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Environmental Activists in Louisiana Call on Senator Cassidy to ‘Do No Harm’

“It took courage for Senator Cassidy to vote against Trump,” Sharon Lavigne, the founder of the faith-based grassroots organization RISE St. James, said about the Louisiana Republican after the impeachment hearing of the former president. “He voted with his conscience, not his party. Now he has to find the courage to honor his oath as a doctor and stop more petrochemical plants from being built in fenceline communities.”

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Photo Credit: Julie Dermansky

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Backyard Talk

The Intersection Between Tribal Sovereignty and Environmental Justice

By: Kristen Millstein, Communications Intern
In the summer of 2016, I traveled to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. I was in high school and had not spent significant time outside my California bubble. Pine Ridge was like a different world. While there, I learned from tribal leaders about the continual violation of their sovereignty and the trauma caused by a history of massacres and loss of sacred land. At the time, I looked at these atrocities through the lens of colonization. It has only been since I joined CHEJ as an intern that I began to look at these issues as environmental justice issues as well. Treaties were often violated because white colonizers found something valuable on tribal land–either agricultural opportunity, mineral wealth, or lumber, and greed for these natural resources continues to drive violation of tribal sovereignty. The resulting industries have done irreparable damage to the environment and Indigenous communities.
Pine Ridge Reservation has a poverty rate as high as 80% by some estimates and is 59th out of 60 counties in South Dakota for overall health outcomes. The region is clearly struggling, and it’s harrowing history is the primary culprit. Pine Ridge was once part of the much larger Great Sioux Reservation, established by treaty in 1868. This treaty was broken only six years later in 1874, and tribes continued to lose land over the next several decades as the U.S. government violated treaties to access gold, lumber, and other natural resources. The remaining tribal land is only a small fraction of their rightful land. Despite these already great losses, attacks on tribal sovereignty and land rights continue.
High profile protests like the ones surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to recent activism against encroachments on tribal sovereignty. Indigenous activists also fought hard against the Keystone XL Pipeline despite fierce opposition by law enforcement, and scored a major victory when President Biden revoked the pipeline’s permit and halted construction. Pine Ridge activists are currently embroiled in a fight against the proposed Dewey-Burdock uranium mine that will threaten the water supply as well as countless cultural sites. 
Each of these projects has been vehemently opposed by tribes on the grounds of damage to human health and the environment and violation of tribal sovereignty. But under our current system, agencies are not required to make their plans contingent on the consent of tribes, rendering their input effectively meaningless. Changing this provision and requiring ongoing, informed consent of tribal governments for projects that encroach on their land or threaten their cultural heritage would represent a major shift in the U.S. government’s relationship with tribes. It would be a victory for tribal sovereignty and for environmental justice. The Supreme Court ruling that declared about half of Oklahoma to be under tribal jurisdiction and the cancellation of the Keystone XL Pipeline by the Biden Administration are steps in the right direction and a sign that there may be an opportunity for real progress, but the threats are not over. We must continue to support Indigenous communities in their fight to preserve their culture, heritage, and environment against attacks on their sovereignty.
Photo Credit: JYM via Facebook

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MORE OHIOANS WANT SOME SAY IN SITING DRILLING WASTE INJECTION WELLS

Each well drilled using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for oil and gas production creates tens of millions of gallons of wastewater, called produced water or brine. In Ohio, much of that wastewater is disposed of in underground injection wells, including waste from Pennsylvania and West Virginia. As the number of injection wells grows in Ohio, local communities want some control over where these wells are located.
In Belmont County, Ohio, Judy Burger’s husband is getting ready to retire. After 25 years, their peaceful home near the highway is quickly changing, “I’m a nervous wreck, I’m on blood pressure medicine,” she said.  “I have my Venetian blinds closed in my house so I don’t have to look across the street to see the mayhem and the destruction and the coming reality.”
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Photo Credit: Julie Grant/The Allegheny Front

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A Look at Environmental Justice Communities and Regulations

President Joseph Biden Jr. has promised to up the ante for environmental justice (EJ) communities by “rooting out the systemic racism in our laws, policies, institutions, and hearts.” Although a complete rollout of Biden’s plan has not yet been revealed, his campaign plans and initial actions allow for some educated analysis as to what industry can expect for future regulations and enforcement actions.
To reach an understanding of likely industry impacts, it’s important to look at the evolution of EJ regulations to date.
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Photo Credit: Lightspring/Shutterstock.com

