FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kathleen MacRae, Executive Director, 302-654-5326 x102, kmacrae@aclu-de.org
WILMINGTON— The American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware, on behalf of the Sierra Club, has filed a petition with the Attorney General asking for review of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Division of Air Quality (DNREC) in its handling of a public hearing, which was held in a facility known to be insufficient in size to accommodate the number of citizens expected to attend.
On June 4, 2013, DNREC held a public hearing on a Delaware City Refining Company's permit renewal application. Although 2000 people were expected to attend, DNREC schedule the hearing for the Delaware City Community Center Auditorium, which has a maximum capacity of 175 people.
The Sierra Club had asked that DNREC reschedule the hearing to a larger facility to accommodate the expected turnout. DNREC declined to reschedule or move the hearing.
To deal with the overflow of people, DNREC set up loudspeakers outside the auditorium. However, placing a speaker system outside a public meeting does not satisfy the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act, according to an opinion written by the Delaware Department of Justice over 10 years ago.
When considering an issue this important, especially when it concerns the health and safety of those living close to the refinery, all measures must be taken to ensure free and open discourse. That's why the Freedom of Information Act, including its requirements for open meetings, was established over 35 years ago. No state agency can ignore the law because they find it inconvenient," said Kathleen MacRae, Executive Director of the ACLU of Delaware.
Emily Van Alyne, a Delaware City resident, was one of the many people unable to participate in the hearing. "My family and I wanted to speak against the pollution that the plant is emitting into our neighborhood, but we couldn't get in. It was very unfair to see busloads of people arriving to pack the meeting hall who didn't even live in Delaware. Because of the showboating, we weren't allowed to speak or even hear what was going on," Van Alyne said.
Despite having previous information, DNREC still held the public hearing in a facility that it had reason to know was insufficient in size to handle the number of citizens likely to attend, therefore violating requirements of the law. The ACLU of Delaware and the Sierra Club are requesting that an additional hearing be held on the Delaware City Refining Company application, this time with a facility large enough to allow all interested citizens to attend.
