Irony
PoliPundit.com
Sometimes the jokes about the political far left actually tell themselves.
Hat tip: CJ.
-- Jayson
polipundit.com
Greenpeace charged with violating environmental law
By RACHEL D'ORO
Associated Press writer
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Lawyers selected a jury Monday that will decide whether Greenpeace and its contract ship were criminally negligent by failing to have the proper oil spill response paperwork during an anti-logging campaign.
The environmental activist group, the captain of the Arctic Sunrise and the ship's agent all are charged with misdemeanor criminal counts of operating a vessel without a spill contingency plan or proof of financial responsibility in case of a spill, as required by state law.
Opening statements were scheduled Tuesday in state District Court in the southeast Alaska town of Ketchikan. Because the case involves misdemeanor charges, it will be heard by only six jurors and two alternates.
"We feel good about the jury and feel confident they'll listen to all the evidence and render a fair verdict based on the evidence presented in court,'' said Greenpeace attorney Tom Wetterer.
State environmental regulators cited Greenpeace Inc., Arctic Sunrise Capt. Arne Sorensen and ship agent Willem Beekman last July for not filing a spill response plan or having a financial responsibility certificate. According to court documents, the ship was carrying more than 70,000 gallons of "petroleum products'' when it arrived in southeast Alaska for the protest campaign against logging in the Tongass National Forest.
In Alaska, non-tank vessels larger than 400 gross tons must file an oil spill response plan application five days before entering state waters.
The group contends the paperwork oversight was a mishap that was quickly corrected. Those on board didn't know such documents were required, Wetterer said.
"There was no criminal negligence here,'' he said.
Wetterer said the group is being unfairly targeted in retaliation for its anti-logging stance. The defendants contend that many other vessels have entered state waters without the same documents and never faced criminal prosecution.
"At the time of this incident, the ship was insured against oil spills and also had an international oil spill contingency plan in place,'' Wetterer said.
The state didn't pursue criminal charges against the group until the Arctic Sunrise departed from Ketchikan before the paperwork was finalized, despite an agreement to stay anchored, said Assistant Attorney General Jay Fayette.
The criminal negligence charges carry a maximum penalty of a $200,000 fine for an organization and a year in prison and a $10,000 fine for an individual.
The trial is expected to wind up at the end of the week, said Fayette, who on Tuesday plans to call his first witnesses, including a radio reporter who interviewed Sorensen after the Arctic Sunrise left Ketchikan.
Some details also will come from documents such as the ship's itinerary that District Judge Kevin Miller agreed to allow as evidence Tuesday after 90 minutes of "boring and polite legal bantering'' between the two sides, Fayette said.
"My intent is to compress this so we can keep it to this week,'' he said.
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