Government forgot, deceived you: Emotional Erin Brockovich to Camp Lejeune water victims

Consumer advocate Erin Brockovich got emotional as she spoke to a room of Camp Lejeune water contamination victims Thursday evening during the first of many town halls throughout the country.

Brockovich has joined Mike Partain and Jerry Ensminger, both of whom were instrumental in the passage of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, to travel across the country and hold town halls that will offer information to help those impacted know their rights. The three joined other advocates from Camp Lejeune Legal in the first of those town halls Thursday evening at Sturgeon City in Jacksonville.

Brockovich said the purpose of the town halls is to not only give those impacted information and the truth, but also human contact.

"One, I'm a military mom," Brockovich said. "Two, I'm a big fan of Jerry and Mike and the work that they've done. These families...it's very upsetting to me that they were forgotten and that the government, their parent, if you will, clearly deceived them. So, it's important for me to be present with them. I call us boots on the ground and they need to see us. The energy is real. Whatever they decide to do, they can't make the right decision if they don't know the right facts."

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Ensminger, who lost his nine-year-old daughter to leukemia in 1985 because of the contaminated water, said he'd rather come and hold these meetings face-to-face with people so they can hear his and others' stories. He praised Camp Lejeune Legal's attorney, Mikal Watts of Watts Guerra LLP, for being the only attorney in all these years of fighting to ever walk the grounds of Camp Lejeune.

"None of the other attorneys that we had dealt with over the years had ever asked us to give them a tour of the base where they could actually see and walk the grounds," Ensminger said. "I found that noteworthy."

When did Brockovich get involved?

Brockovich's involvement with Ensminger and Partain began in 2010 and she called them the three amigos.

Brockovich achieved fame decades ago when she helped to win a $333 million settlement for victims in a separate case of water poisoning by Pacific Gas & Electric. She's also known for being the subject of a 2000 American biographical legal drama film called "Erin Brockovich" in which Julia Roberts starred as Brockovich.

She said her earliest emails about Camp Lejeune began coming in around 2007.

"Jerry retired near here and that's how he found out about it," said Partain, who was born in Camp Lejeune but moved to and grew up in Florida when his father retired from the Marine Corps. "If it hadn't been for Jerry hearing about this in 1997, this all would have passed away. The news about Camp Lejeune didn't reach Florida, didn't reach small-town USA until Jerry testified in Congress in 2007 and that was carried on the national news and that's how I found out. We have quite a few people that don't know the facts, don't know the ins and outs of what happened, just bits and pieces they may have heard in the media."

After a fight that started 25 years ago for Ensminger, and 15 years ago for Partain, the Camp Lejeune Justice Act was finally signed into law by President Joe Biden just two months ago. Brockovich said it literally took Ensminger and Partain an "act of Congress."

Between the two of them, Ensminger and Partain have testified in Congress 11 times, were guests at The White House in 2012 for the signing of a bill named after Ensminger's late daughter Janey and were at The White House two months ago for the signing.

Partain said now that the bill has passed, they've got a two-year window. The bill will be law until August 10, 2024, and unless Congress grants an extension or revision of the bill, the opportunity to file for compensation will close.

"If people don't file by then, two things," Partain said. "One, the work that we've done is all done in vain because I couldn't imagine someone walking away who has a legitimate claim. The second thing is, one of the reasons why I've fought so hard and why Jerry has fought so hard on this, we don't want to see this happen again. We don't want another population to come up with a contamination event. And if we don't hold them accountable, then the behavior will continue."

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What doesn't help, though, is the constant misinformation from lawyers on television, radio and social media.

"It's a feeding frenzy," Brockovich said. "Everybody can see it. For me, it's don't mislead. You know, bags of cash, that's not going to happen tomorrow. This is a process and we have just begun, and the people need to know the absolute truth. It's a process, it won't happen tomorrow, it is going to be frustrating, it could be a few years and any commercial that indicates to you otherwise, I find misleading, and it infuriates me."

Ten years ago, Partain said, they would've killed for that advertising because they were struggling to get national stories out, get the word out. But on the flip said, he added, there are unfortunately unscrupulous people and firms who are trying to take advantage of the situation.

He added that's why these town halls are so important.

"We're not just a TV ad, we're not just saying, 'here, come sign here,'" Partain said. "Come see us, talk to us, come hear what we have to say."

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'Superman's Not Coming'

Brockovich wrote a book during COVID called "Superman's Not Coming." She said although it's about the water crisis, it could be applicable to anything. She said most men and women who join the military become the property of the United States Government and she thinks that's about to change because that's not what they signed up for.

"If we think that the government is our superman or superwoman coming to rescue us, it's not, and I think that we're waking up to the fact that we have to rise up," Brockovich said. "I do not think, moving forward in the future, that it should take an act of Congress to protect and defend our military who you knowingly poisoned. And if that continues to happen, you can continue to expect all of us to act up."

So, what's next for Brockovich, Ensminger, Partain and the rest of Camp Lejeune Legal?

After touring the country to hold all of these town halls, Brockovich said they might have to start round two. She said it's a process and although the work may not always be on the ground, they'll always be available by phone or zoom.

"As, sometimes, the process goes and goes, it gets bogged down, people get frustrated, you need to come back out and have another town hall which we're prepared to do and that's not uncommon," Brockovich said.

Reporter Morgan Starling can be reached at mstarling@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daily News: Advocate Erin Brockovich speaks to Camp Lejeune water victims