In his campaign literature, Councilman Marty Donovan takes credit for being “Instrumental in getting CSX to remove hundreds of creosote-coated wooden pilings from Bayou Texar at the CSX 17th Avenue railroad crossing.”
The truth is his opponent, Larry B. Johnson, and Emerald Coastkeepers got CSX to remove the pilings by filing a lawsuit against the company. Emerald Coastkeeper Inc. filed the lawsuit on March 21, 2006 seeking a temporary injunction to halt work on the trestle-replacement project, arguing that creosote oils would “bleed†out of the cut-off pilings and contaminate the water flowing into and out of Bayou Texar.
The Pensacola City Council and Donovan only got involved after the lawsuit was filed.