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Funding shortfall drastically impedes Superfund cleanup, leaving millions of Americans in the toxic lurch: report

In the report, Superfund Underfunded: How taxpayers have been left with a toxic financial burden, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group analyzed data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to generate a report on the state of cleanup since the initial funding mechanism, the Polluter Pays Tax on culpable corporations, expired in 1995.
“Millions of Americans live near these sites, which have chemicals either proven to cause — or suspected of causing — major health problems,” report author Jillian Gordner, who works on the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund’s campaigns against toxic substances, said in a statement. “Congress’s failure to reinstate a Polluter Pays Tax that would speed the cleanup of these sites is a choice to prioritize industry’s bottom line over the lives of Americans.”
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Photo Credit: Matthew Brown/AP

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SUPERFUND UNDERFUNDED

In 1980, Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), informally called Superfund. The Superfund program was given the authority and funds to hold polluters responsible for cleaning up contaminated waste sites or clean up the sites themselves if no responsible party can be found or afford the cleanup. These toxic waste sites house some of the most “hazardous chemicals known to humankind.” The Superfund toxic waste program protects people from these contaminants and the serious health problems associated with them.
The program was originally funded by a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries, but that tax expired in 1995, and now the money for the Superfund program has come primarily through appropriations from the general revenue.
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Photo Credit: Kimberly Chandler/AP Photo

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Stories of Local Leaders

Nina Morgan and GASP Go Above and Beyond to Help Those in Birmingham During the Pandemic

By: Ruth Rodriguez, Communications Intern
Nina Morgan is a Climate and Environmental Justice Organizer with the Greater-Birmingham Alliance to Stop Pollution (GASP) in Birmingham, Alabama. Morgan fights for communities located near heavy industry that are suffering from pollution-related illnesses like asthma and cancer. These communities have been unlawfully restricted to these unsafe areas due to a history of racially discriminatory zoning laws.
Morgan and her family have a long history with Alabama. She was raised in the small rural town of Sipsey. It was and is a historic coal mining community located near Mulberry Creek which is a tributary to the Black Warrior River. The mine was always in and out of operation. It was not unusual to feel the ground shaking beneath your feet. As a child, Morgan thought it was exciting to feel the rumbling, but would later understand the consequences, struggles, and stress the rumbling would cause on her family. The stress of surviving while having to deal with a house that is about to fall to the ground was prevalent for her family and those in the community. Panels on the roof would fall and even the foundation would crack. To further the stress, it was common for folks to refuse to drink the tap water in fear that it was contaminated by the nearby mining. Ironically, as a child Morgan would visit the McWane Science Center, not realizing until much older that the same company that owns the science center owns the surface mine in her hometown.
Like many who grew up in small towns, she wanted to get out and experience new things. This led her to attend the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she received a degree in anthropology and sociology. As a college student she was extremely involved in campus activities. She was in the Black Student Awareness Committee and held rallies and began organizing. Morgan moved away from campus organizing when she got involved with the Birmingham chapter of Black Lives Matter where she was surrounded by older, more experienced, radical organizers. She learned how to be an effective grassroots organizer at the community level, and this put her in the trajectory of where she is today. At just 26 years old, she is now the Climate and Environmental Justice Organizer at GASP.
“I kept showing up, kept building relationships, kept getting involved, kept surrounding myself as a young person around other people who knew more than me… [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][I] developed a kind of community of folks.” 
When asked about some of the most effective ways of organizing, Morgan said to speak from experience. She shares how her community has been impacted by pollution, the story of the 35th Avenue Superfund site, and the stories of those who live across the street from the coke plant. 
“Telling the stories is really, I think, one of the most important things. I think we’ve seen in just the political arena right now you can throw facts, you can throw numbers at people, but if you don’t kind of tell stories in a way that makes people feel you and where you’re coming from and people’s lived experiences then things don’t change…conversations just don’t cut it with some of these people, and that’s when you kind of have to take direct action and use that to try to amplify the fights on the ground and the things that people are going through and being impacted by, because it polarizes the public and forces a conversation.”
GASP, like many others, struggled to organize during COVID. Organizing heavily depends on face to face interactions. In a unique way of amplifying their voice, working with PANIC and Charlie Powell, they set up the “Right to Breathe” caravans in Birmingham. The caravans were a way to take action and keep the issue alive in a safe way. People who saw the caravan waved and encouraged them to keep fighting. At the end of the caravan there was a drive in rally with speakers and spoken word. Additionally, a caravan went to Montgomery in order to get Governor Kay Ivey to respond to the community’s concerns and to put pressure on her because she has the power to push the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to put the 35th Avenue site on the National Priorities List. It also connected COVID to environmental justice since the coke plant is emitting pollution during a time where those impacted by air pollution are more likely to die from COVID. 
Another way Morgan and GASP helped members of the community last year, and an effort they are continuing this year, was by creating pop-up markets across the street from the coke plant. At the beginning of the COVID crisis in the United States, because of hoarding, many did not have food or cleaning products. The market was used to distribute PPE and make sure people had access to canned goods and fresh produce. The market also served as an information distribution site, a way to stay in contact with members of the community, and a way for neighbors to catch up in a safe way. Although the help that GASP is providing is astounding and goes above and beyond, their work also demonstrates the failure of the city, state, and agencies to help their constituents in a time of need. 
GASP, along with the Southern Environmental Law Center, redefined the terms of a consent decree that addresses ABC Coke’s exceeding limits of benzene emissions. Previously, the decree agreed to by the Jefferson County Board of Health (JCBH) and the EPA with the Drummond Company was insufficient. Because of GASP and the Southern Environmental Law Center’s work, the Drummond Company will need to follow a Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) program. Additionally, the Jefferson County Department of Health (JCDH) will need to issue its share of the civil penalty ($387,500) to be managed by the Community Foundation. The foundation will provide grants for projects benefiting the public health of affected communities. Although this is a win, and people are happy that something is being done to fight back against the polluter, some believe they deserve more.
“People deserve more. You can’t put a price on a life. What value can you put on a plant that is, first of all, polluting in a community and exceeding the levels of emissions that they’re supposed to be polluting under the Clean Air Act…How can you put a price on life?”
Morgan and GASP are going above and beyond to help those in their community live in a better, safer, and cleaner environment. 
“We’re in this together so let’s amplify each other’s stories about environmental injustice, environmental racism, and the failure of the state to protect us.”[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

