Activists Convicted Of Trespassing After Formosa Protest In Livingston

LIVINGSTON, NJ — Two environmental activists finally got their day in court earlier this week after they were arrested at a protest several months ago in New Jersey. The result? Convictions on charges of defiant trespassing.

Diane Wilson and Camryn Edwards – both Texas residents – were among the demonstrators who took part in a protest at Formosa Plastics USA’s headquarters on Peach Tree Hill Road in Livingston in December.

Prior to the protest, the coalition of activists held a national “week of action” against Formosa, accusing the international petrochemical manufacturer of violating environmental laws and polluting communities overseas, as well as in Texas and Louisiana, where it also has facilities.

The week of protests wrapped up with a car caravan, march and demonstration in Livingston. When activists arrived at the Formosa USA headquarters in Livingston, they found the building closed, entrances blocked and the grounds surrounded by police. They rallied in the street nearby – which police had closed to traffic – singing songs, making speeches and carrying signs that read “Our Health Our Future” and “Stop Formosa Plastics.”

Footage of the protest shared by organizers shows a calm and respectful discussion between activists and police about the activities that would constitute “trespassing” – and potentially lead to an arrest.

Officers eventually arrested Wilson, 76, who received a Goldman Environmental Prize last year for her activism involving Formosa, along with Edwards, a staff member at San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper, when they insisted on hand delivering company executives a list of alleged violations of a $50 million settlement involving the company's facility in Point Comfort.

Police offered to deliver the letter on their behalf, but activists replied that they were worried it wouldn’t make its way to the top of the corporate ladder to the decision makers.

Wilson and Edwards were both charged with defiant trespassing, and chose to fight the charge in Livingston Municipal Court. A third protester was also arrested on the same charge and pleaded guilty.

Following their convictions on Monday, Wilson and Edwards were sentenced to pay a fine.

Their attorney, Bennet Zurofsky, said the ruling was “disappointing,” arguing that Wilson and Edwards were defying an illegal police order that violated their rights of free speech and due process.

The court ruling will be appealed, Zurofsky added.

Wilson, a fourth-generation shrimper, urged other environmental activists to stay the course.

“I know one thing for sure: until we draw a line in the sand and say no more to plastic corporations' greed and wrongdoings, our homes, land and seas, and the air that we breathe will be destroyed,” she said in the wake of this week's court decision.

THE FORMOSA FOUR

The December protest was the second major demonstration that has taken place outside of Formosa’s office in Livingston in the span of a year.

In August, six activists were charged with trespassing after attending a protest on Peach Tree Hill Road. Some of the demonstrators blocked entrance gates.

Nearly 100 people took part in the demonstration, most of whom voluntarily left the property at the request of local police, authorities said. The company told employees to work from home on the day of the protest, but did not shut down operations. See Related: Protest Against Formosa Plastics In Livingston Ends With Arrests

Wilson was also among the six people arrested at the Aug. 2 protest, chaining her neck to the metal bars of the gate in a show of defiance.

Two of the arrested protesters pleaded guilty to the trespassing charge and received fines. But the remaining four took their case to trial, pleading not guilty at an initial hearing in Livingston Municipal Court. See Related: Activists Arrested In Livingston At Formosa Protest Plead Not Guilty

In September, the activists – now calling themselves the “Formosa Four” – held an online media briefing about their legal strategy and plans to fight the charges (view it online here).

A second pretrial hearing took place on Sept. 26. During their follow-up court appearance, a municipal judge denied the activists’ request to admit expert testimony in support of a “necessity defense” – a legal tactic that attempts to prove that a person’s illegal conduct was the lesser of two evils. See Related: Civil Disobedience At Livingston Protest Was ‘Necessary,’ Activists Argue

The group is scheduled to attend a hearing for their appeal on April 1 in Newark.

Teaneck resident Paula Rogovin, one of the Formosa Four who was arrested in August, attended the Dec. 5 follow up protest in Livingston – but this time she didn’t end up in handcuffs.

