Sugar causes pollution—or at least the production of sugar does. That’s the contention of this class action, which alleges that sugar cane growers south of Lake Okeechobee in Florida pollute the air with their agricultural activities.
Two classes have been defined for this action.
The Property Damage Class is all persons and legal entities who are or have been owners of real property located within the Affected Area between June 2015 and the present.
The Medical Monitoring Class is all current residents of the Affected Area.
The Affected Area is the area of Florida within zip codes 33430, 33476, and 33493.
Named as defendants are Florida Crystals Corporation, Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida, United States Sugar Corporation, Flo-Sun Incorporated, American Sugar Refining, Inc., Okeelanta Corporation, Osceola Farms, Sugarland Harvesting co., Trucane Sugar Corporation, Independent Harvesting, Inc., King Ranch, Inc., and J&J Ag Products, Inc.
These growers raise sugar cane on approximately 400,000 acres south of the lake. The complaint claims that three of these companies, Florida Crystals, US Sugar, and SCGC are known as “Big Sugar” because of “their production, profitability, and political clout.”
One of the operations of sugar growers is pre-harvest burning. Growers set fire to whole fields to burn the outer leaves off the cane stalks. The stalks are full of water and do not burn. This takes place between October and March and it makes harvesting easier by reducing biomass, getting rid of snakes and insects, and increasing the sugar in the stalk via water evaporation.
The growers burn forty to eighty acres at a time, with the burning fields giving off thick black smoke, the stench of burning, and black ash particles that rain down over nearby counties. The complaint says, “Of the contiguous United States, Florida has the most crop burning residue emission, emitting 17% of the total national CO2, CO, and PM2.51emissions, 12% of all annual PM10 emissions, and 9.5% of call CH4emissions from crop residue burning.
According to the complaint, the pollutants produced include particulate matter (PM), dioxins, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, ammonia, elemental carbon, and organic carbon. The complaint also lists compounds produced by the burning which are classified as carcinogens.
The complaint claims the black ash causes respiratory problems and discolors buildings. It reviews many studies involving sugar cane burning and air pollution and the effects they have found on human health. Some of these, it claims, come from the pesticides and herbicides that are used for growing.
According to the complaint, there exists a method of “green harvesting” which does not produce these emissions and which leaves a harvest residue mulch on the soil. It claims the growers already use this method when they cannot get permits for burning. One of the remedies the complaint seeks is to prevent any future pre-harvest burning in the area.
The complaint alleges negligence, trespass, nuisance, and strict liability for ultrahazardous activity, among other things.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Environmental
Most Recent Case Event
Florida Sugar Growers Pre-Harvest Burning Pollution Complaint
June 4, 2019
Sugar causes pollution—or at least the production of sugar does. That’s the contention of this class action, which alleges that sugar cane growers south of Lake Okeechobee in Florida pollute the air with their agricultural activities.
florida_sugar_cane_growers_pollution_compl.pdfCase Event History
Florida Sugar Growers Pre-Harvest Burning Pollution Complaint
June 4, 2019
Sugar causes pollution—or at least the production of sugar does. That’s the contention of this class action, which alleges that sugar cane growers south of Lake Okeechobee in Florida pollute the air with their agricultural activities.
florida_sugar_cane_growers_pollution_compl.pdf