Shintech

[blambert@hdaissues.com (BRAD LAMBERT)]

In response to Charlie Cray's latest posting of Kishi Animashaun's defense
of Greenpeace's truth-bending press release on the Louisiana Department of
Environmental Quality's public hearing on Shintech's air permit:

It's unfortunate the lengths Greenpeace will go to to explain itself and
still not get the story correct.

In regard to the hearing, my earlier posting speaks for itself, but I feel
compelled to respond to several of Ms. Animashaun's assertions.

1.  There were not "overwhelmingly more residents of St. James Parish and
surrounding river parishes voicing opposition to the proposed Shintech
plant than its supporters."  I have the official hearing transcript in
hand, all 207 pages, and according to the transcript, there were a total of
78 speakers. Forty-two (42) speakers were in favor of the Shintech project,
34 were against the project, and two speakers -- State Representative Roy
Quezaire and St. James Parish Councilman Eric Poche -- did not take a
position.  Again, all this information is contained in the official hearing
transcript which can be obtained from the Louisiana Department of
Environmental Quality.

Of the 42 speakers in favor or the project, 10 reside in St. James Parish.
Some of the names include
Parish President Dale Hymel, Parish Councilman Tim Roussel, Parish
Councilman Jimmy Brazan, St. James Business Association President Paul
Forbes, and St. James Parish Economic Development Coordinator Edie Michel.
Shintech did bring 11 employees from its Freeport, Texas facility as well
as two contract workers.  Any permit applicant has the right to speak out
in a public forum and defend its application.  And with the amount of
falsehoods that have been spread in the community by the local opposition,
we felt it was necessary to have truthful and correct information in the
official record.

Of the 34 speakers against the project, as best as I can tell from the
transcript, 18 reside in St. James Parish.  So that means 16 others do not
live in St. James Parish.  They work for Greenpeace, INFORM, Tulane
Environmental Law Clinic, Louisiana Labor-Neighbor Project, Louisiana
Environmental Action Network, East Iberville AWARE, Calcasieu League for
Environmental Action Now (CLEAN), MEAN -- also in Calcasieu Parish, and
RESTORE which is now based in Beauregard Parish.  From what I know of south
Louisiana -- and I'm a lifelong resident of Baton Rouge -- none of these
groups are located "within 10 miles of an industrial facility" in St. James
Parish.

So as the official transcript shows, there were not "overwhelmingly more
residents of St. James Parish and surrounding river parishes voicing
opposition to the proposed Shintech plant than its supporters."

2.  The first hour and a half was not "given" to Shintech.  DEQ's policy
before the start of the hearing was that speakers would speak on a
first-come, first-served basis.  The list of speakers spoke in the order
they signed the hearing registration form.

3.  The hearing began at 6 p.m. and lasted until 1:15 a.m. Tuesday morning.

4.  I was able to determine the supporters of the projects who sat in the
gymnasium stands and did not speak because I am in the parish at least once
a week.  You see, Shintech has made a considerable effort to get to know
people in Convent as well as the entire St. James Parish.  We have had
meetings with various groups and will speak with anyone who wants to speak
with us.  We have also participated in other informal gatherings.  We don't
just fly into an area for a few days and try to manipulate some local
residents with questionable information.

5.  More than "white men in suits" testified in favor of Shintech's
project.  From my recollection, only a handful of speakers were dressed in
suits, and eight speakers in favor of Shintech were women.

6.  The air permit application does not contain information on worst-case
scenarios because it's not required.  DEQ Secretary Dale Givens has said as
much to the St. James Citizens for Jobs and the Environment as well as the
media.  However, that does not mean, it's unimportant.  First of all,
Shintech has an excellent environmental and safety record at its facility
in Freeport, Texas, getting high marks from the US EPA as well as the TNRCC
earlier this year.  Second, as part of its meetings in the parish, Shintech
has met with the parish Emergency Operations Center as well as the School
Board to begin the process of integrating itself into the parish's
evacuation and emergency planning system.  We will continue those efforts
until are parties have the answers and plans and safety precautions they
feel comfortable with.

7.  In all our meetings in the parish over the past 6 months, the only
people we've heard "enough is enough" from are the handful of local
residents who are opposed to this facility.  And it is their right to speak
out and request information and participate in meetings.  But the large
majority that we have met with in large settings, small settings, and
one-on-one settings have responded favorably to Shintech and look forward
to working with the company to improve the bright future of St. James
Parish.

Thanks for the opportunity to respond,

Brad Lambert