Legal Issues

Environmental protection has become a major concern for both governments and individuals over the years. Pressure has been mounted on several fronts, aiming at ensuring that industries comply with the various regulations related to this issue. Alumina Inc., a manufacturer of aluminum, is one of those corporations that have found themselves under the scrutiny of both Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and private individuals, regarding its compliance with environmental regulations. This corporation is located near Lake Dira, which is in Erehwon state. This state has specific regulations regarding the discharge of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). About five years ago, Alumina Inc. had been accused of violating these regulations. Alumina Inc. reportedly rectified this something that was confirmed by the audit report by the EPA. Although no complaints have been filed against Alumina for over five years, Kelly Bates held that her daughter suffered from Leukemia as a result of PAH discharged by Alumina into the lake, whose water she consumed. This study seeks to create a plan identifying the various torts and risks by Alumina Inc. It further seeks to propose preventive and corrective measures that would eliminate those risks.

Common Torts and Regulatory Risks
Every company has a duty, both legal and ethical, of ensuring that its acts and operations do not result in harm of persons residing within its environs (Jennings, 2008). As aforementioned, Alumina Inc. had once been found to have violated the regulations of the EPA. This failure to comply by Alumina Inc. is constitutive of a tort. It acted in negligence of its duty to ensure the protection of the local environment as well as residents. The effects of this negligence were deeply felt within the corporation circles when it was required to conduct clean-up exercises. Although the case put forth by Kelly Bates comes five years after the first accusation, it formed the basis for her accusations. The company is legally required, through the established EPA laws and regulations, to comply at all times. Although the company was found to have been compliant with the requirements of the EPA, this case painted it in bad picture, something that was likely to affect it for a number of years. In order to protect the company from liabilities arising from such accusations, it is important that the management conduct regular evaluations of the companys compliance and file reports on the same. It would be in the companys best interest, if such reports were publicized in the local media. This would not only assure the residents and the EPA of the companys compliance, but also provide the company with a ground of defense in case similar accusations arose in the future.

The Freedom of Information Act provides that individuals could request information or records from any federal agency, except records considered protected disclosure. This Act poses a regulatory threat to Alumina Inc. because there is some information whose public release would case great harm to the companys competitive strategy. This is because such a move would mean that the company has more to hide, which would possibly arouse suspicion, creating irreparable damage to the company. Luckily, there are clauses providing for exemptions of such a request where it would possibly compromise a companys trade secrets. The company should make proper use of its public relations department in order to establish a proper relationship with residents. Moreover, this department would come in handy in as far as damage control is concerned. This can be done through the release of public statements assuring the public of the companys commitment to environmental protection.

The accusation by Bates is also a major risk which can easily ruin the companys business opportunities. This is because few companies would like to be publicly associated with a company that does not comply with environmental protection regulations, especially now that this has become a global issue. It would have been helpful for the company to keep the public informed regarding its compliance as well as improvements in terms of regulations over the five years following its accusation.

It is recommended that an independent committee be established, with a specific role of evaluating the discharge of PAH in Lake Dira are kept at acceptable levels. This would provide for an efficient way of dealing with violations of the various Acts, especially the Clean Water Act. Concerned parties would also have a clear picture of what is expected of the various actors in the area, and their role in environmental protection. This committee should set up a response team and provide it with all the necessary equipment to tackle the threats of excessive discharge in the lake.

Conclusion
In order to prevent similar situations in the future, the management of Alumina Inc. should have constantly kept vigil respecting the threats and regulatory risks surrounding the operations of the company. While providing relevant information to the public, the management should be careful not to compromise its own competitive strategies. Constant monitoring and evaluation of the compliance has been established as an important tool for protecting the company from further negative publicity.

Various preventive and corrective measures have been proposed. These included among others, the establishment of an independent committee, whose responsibility would be to ensure the protection of the environment. This committee would function besides the Environmental Protection Agency. It would also ensure various that Lake Dira is safe for use by both human and animal species.