Mar. Mar.
“We talked about the problem for an hour or so and I was passionate in class. This is what I vividly remember: The teacher said, “We’re not going solve this problem.” Let’s move on. That was the worst thing that could have happened to me. I said, “Hold onto. What does it mean that we aren’t going to solve this problem. This is horrible. This is terrible.
Whiteside’s career began as an environmental activist. This career was pivotal in a 3M Co. settlement for dumped toxins worth hundreds of millions of dollar, an ongoing $165m project by Decatur Utilities, which aims to reduce sewer overflows through the replacement of 1 million feet sewer pipe. It also includes dramatic environmental concessions made by Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, and a pending lawsuit against Hartselle Utilities.
Whiteside, a first-grader, shared his frustration after school with his parents over the possibility that a problem which had awakened his passions could be casually dismissed and dismissed as unsolvable.
“They said, That’s what you godfather does. Whiteside recalls that you should speak to him.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a son of the former U.S. Attorney General and senator and nephew to the former president, is his godfather. Kennedy spent three years with Whiteside’s family in the 1970s. He was there at Whiteside’s birth as he wrote a biography about Judge Frank M. Johnson, his great uncle and civil rights icon. Kennedy was a founder and president of Waterkeeper Alliance, a umbrella organization that now encompasses 350 nonprofits, including Tennessee Riverkeeper.
Decatur resident Whiteside considers the influence of his godfather when he ponders the influences that led him into founding Black Warrior Riverkeeper and Tennessee Riverkeeper in 2001. Whiteside also points out his maternal ancestors (including Johnson). His ancestors were present at Looney’s Tavern when Winston County declared neutrality in 1861. They did not want to join the Confederacy. Later generations were involved with the civil rights movement, often at great cost. His relatives had crosses burnt in their yard, and his mother, before her death, recalled the FBI’s constant presence to safeguard the family.
Whiteside stated that whenever he feels like Decatur is struggling to fight against 3M or pollution, he just thinks about it. “I have never returned home to find a cross in my yard or the threat from a firebomb.”
Family legacy
Whiteside often speaks out about what he considers his family legacy. A legacy that he believes is bestowed by his great uncle.
Johnson was born in Winston County. He served as a federal District Judge from 1955 to 1979. In 1979, he became an appellate judge. He ruled in favor Rosa Parks in 1956, striking down a Montgomery ordinance that required Blacks to sit behind the bus. In the 1960s, he ordered desegregation at bus depots. He also ordered Montgomery police and Ku Klux Klan to stop harassing and beating Freedom Riders who wanted to integrate bus travel. Johnson stopped Gov. George Wallace’s efforts to stop the Selma–to-Montgomery March were blocked by Johnson in 1965.
Whiteside’s father, who was a lawyer and died in a car accident in 2001, shortly after Whiteside founded Black Warrior Riverkeeper.
Whiteside emotionally described his father’s death as the hardest thing he had ever seen in his life.
Kennedy provided comfort for him, who was just 14 years old in 1968, when his father died.
“Bobby Kennedy Jr. was there immediately. He’s filled that void in his own way. Whiteside described Whiteside as a mentor for environmental law, the work that I do, and spiritually as a godfather. He also lost a father figure as a teenager. “He is in many aspects more than a mentor for me. He’s like a third father to me.”
Tennessee Riverkeeper employs two full-time staff members, Whiteside and two part-time employees, as well as a nine-member board. It has a $215,000 annual budget for fiscal 2022. Many legal fees are paid out of pocket by the defendants it sued. It often receives donations directly from well-known musicians Whiteside is familiar with, or indirectly through fundraisers organized and managed by Whiteside, who was an election reporter and producer at MTV News in the two years prior to the 2008 presidential election.
Whiteside stated that he declined a salary in the first two years of Tennessee Riverkeeper’s existence. He has earned an average annual salary of $32,500 during his 12 years as executive director. However, he now earns $60,000 per year.
