Greenpeace charged for lack of paperwork (By Alaska)

[Bandit]

ANCHORAGE - Alaska prosecutors on Thursday filed criminal charges against Greenpeace, saying the activist group broke environmental laws by not submitting oil spill prevention documents before its ship entered state waters.
The Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise, with 27 activists on board, is touring Southeast Alaska to protest logging in the Tongass National Forest.
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Greenpeace officials said it was a paperwork mishap that was quickly corrected.
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State law requires a non-tank vessel larger than 400 gross tons to file an oil spill response plan application five days before entering state waters.
Prosecutors filed charges against Greenpeace, Arctic Sunrise Capt. Arne Sorenson and the ship's agent, Willem Jan Beekman. The criminal negligence charges carry a maximum sentence of a year in prison and a $10,000 fine for an individual and $200,000 for an organization.
A Greenpeace spokeswoman said Thursday she did not know charges had been filed. Carol Gregory said the matter was an oversight and the proper forms were filed as soon as it was discovered.
"It was a clerical error about paperwork and not about environmental protection," Gregory said. "We're Greenpeace. Of course we want to work within all environmental laws."
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