|
|
 |
| Voice of the Environment's mission is to educate the public regarding the transfer of public trust assets into private, mostly corporate, hands. | ||
|
Ukiah office: 1330 Boonville Rd Ukiah, CA 95482 707-467-0329 |
||
|
Marin office: 270 Beach Rd Belvedere, CA 94920 415-435-2007 |
||
| For two decades, Voice of the Environment has stood up for the people and our communities against the avarice of corporations and the misguided policies of the corporate-dominated state. |
|
Print This Article Wednesday, August 31st, 2005 Scotia Pacific Layoffs Reveal Intent to Disregard Environmental Requirements Environmental Protection Information Center Humboldt County, CA-Yesterday, Pacific Lumber's timber-holding subsidiary Scotia Pacific (PL/ScoPac) announced that it was laying off a third of its workforce. The layoffs appear to include members of its science staff responsible for ensuring the company's compliance with environmental requirements. Having logged at a breakneck pace in already impaired watersheds across its property without making a dent in about $700 million of principal debt, PL/ScoPac now appears to be logging right up to the edge of both financial viability and ecological sustainability. Rather than using logging revenues to pay down the debt, PL/ScoPac has transferred massive amounts of wealth to PL/ScoPac's Houston parent, Maxxam, Inc., even as ScoPac claims it must now layoff workers. "This is yet another consequence of the company's failure to adequately manage its resources," said Sam Johnston, Private Lands Campaigner for the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC). Moreover, the layoffs indicate that PL/ScoPac will undoubtedly be unable to fulfill its commitments and requirements to protect the environment. lts claims that it has the best measures to ensure protection hinges on its science team and if that goes away, so too must any reliance on PL/ScoPac's representations. PL/ScoPac's representations about its ability and willingness to protect the environment have been unreliable for some time. This action only underscores PL/ScoPac's instability brought about by failure to be responsible in the management of resources. Meanwhile, PL is now trying to delay the appeal it filed against the State Water Board's stay of logging in the Freshwater Creek and Elk River watersheds, apparently content to keep its legal protests in abeyance even as it blames the Water Board for its own troubles. On September 14, 2005, the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board will consider adoption of requirements to protect and restore the watersheds (Freshwater and Elk) which have been cumulatively and adversely impacted from logging operations. Members of the public are strongly encouraged to attend. SOURCE Print This Article |
|
|
|
|
|
Voice of the Environment is a 501 (c-3) not-for-profit Montana-based corporation formed in 1991.
|