“It’s an outrage that Formosa Plastics continues to violate its settlement of the Clean Water Act lawsuit, which fined the company $50 million, and ordered that there be zero emissions and monitoring,” Rogovin said.

“Clearly Formosa Plastics sees the $24 million fines for 709 violations, including dumping of toxins into waterways, as the cost of doing business,” she added. “We say no.”

FORMOSA: ‘ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE AND IN COMPLIANCE’

Company spokespeople have pointed out that Formosa Plastics Corporation USA is a legally distinct entity from Formosa Plastics Group, which is headquartered in Taiwan. The Livingston office focuses on its operations in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Point Comfort, Texas.

The plastics manufacturing company employs hundreds of workers at their Livingston location, who provide the majority of its “business support operations” such as management, marketing, sales, legal and logistics.

After the August protest, spokespeople told Patch that the company is using programs to prevent resin loss by implementing stringent containment measures throughout its facilities. These programs focus on “minimizing pellet, flake, and powder loss at every stage of production and transportation.”

“In Point Comfort, where our only pellet production operations are located, we've implemented state-of-the-art technologies to control the release of plastics into the environment,” spokespeople continued, sharing a video with more details (view it online here).

“We remain committed to conducting our business in a manner that is environmentally responsible and in compliance with all applicable U.S. regulations,” spokespeople concluded. “We are open to engaging in dialogue with concerned parties about our practices here in the United States and welcome the opportunity for constructive conversations.”

On its website, Formosa Plastics says that “improved efficiency” has allowed it to reduce emissions by 50 percent over 10 years.

“Formosa seeks to reduce the impact of our operations by constantly improving and reducing water use, energy, emissions and waste,” the company’s website states. “Goals are set every year and all facilities track their progress in detail. Independent organizations like BSI audit our facilities to the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Standard every six months and conduct a full recertification every two years.”

The solar power project at Formosa Plastics headquarters in Livingston has produced more than 4.60GWh of power to date, according to the company’s website.

“Beyond 2022, Formosa Plastics Corporation U.S.A. has plans across our facilities to convert over 100 vehicles to EV/hybrid, and provide more than 100 charging stations,” the company says.

Electric vehicle charging stations are already available for use by associates at the headquarters in Livingston, the company adds.

ACTIVISTS: 'THIS BEHAVIOR IS UNACCEPTABLE'

Despite the company’s assurances, activists in New Jersey continue to accuse Formosa of thumbing its nose at the people who live in the communities it operates in. Ongoing protests against the company have also been taking place in Louisiana and Texas.

A 2021 report from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), the Center for Biological Diversity, and Earthworks claimed that Formosa Plastics Group’s six-decade track record is “riddled with environmental, health, safety and labor violations, including devastating accidents and persistent pollution in multiple countries.”

“From Point Comfort, Texas, to Ha Tinh, Vietnam; Illiopolis, Illinois; and Yunlin County, Taiwan, the Formosa Plastics Group has left a global track record that demonstrates how the rights and safety of local communities and workers, as well as the environment and public health, have become casualties of corporate profit,” the report alleged.

That year, Formosa Plastics agreed to pay $2.85 million in civil penalties and to improve its risk management program to resolve alleged violations of the Chemical Accident Prevention Provisions of the Clean Air Act at its petrochemical manufacturing plant in Point Comfort, Texas.

In 2022, advocacy groups persuaded Louisiana’s 19th Judicial District Court to cancel 14 air pollution permits granted by the state's Department of Environmental Quality, which would have allowed Formosa Plastics to build the largest plastics plant in the world.

After the December protest in Livingston – and her subsequent arrest – Camryn Edwards accused Formosa of “prioritizing profits” over the health of communities, workers and the environment.

“Despite repeated calls for accountability and transparency, Formosa Plastics has failed to address these critical issues and continues to downplay their impact,” Edwards said. “This behavior is unacceptable, and it is time for the company to be held accountable for its actions.”

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