Go beyond campaigns: top tips to prepare for defending your project

October 11, 2022

Beveridge and Diamond

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On September 21, 2022, Michael Bloomberg announced his new public health and climate change campaign entitled Beyond Petrochemicals: People over Pollution . The campaign, which is still in early concept stages, will be modeled on the Beyond Coal and Beyond Carbons initiatives, which were launched with $85 million in funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies and other sources.

The main goal of the campaign is to prevent the increase in emissions from US refineries and petrochemical plants by halting the construction or expansion of 120 proposed petrochemical projects, centered on three regions: Louisiana, Texas and the Ohio River Valley, where most of the projects The list of companies not yet released by Bloomberg Philanthropies is believed to be based on a database launched by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) last April with input from local communities.

For now, Bloomberg has identified a four pillar framework for Beyond Petrochemicals as follows:

• Community Leadership – Funding and organizing to "accelerate grassroots power to challenge industrial construction and enforce environmental and health protections in their own backyards".
• Data and Research – Supporting data collection and expert analysis for use in government and finance-related decisions.
• Legislation and Litigation – Using experts and diverse approaches to "educate policymakers about the harms of petrochemical pollution and drive environmental policy forward".
• Stakeholder Commitment – ​​Commitment to "improve regulatory compliance and reduce demand for plastics and petrochemicals".

The current campaign is likely to use the tactics of Beyond Coal, an initiative that claims to have shut down and shut down hundreds of coal-fired power plants. and organizers; (2) seeking community participation and support through door-to-door education, phone banking, and leadership; (3) organize training camps to teach attorneys and volunteers how to block permits; (4) review files, check license applications for vulnerabilities, thoroughly prepare and attend hearings; (5) forming alliances between likely and unlikely groups, in some cases exploiting common economic interests (for example, the big department stores also rejected costly environmental protection measures for coal-fired power plants, which cost the consumer more than cheaper energy sources). . clean).

Petrochemical companies whose permit applications could be the subject of this campaign should prepare in advance to defend their projects. Steps we recommend include:

1. Think of Beyond Coal as a model of legal strategies and tactics
2. Engage your local communities and groups, supporters and opponents
3. Assess your community for environmental justice challenges and opportunities
4. Review your facility's compliance profile, emissions statement, and other publicly available information and correct any errors found.
5. Understand the process for public participation in permit applications, notice and comment periods, and opportunities for administrative hearings and court appeals (state regulations and permit applications vary), each stage of the process could present an opportunity for challenge.
6. Involve the permitting authorities before submitting an application ; Respond quickly to concerns during the permitting process to strengthen agency decision-making to survive judicial review
7. Preparation of permit applications considering disputes; Ideally, involve your legal department in reviewing the permit application before submitting any application to any government agency. Providing additional information and data when you identify legal issues or technical vulnerabilities
8. Ensure that all notices of public meetings and permit requests are accurate when issuance , so you don't face delays from re-notifications or the risk of being challenged on appeal for inadequacy.
9. Identify and prepare your expert and process teams in advance to quickly respond to challenges. The response and information deadlines come quickly, often with no opportunity to request an extension
10. Consider conducting compliance audits to address any unknown nonconformities before submitting the permit application; resolve pending execution actions
11. Consider ways to offset emissions; Beyond Petrochemicals aims to reduce emissions from existing operations and avoid increased emissions that would result from new facilities and expansions; Offsets and new technologies for new plants can generate lower emissions than older plants in operation
12. Develop the positive story about the facility and the facility's products and reinforce that message; Much of the strategy is played out in the court of public opinion

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide on the subject. Professional advice should be sought in relation to your particular situation.

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