December 11, 1980 President Jimmy Carter signed legislation creating a $1.6 billion environmental “Superfund” to pay for cleaning up chemical spills and toxic waste dumps. This legislation came out of a grassroots fight in Niagara Falls, NY at Love Canal.
This is not just another anniversary date, it is a reminder of what can be accomplished when people come together, speak with one voice and demand change. Recently the divisions, among people who often want the same things, has been so orchestrated by those who want to keep the status quo. It’s become difficult for everyday people to figure out what’s what. But if you think about what you really want and ignore the other side’s game of what can be done, what’s possible we can win. At Love Canal I was told you will never be evacuated so give it up. But 800 families were evacuated. We were told the Superfund legislation would never pass it was way too costly, but it did.
When you look back at least in our environmental health and justice movement you’ll see how labor and communities came together, even in the belly of the beast in Louisiana, to pass the Right-To-Know legislation. Recycling is now a staple in our society where someone throwing away a can in the garbage is frowned upon. The public came together to use their power as consumers to stop many toxic products from being sold on the market. Young people today are speaking out and speaking loudly about Climate Change and using their power and their votes to move candidates.
Today marks the anniversary of what a grassroots movement can do. Let us celebrate that victory and work to achieve more. Let’s not be influenced by those who want to keep us apart, rather find the ways we can join together to win justice for all living things.
Day: December 11, 2019
The Environmental Integrity Project has released a report examining the budget trends and staffing levels for state public health and environmental protection agencies from the years 2008 to 2018. The report found that of the 48 states examined (Hawaii and Alaska not included) 31 states reduced funding for environmental agencies with 25 states creating cuts up to 10%. Further, it was found that 40 states reduced employment within environmental agencies with 21 states reducing employment with cuts up to 10%. Read More.
Read Report: The Thin Green Line
The EPA has revealed new rules for drinking water quality testing and water line repair actions for the presence of lead. The updated regulations are the first significant changes since the establishment of the lead and copper standards in 1991. The new rules will require water testing in all homes with lead service lines and the production of a public inventory listing all lead water systems. Additional rules include federal action towards replacing sections of contaminated pipes. Some environmental advocates claim that although the updated regulations are a start, they do not hit at the root cause of the lead contamination: replacing the 6 million lead service lines spread across the country. Read More.
In a decision that could have implications for Pennsylvania landowners in the path of PennEast’s $1 billion natural gas pipeline, a U.S. appeals court on Tuesday barred the company from using federal law to seize properties controlled by New Jersey. New Jersey, which opposes construction of the 120-mile pipeline, did not consent to PennEast’s condemnation of 42 properties preserved by the state for farmland or open space. Read More.
By Sharon Franklin
Elizabeth Gribkoff of the Vermont Digger recently reported in her article Years after discovery, PFOA looms over Bennington residents, that individuals such as Sandy Sumner and his wife who live in North Bennington, Vermont have their lives permanently altered by contamination from the former ChemFab plant, a Teflon coating plant. The Sumners use to have a large vegetable patch in front of their house, but they are now afraid to eat anything grown on their property because the soil and groundwater is contaminated with chemicals that are very harmful. When the plant was operational, Sumner and neighbors complained to the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the factory management about the acrid emissions from the smokestacks. Sumner states “My wife and I, we were constantly sick,” “We couldn’t keep our windows and doors open. We got headaches, migraines, sore throats, nosebleeds.” When the plant closed in 2002, the Sumners found out from the state that their drinking water well was contaminated with 580 parts per trillion of Perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA — more than 29 times higher than the Vermont drinking water standard.
In April, 2019 the state of Vermont reached a final agreement with Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, the current owner of the ChemFab factory. As stated in the agreement “Under this final settlement, … Saint-Gobain will directly fund a significant portion of the waterline extensions and be responsible for long-term monitoring, the drilling of replacement wells, and the long-term operation and maintenance of in-home treatment systems. Waterline work in the East Side of the Town of Bennington is estimated at $20 to $25 million. Pending final budget approval, the State has agreed to commit $4.7 million to extend waterlines to the maximum extent feasible.”
In the Fall of 2018, Water-line extensions were completed at roughly 200 houses on the western side of the contaminated area, including the Sumners’ home. Construction on the second phase of water line extensions in Bennington has begun, but many homes won’t be connected until 2020. However, the Bennington residents like the Sumners impacted by perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) contamination are still dealing with potential long-term health impacts, costs of water bills and resignation that their properties will be indefinitely contaminated.
Some good news for the Sumners came on August 27, 2019. The lawsuit he and his wife with eight other residents filed against Saint-Gobain, seeking to make the company pay for property damages and long-term medical monitoring for PFOA-related illnesses, took a step forward, when a federal judge allowed the case to advance as a class action.
Sandy Sumner says “We’re not happy to be involved in the class action.”. “It’s stressful. But I wouldn’t shy away from it — it’s too important.” He hopes the lawsuit will help pressure chemical companies to prevent contamination like this from occurring. “Because they’re not going to do it on their own,”.
Jim Sullivan, one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against St. Gobain Performance Plastics, says “The airborne PFOA contamination in Bennington differs from, say, an industrial spill, where the focus is on cleaning up a particular site, “But in this case, the contaminated site is right here, we’re living on it,” he said. “And everybody who’s had their property contaminated is living on the contaminated site.”
Sitting in the living room of his home, Sumner said the impact of the PFOA contamination on the property value remains a “question mark.” As the house is his family’s nest egg, he hopes they can get a good price for it when they eventually go to sell it. “At the same time, anyone who wants to buy this house, I would make damn sure that they knew that even though those flower beds are beautiful, that the soil and groundwater is contaminated”. “And, it will be while you’re living here.”
Photos by: Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
A mining company involved in the Bonita Peak Mining District Site by the Animas River in Colorado is rejecting EPA’s order to participate in the clean up of the area. The Superfund Site in question is made up of several inactive mines that have been leaching waste into the nearby Animas River. The site was first established in 2015, when EPA inadvertently triggered a spill from Gold King mine, contaminating river systems with 3 million gallons of toxic wastewater.
Sunnyside Gold Corp, the company EPA initially ordered to conduct a groundwater assessment of the area, is now refusing to take action to clean up the area, saying that they are not responsible for the polluting spills. EPA said they would review the company’s leader before taking further action. <Read more>
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If a serious storm occurs in Butte or Anaconda the consequences could be dire for the Superfund cleanup.
Read More.
The Trump administration is about to propose a change to clean water regulations that will roll back protection for a number of wetlands and streams.
Read More.
In the shadow of some of America’s most controversial coal mines, where companies use huge amounts of explosives to blow the tops off mountains, isolated communities say their water has been poisoned.
Read more.