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Biden EPA dumps PFAS assessment over ‘political interference’

WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President Joe Biden has yanked back the health assessment of a notable “forever chemical,” alleging the document was compromised by “political interference” in the final days of the Trump administration.

The EPA announced Feb. 9 that it was removing from its website the toxicity assessment for PFBS, or perfluorobutanesulfonic acid, a PFAS compound that’s one of seven similar chemicals regulated by state law in Michigan public drinking water under rules passed last year.

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Photo Credit: Garret Ellison/MLive

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Biden’s promise for justice tested in tribal coal fields

When three 775-foot-tall smoke stacks at the Navajo Generating Station came tumbling down in December, sending plumes of dust into the sky and thundering reverberations off the mesas of the Arizona high desert, it marked the end of an era.
The federal government was instrumental in engineering the rise of the 2,250-megawatt coal plant 45 years ago, one of the country’s largest prior to its closure in 2019.
Now, President Biden faces questions about how to replace it, marking an early test of his promises to weave environmental and social justice into his climate agenda.
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Photo Credit: Jamie & Judy Wild/DanitaDelimont.com  “Danita Delimont Photography”/Newscom

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‘This Is How We Defend Ourselves’ — Harris County Residents Install DIY Pollution Monitoring Network

When a massive fire broke out at the Intercontinental Terminals Company in 2019, a thick plume of smoke blanketed parts of east Harris County for several days. Hospital admissions for asthma increased by about 65% compared to the same time in 2018, according to county data.
A Deer Park 911 dispatcher named Brandy fielded calls as residents’ phones began to buzz and beep with shelter-in-place notifications on the first morning of the fire.
“All we can tell you is that the city manager’s office and the emergency management office have requested a shelter in place,” she told one caller. “Yeah, stay home. They request you not to be out and about. Make sure your doors and windows are shut, and turn your air conditioners off.”

The fire burned for days and affected neighboring cities.
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Photo Credit: Florian Martin/Houston Public Media