The Alabama Supreme Court today denied a petition from ABC Coke (a division of Drummond Company) and the Jefferson County Board of Health for writ of certiorari in ABC Coke and Jefferson County Board of Health v. GASP, Inc. In other words, the Alabama Supreme Court has ruled in our favor, just as the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals and Jefferson County Circuit Court did.

They were seeking review of the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals decision affirming the Circuit Court’s decision reversing the Board of Health’s dismissal of our request for hearing on the ABC Coke air pollution permit.

Next, we will go to hearing before the Board of Health and its hearing officer to contest the permit issued by the Department of Health to ABC Coke. This tug-of-war has been going on since the Jefferson County Department of Health reissued the ABC Coke permit in 2014. Our goal is stronger public health protections for residents who live near the facility, which is one of the top sources of toxic air pollution in the Birmingham area.

The Board of Health should never have sided with Drummond and ABC Coke and against public health. Three courts have agreed that they should have granted us a hearing from the start rather than spending years on costly court costs and appeals. The communities who are affected by ABC Coke’s toxic emissions deserve a hearing, and we intend to make certain that happens.

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