Non-Profit Funds Science to Win Lawsuits Against Polluters

WHEN Justice, a new non-profit organization, has developed a "pay-it-forward" model to fund crucial scientific testing and expert analysis for public-interest litigation against corporate polluters. This approach was demonstrated in a case involving AT&T's abandoned lead telecommunications cables at the bottom of Lake Tahoe. The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) filed a lawsuit in 2021 to compel AT&T to remove over 100,000 pounds of lead contained in these deteriorating cables, which were leaching contaminants into the lake.

Initially, the litigation faced challenges due to the difficulty in scientifically proving the link between the cables and the lead contamination in the lake. Roland Peralta, founder of WHEN Justice, intervened by providing $100,000 in funding for the necessary scientific investigations. This funding enabled scuba divers to collect samples from the lake floor and conduct lead isotopic testing. These tests provided definitive "fingerprints" that matched the lead in the cables to the contamination found in the surrounding waters, establishing the crucial link required for the lawsuit.

Following the scientific evidence, AT&T settled the case within nine weeks and subsequently removed the lead cables. Peralta stated that this success highlighted the potential to scale this funding model. WHEN Justice aims to provide financial support for the expensive but critical components of environmental and human health lawsuits, such as sampling and expert analysis, which are often beyond the financial reach of smaller organizations challenging large corporations. The organization's model is designed so that recovered costs from successful lawsuits can be reinvested to fund future cases, creating a sustainable mechanism for environmental advocacy.