be one of the largest water contamination incidents in United States history. Etsuko and Jerry Ensminger welcomed Jane "Janey" Yoshi Ensminger into

10812-460: Was any intent to withhold documents from the investigation, saying that all of the documents had already been provided in hard copy. Access to the databases, however, was not provided to two panels advising the US Government on the contamination issue, with the USMC saying that the panel members must use the Freedom of Information Act to obtain access to the documents. In September 2010 Miller and

10918-724: Was born in Camp LeJeune Naval Hospital in 1969. Straw v. United States , 23-2156 (4th Cir. 2024) (DENIED). Straw was denied the Camp LeJeune Family Member Program health care due to his family sleeping off base at night while using the base during the day. Straw has asked the Fourth Circuit to force the Justice Department to offer all victims what they asked in their Navy CLJA claim forms ( Dkt. 24 ) to prevent delay and more wrongful deaths without payment. Straw also wants

11024-561: Was dismissed on North Carolina statute of repose grounds on December 5, 2016, and the appeal to the 11th Circuit failed ( Straw, et al. v. United States , 16-17573). The U.S. Supreme Court refused certiorari. The Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022, Section 804 of the PACT Act, S. 3373, now provides an extended period for filing.The Act is also known as "CLJA". In 2022, as part of the Honoring Our PACT Act , Congress introduced

11130-536: Was sent to the full House and Senate for approval. The bill was expected to cost $ 3.9 billion over 10 years and directed the Department of Defense to pay, and the VA to provide the care, for victims of the water contamination. In February 2010, Senator Richard Burr stated that he would hold the nominations of two top Navy civilian officials- Paul Luis Oostburg Sanz as Navy general counsel and Jackalyne Pfannenstiel as assistant Navy secretary for installations and

11236-611: Was stationed at Lejeune from September 1957 through April 1959. In 2011, 10 lawsuits were consolidated in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Georgia. In October 2014, a federal appeals court rejected the North Carolina legislature's attempt to extend a time limit for filing pollution-related lawsuits. On October 14, 2014, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court ruled that CERCLA did not preempt North Carolina's statutory limits. A multi-district litigation, MDL-2218,

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