The $397.5 million lawsuit filed by ACF Services, LLC; ACF Leasing, LLC; and Generation Clean Fuels, LLC, against the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin; Oneida Seven Generations Corp.; and Green Bay Renewable Energy, LLC, would seem to provide the perfect opportunity for the Oneida Tribe to re-embrace the anti-dioxin brand that the Oneida Business Committee established on November 8, 2000 via BC Resolution 11-08-00-B, Dioxin and Persistent Organic Pollutants, which states:
…[T]he ability of our Native Community to be protected from the effects of dioxin poisoning is critical to the future of our tribal nations and all life that sustains us…. [T]ribal communities and families continue to be disproportionately exposed to dioxin and other persistent organic pollutants. Many of our tribal members are more susceptible to these dangerous toxins due to our land based culture and subsistence practices, and…dioxin has been classified as a ‘known human carcinogen’ with the ‘highest’ level of certainty by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and acknowledged by the World Health Organization that dioxin exposure is linked to severe health effects[.]
NOW, THERE, BE IT RESOLVED: that the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin requests that the United States State Department pursue ending the production and release of Dioxin and other Persistent Organic Pollutants in the United States.
Depsite that important Resolution in defense of the health, safety & welfare of the Oneida Tribe and reservation, in December of 2010 the BC voted to support building gasification incinerators which emit dioxin and other toxic pollutants on the reservation, and Oneida Seven Generations Corporation stated in their reports to the BC that, “The strategy is to build several plants within the state of Wisconsin and around the U.S.,” including marketing these dangerous, experimental technologies to other tribes.
On April 11, 2013 the BC doubled-down and reaffirmed the dangerously foolish BC Resolution 12-08-10-B.
But on May 5, 2013 the General Tribal Council voted to defend itself against the short-sighted and high-risk actions of the BC and OSGC by directing the BC to prohibit OSGC from building or operating any gasification incinerators in the Oneida reservation, whether they be fueled by municipal solid waste, plastics, tires, dairy & human sludge, or medical & hazardous waste, as OSGC was proposing.
Despite GTC’s overwhelming May 5 vote to prohibit OSGC from building or operating gasification incinerators, the Tribally-chartered company’s then-CEO, Kevin Cornelius, appears to have entered in agreements to allow Generation Clean Fuels, ACF Services, and ACF Leasing on May 23, 2013 to use a building OSGC owns on the Oneida reservation at 1201 O’Hare Blvd., Hobart, WI, for the purposes of running an open-flame incinerator with proper permits or zoning.
On December 15, 2013 GTC had finally had enough of OSGC’s incompetence and disrespect and voted to dissolve the corporation.
The new GCF/ACF lawsuit seems to be a result of that self-defensive action, but it offers a great opportunity to put the incineration industry on trial. By claiming that they expected to make hundreds of millions of dollars in profits and increased value, GCF/ACF have opened the door to ask them on the witness stand, ‘When has this kind of operation ever been as wildly profitable as is being claimed in your lawsuit against the Oneida Tribe?’
Obviously that’s a simple question that OSGC and the BC should have asked long before they put the Oneida Tribe’s resources and reputation on the line, but thanks to the GCF & ACF lawsuit that question can be asked in a public forum with the media and the world watching.
The incineration industry is targeting tribes and communities, and many – like the Oneida Tribe – are fighting back, as seen in the Idle No More movement. Visit the websites in our ‘Links‘ section to read about examples of this global anti-incinerator movement.
The Oneida Tribe has allies in this pushback who will support efforts to take companies like Generation Clean Fuels and ACF to task, if only the Oneida Tribe’s elected officials will wise up and accept the necessary help available.
For example, Midwest Environmental Advocates is a Wisconsin-based legal advocacy group fighting against efforts to bring gasification incinerators to local communities:
The Wisconsin John Muir Chapter of the Sierra Club, and the national organization, would also likely help the Oneida Tribe take Generation Clean Fuels & ACF to task:
And of course there are local activist groups who tried to warn Tribe members and representatives against the smooth talk, propaganda and empty promises of the incinerator industry while the BC was eager to support incinerators and while some Tribe members screamed ‘Racist! Racist!’ at people whose activism was actually more in line with anti-dioxin BC Resolution 11-08-00-B than were the actions of the BC, OSGC and its cheerleaders:
By working together with these groups, the Oneida Tribe can help defend not only itself from the greed and lies of the various facets of the incineration industry, but can also take a lead in defending other tribes from the kind of mistakes made by the current Business Committee and executives of OSGC and its subsidiaries.
What if the current BC refuses to seek available help in fighting back against Generation Clean Fuels and ACF Services/Leasing?
Well, the perfect opportunity to address that would be at the July 12, 2014 General Tribal Election.
Or is the Business Committee going to now claim that the Tribe can’t afford to hold an election?
Hopefully the BC aren’t that stupid, but we’ve overestimated them before.
See also: Oneida Nation & Green Bay Ban the Burning of Waste