Whiteside and his staff are involved in the manual cleaning of the river’s watershed. However, their best-known work is in litigation.
Tennessee Riverkeeper has filed 12 federal lawsuits between 2010 and 2020. These include five in Alabama, seven in Tennessee, as well as multiple state court cases. It has filed many more notices of intention to sue, which is a requirement under certain federal environmental laws. These often prompt enforcement actions from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.
Tennessee Riverkeeper filed in 2019 one of the notices that threatened a federal lawsuit against Decatur Utilities over millions of gallons sewer overflows. The Morgan County Circuit Court sued DU within 60 days. This was in support of ADEM and had the legal effect blocking Riverkeeper’s federal lawsuit. In the Morgan County case, the nonprofit intervened and DU in 2021 accepted a $123,000 civil penalty. This settlement related to its plans to replace 1,000,000 feet of sewer pipe within 10 years. DU financed the accelerated replacement plan, which included a rate increase.
Tennessee Riverkeeper and the Center for Biological Diversity joined forces to bring about a settlement with Mazda Toyota in December 2018. The primary issue in the legal battle concerned the protection of spring pygmy sunshinefish, a species that is almost extinct and lives in the Beaverdam Creek near the Limestone County auto factory.
Whiteside stated, “In terms of public opinion, that was one the most controversial things ever done.” “We managed to save the threatened spring pygmy and its habitat. We secured over 1,000 acres for a conservation agreement in Huntsville, which is rapidly becoming more industrialized.
Residents were furious that the litigation would delay or stop an industry that was bringing in 4,000 jobs to the region.
“People were like, “Who cares about that fish?” It’s something I’ve never seen before. Or, “Wherever I come from, we call that fish bait.” Whiteside recalls that ‘Y’all’ are the only ones who care about that stupid fish. “If we follow the Bible, we should be stewards to creation. Who are we to argue that the living creature God created is something we don’t need? Let’s just kill it forever.
3M litigation
Tennessee Riverkeeper filed a federal complaint against 3M Co., Daikin, and other Decatur industries in 2016. The federal law was used to attack the same problem that a previous state court lawsuit, called St. John, was attempting to address: the proliferation and possible carcinogenic effects of PFAS in the waterways and soils of Morgan and Lawrence Counties. 3M was brought to the table through the lawsuits. This likely led to a settlement last summer in which 3M agreed for $98.4m to the city Decatur, Decatur Utility and Morgan County.
3M has reached a tentative deal with the Tennessee Riverkeeper & St. John lawsuits. In which the company agrees that it will monitor and remediate PFAS polluting, but has indicated that it will only close the Riverkeeper settlement if there is a class action lawsuit against St. John. Glenn Thompson, a former Morgan County Circuit Judge will hold a hearing April 21 to determine whether or not the settlement for St. John is approved.
The potential problem in approving the class action settlement is that many terms are similar with a consent order between 3M and ADEM for 2020. The Tennessee Riverkeeper settlement, under which 3M would pay $1.09 million to the non-profit’s lawyers in the litigation, and $2.5 million for Riverkeeper’s future legal and expert fees in monitoring 3M’s cleanup effort, also overlaps heavily with the ADEM consent orders. Both Riverkeeper and St. John lawyers stress that the ADEM agreement simply reaffirmed settlement negotiations in the lawsuits which were nearing a close.
It is a common tension between Riverkeeper and ADEM organizations. Whiteside sees ADEM as “the bottom” and says they are here to manage business, rather than protect the environment.
Whiteside explains that Riverkeeper filed suit four years ago and that 3M was still on the ropes. “Suddenly ADEM comes in when they weren’t supposed to,” Whiteside said of the July 2020 consent order.
Lance LeFleur (director of ADEM) sees it differently.
