Web-Resol Tudo sobre Limpeza Urbana e Resíduos Sólidos!
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) has been ordered to pay US$338,618 to two lawyers who sued the agency over its failure to adopt a statewide solid waste management plan.
Tuscaloosa News reports that Doyle Fuller and Susan Copeland, both of Montgomery, sued ADEM in 2000 on behalf of the city of Lowndesboro and several of its citizens. The suit said ADEM had a legislative mandate to adopt the solid waste plan. It also accused ADEM of ignoring flaws in a permit application submitted by a company seeking to build a landfill in Lowndes County.
ADEM adopted a statewide plan for awarding permits required before new landfills can be built as a result of the lawsuit, Circuit Judge Sally Greenhaw stated in a ruling Wednesday that ordered the agency to pay the lawyers.
The attorneys “rendered a public service which resulted in a benefit to all of the citizens of this state,” the judge wrote. In opposing the fees, ADEM attorney Olivia Jenkins argued that the public benefits claimed by the plaintiffs were merely cosmetic. “Requiring an already cash-strapped agency to pay the exorbitant amount of attorney fees requested would clearly not be in the public benefit but would result in a grave injustice to the citizens of Alabama who expect ADEM to carry out its regulatory responsibilities,” Jenkins wrote in a letter to Greenhaw included in the court file.
ADEM’s lawyers were reviewing the ruling Thursday, and had yet to decide if there would be an appeal, said agency spokesman Scott Hughes.
Artigos Relacionados
Check Also
Egypt reviews Red Sea waste management system – Dailynewsegypt
Egypt’s Minister of Local Development and Environment, Manal Awad, and Red Sea Governor Walid El-Barqi held an extensive meeting to review the performance of the governorate’s waste management system and discuss measures to improve environmental services and operational efficiency. The meeting, held during Awad’s visit to the Red Sea Governorate to mark World Environment Day, focused on assessing current challenges facing waste collection, sorting, recycling and disposal operations, as well as identifying priority actions to strengthen the system’s performance. Awad stressed that the government places significant importance on developing an integrated waste management system in the Red Sea Governorate, given its strategic importance as one of Egypt’s leading tourism destinations. She emphasized the need to comply with environmental and technical standards governing sanitary landfills, waste treatment facilities and environmentally sound disposal practices. During the meeting, officials reviewed the current status of waste management operations in Hurghada, including collection, transportation, sorting, recycling and final disposal activities. Discussions also covered the infrastructure upgrades required to improve system efficiency and ensure the proper operation of sanitary landfill facilities. Yasser Abdullah, head of Egypt’s Waste Management Regulatory Authority, presented updates on temporary waste collection and sorting sites and outlined measures to strengthen operational management and oversight. He highlighted the importance of improving monitoring mechanisms for waste handling activities and maximizing the recovery of recyclable materials while reducing informal and unregulated practices.