• April 24, 2024
  • 4:16 PM
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2019 Year-in-Review: Quiet Progress Continues

2019 Year-in-Review
Click the arrow to the right to scroll through the highlights with links to additional information. Find out more about: BANS, LAW, and MEDIA.
BANS
New coal tar bans or the expansion of existing ones occurred in Illinois, Maine, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin!
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State of Maine
Maine's third run at a statewide ban was the most dramatic. Outgoing Sponsor Mattie Daughtry orchestrated a re-vote in the Maine Senate to secure the ban!
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Austin, Texas
The granddaddy of coal tar sealer bans updated their ordinances to become the largest community in the nation with a high PAH ban. Austin followed the bold example of Washington, DC in this effort.
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Wisconsin
Municipal bans expanded to communities throughout the State including Green Bay, Racine, Plymouth, and Oak Creek to add to Milwaukee's ban a few years ago. Hat's off to Clean Wisconsin, whose staff traveled the state educating communities about coal tar sealers.
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LAW
Minneapolis suburbs file lawsuit alleging coal tar products have contaminated stormwater ponds.
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MEDIA
New research or media coverage which helped get the word out about coal tar sealers.
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Consumer Notice
Great new summary about toxic coal tar sealers!
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Michigan Public Radio
You could be tracking in cancer causing chemicals from parking lots and driveways
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Revamped Ban Map
Early in 2019, we updated our map of coal tar sealer bans. Look for the addition of high PAH sealer bans in 2020.
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The year 2019 was one of quiet progress toward the elimination of coal tar sealers from our communities. In spite of national issues occupying the media and the public’s attention (e.g., the Russian Collusion probe, the impeachment of the President, and the left vs. right) progress has continued to be made. Here’s why.

BANS

2020 marks the 15th year since the nation’s first coal tar sealer ban was passed in Austin, Texas. Since then over 100 authorities in Canada and the US, have taken formal action to limit the use of this product for over 20 million Americans.

In June the State of Maine joined Washington and Minnesota with a statewide ban that won’t begin to go into effect until 2021. State Representative Mattie Daughtry orchestrated an incredible re-vote in the Maine Senate for the ban to pass. With term limits in Maine, she was leaving their House at the end of the year. This was the third run at a ban and was successful in spite of a full press from the coal tar industry.

The City of Austin, Texas updated their ban which goes into effect today, January 1, 2020. It includes any sealcoat product with a PAH content above 0.1%.

Local bans continue to pile up in Wisconsin thanks primarily to the advocacy organization Clean Wisconsin. They included Green Bay, Racine, Plymouth, Sturgeon Bay and Oak Creek among others. Could they be the next to pass a statewide ban?

Unsuccessful ban attempts were made at the state level in Maryland, Illinois, Michigan and New York. For a lot of surmountable reasons, statewide bans have a low success rate with only about one in 5 or 10 becoming law. Local bans are nearly the complete opposite with over a 90% passage rate.

LAW

In January ten Minnesota cities filed suit against several coal tar refiners or manufacturers alleging coal tar products have contaminated their stormwater ponds and increased their cleanup costs. At the time of this writing, three of the defendants have been granted “motions to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction.” The court determined that the actions of these three were not sufficiently shown to contribute to the claims brought by the cities. With seven remaining industry defendants, the case will move forward in some manner in 2020.

MEDIA

This lawsuit garnered some national attention in print or online media, but it has been another year without significant press on this issue. Bans of high PAH products (those which are high in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, but without coal tar per se) have spread without a single national story on the topic. Perhaps this year will be different.