“I know David Whiteside has worked on 3M’s PFAS issue,” he stated, noting that ADEM began negotiating for 3M around 1 1/2 years prior to finalizing the consent order. “They have any lawsuits they’ve filed. Many of these lawsuits are lifting things out of our consent order with 3M. He said that they are “teeing off” of that. “Much of what the watchdog group did was after we had a meeting with 3M.”
LeFleur stated that he is open to citizen involvement in environmental issues. He’s a bit more careful about his views regarding Riverkeeper organizations.
He stated that his personal opinion was that if you are the executive director of an organisation and want people to get involved, then you need to have an issue.
When asked for more details, he replied, “I think they could be valuable assets in our communities, but they don’t have oversight, and that can lead to problems.
“They undermine the public’s confidence in this department.”
LeFleur also expressed dismay that some citizens’ environmental complaints are sent to Riverkeeper organizations instead of ADEM.
He stated that the Riverkeeper organization would not pass the complaint on to ADEM but instead he went to the media and highlighted the complaint. We never get to hear the complaint.”
Whiteside views highlighting environmental concerns as a central part of Tennessee Riverkeeper.
He stated, “Our spotlights are bright and powerful, which is one of our best things to do.” “If people don’t realize pollution exists, it’s very hard for them to clean it.
Whiteside has known Nelson Brooke (Black Warrior Riverkeeper) since they were both in Mountain Brook Elementary. Brooke was hired by Whiteside when he was Black Warrior’s executive director.
‘Paradigm shift’
Brooke and Whiteside share a dislike for public corporations. They believe that they are so focused upon shareholder profit that they do not do enough to protect the environment. Brooke is also a skeptic of environmental activism, just like Whiteside.
Brooke said, “It’s to be expected that there will a criticism because we’re pushing a paradigm shift. We’re going up against very strong polluting interests with a lot of money. They’re used to getting their way. Alabama has a long history of polluting and making a living from it. We are driven by a passion for making Alabama a better state.
He stated that corporations would hire more workers if they followed environmental laws, as these employees are necessary to ensure environmental compliance.
Brooke said, “We are undeterred because it’s simply profit motive throwing out an array of insults in order to mislead people and steer their attention away from what really is going on which is just unfettered profits motive and greed under the guise that economic growth.”
Mark Martin, Whiteside’s co-founder of Tennessee Riverkeeper, is its prosecuting lawyer. He said that they are used to the attacks. “We know we’re doing something positive for the community, and actually something beneficial for many of those who are complaining.”
Doug Martinson, a Huntsville lawyer and six year Tennessee Riverkeeper board member, said that Whiteside’s intensity is evident in board meetings.
Martinson said, “He knows when it’s time to push.” Martinson stated that he expects a lot of people and people respond to him because it’s a larger cause than any of us. He needs the drive and determination to push through and get things done.
Brooke said Whiteside brings intensity to every topic.
“David is a passionate person when it comes to music, pinball, or Riverkeeping. Brooke stated, “He gives 120%.” Brooke said that Brooke has an intense personality and a lot of energy. Everyone in the room is aware of his passion when he speaks about it.
It’s infectious. He can bring people together and inspire them to be passionate about something they may not have thought about.
Whiteside doesn’t dispute his intense focus on environmental issues. He also suggests that it might sometimes go too far.
“I have a lot energy and try to exercise aggressively every day, probably to my fault. I expend a lot frustration and anger at the gym, running or riding a bicycle. These issues are always on my mind and I am constantly trying to figure out how to fix them. But, there is something that happens when I exercise. It relieves my frustrations and lifts me up at the same time,” he stated. “I feel uplifted by exercise and being surrounded with amazing friends.
Whiteside is motivated not only by his passion for the environment but also by a family legacy which he considers to be pushing him forward.
He reflects on his roots, saying “I go back and secede from Confederacy and fighting George Wallace & Bull Connor.” “I feel like my destiny is not being fulfilled if I didn’t stand up against Southern injustices and rock the boat a little bit.
[email protected] or 256-340-2435. Twitter @DD_Fleischauer.
