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Author: Lois Gibbs

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Backyard Talk

An Open Letter to New EPA Chief Scott Pruitt: You’re Not in Oklahoma Anymore

02/17/2017 06:02 pm ET
Ken Cook Environmental Working Group
 Dear Mr. Pruitt:
On Friday, in a near-partisan vote, the Senate confirmed you as the next administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. It’s sad to say, but this is the darkest moment in the history of an agency that for 46 years has worked to ensure that Americans drink clean water, breathe healthy air and are protected from dangerous toxic chemicals.
As Oklahoma attorney general, you filed or supported more than two dozen lawsuits against the very agency you now must lead. Most notoriously, you sought to block the EPA’s efforts to combat climate change. But you also opposed initiatives to protect children from mercury poisoning, and reduce air pollution that causes asthma and thousands of premature deaths, among other measures to protect public health. In your home state, you did little or nothing to curb water pollution from toxic manure discharged by big chicken and pig farms.
In your confirmation hearing you could not name a single EPA regulation you thought was a good idea – not even removing lead from gasoline.
The day before your confirmation, an Oklahoma judge ordered the release of 3,000 emails between your office and the fossil fuel industry next week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell decided Americans did not have the right to know what was in those emails before the confirmation vote. For now, we can only speculate about their contents, but your record shows you have collaborated with polluters with the same coziness Gen. Michael Flynn displayed as he communicated with Russia’s ambassador about election tampering.
There has never been a nominee for EPA administrator opposed so strongly by environmental and public health advocates, scientists, and hundreds of current and former EPA officials. We are determined to fight back against what we expect will be an unprecedented assault on public health and the environment. But we also have a word for you:
You’re not in Oklahoma anymore.
It is shameful that someone with your anti-environment record and philosophy has been handed the most important environmental job in the world. But you will not get a free pass to trash America’s air and water as you did in Oklahoma, when you claimed that the interests of polluters were synonymous with the interests of the people of your state.
You will not get a free pass to ignore science or muzzle scientists. You will not slash the EPA budget as you slashed environmental enforcement in Oklahoma – not without a fight.
You will not degrade or subvert the rule of environmental law that represents one of America’s distinctive contributions to the welfare of our planet just to please your polluter cronies, their friends in Congress or their cheerleader in the White House.
Why? Because the American people will rise up and fight you every step of the way.
Our nation’s leadership in environmental protection is a prime example of what has made America great again and again and again – for decades. We have no intention of standing by while you dismantle that hard-won legacy at the behest of fossil fuels or elected fools.
We aren’t going anywhere, Mr. Pruitt. And you are not in Oklahoma anymore.

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Victory for Families Relocating In East Chicago, IN

Gov. Eric Holcomb signed an executive order declaring a disaster emergency for East Chicago’s USS Lead Superfund site.
The declaration provides for 30 days of enhanced state assistance for the estimated 100 residents who have yet to relocate from the lead contaminated West Calumet Housing Complex, as well as other lead-impacted citizens in the affected area.
Governor Holcomb did what Pence refused to do last year. Residents and community groups heavily criticized Pence last year for not meeting personally with those affected by the lead and arsenic contamination. Read more.
 

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Major Climate March in DC – April 29th

“People’s Climate March” in D.C., AND across the country on April 29.  JOIN CHEJ and Allies.
The effort is being organized by the coalition formed out of 2014’s People’s Climate March, which brought more than 400,000 people to the streets of New York City and many more to cities around the world.
The march comes in response to widespread outrage against President Trump’s disastrous anti-climate agenda — including his executive orders advancing the Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines — as well as his attacks on healthcare, immigrants, and programs and policies that improve the lives of all Americans. The event will cap 100 days of action to fight Trump’s proposals to reverse climate action, dismantle our government and hand power over to the one percent.
More than 145 protests in local communities took place across the country in the first 100 hours of the Trump presidency, demonstrating widespread opposition to the administration’s anti-environment and corporate agenda as part of an ongoing campaign organized by the People’s Climate Movement.

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Backyard Talk News Archive

Fracking Linked to 9,442 Official Complaints in Rural Pennsylvania

Between 2013–2016, Public Herald conducted 50 file reviews at DEP‘s offices and tracked down 6,819 complaint cases files. On December 30, 2016, DEP gave Public Herald an updated spreadsheet showing that 9,442 complaints have been filed between 2004–2016 and thousands of these center around water contamination complaints. Steve Horn reported in DESMOG. Read more.

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Love Canal Waste Buried Nearby – No Action To Cleanup

The landfill, which operated from 1964 to 1968, was the subject of constant neighborhood complaints of odors, unsafe conditions and the lack of a fence, according to Niagara County Health Department records.
County health officials allowed the state in 1968 to bury some 80 truck loads of Love Canal waste dug up during the construction of the LaSalle Expressway in Niagara Falls. Today there is no signs, no fence, no warnings as innocent children ride their dirt bikes, play and fish along this area.
Read more.

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What Does Standing Rock and Love Canal Struggles Have In Common?

Real democracy in action.  Both situations did not have the law on their side, regulations or much of anything. Yet both of those fights had real victories. There are real lessons that can be learned from these two high profile situations. Lessons that are important as we as a country enter the Trump era. Although there was science and legal work in both situations that was done to build a case to stop the madness that was not the magic answer.  It was people. Hundreds of people and at time thousands of people who stood up, took risks, spoke out in a united voice to say, “NO” that made the difference.
It was also using the media and a narrative that the average American person could understand.  It was value-based and widely supported. One of the differences was at Love Canal the residents had the mainstream media on their side. In Standing Rock it was the alternative media, Amy Goodman from Democracy Now, who refused to let the story go. It wasn’t until she was charged by police for breaking the law, that the story caught on with the mainstream media. There was also the difference of Love Canal families who were largely working class white people and at Standing Rock were Indigenous Peoples at the center of the struggle. That’s part of America’s racism that is real and again demonstrated at Standing Rock.
This is a story,  a comparison which needs more analysis and lessons learned. Yes, a longer article needs to be written. Unfortunately I can’t do that now, but  will likely in the future. My reason for raising this comparison at all, is for all of those who say under Trump we have no chance. Yes you do–yes we do– but only if we organize people, unite voices and build the political power that is needed to not only save what we’ve got, but win more. We can do it– but it takes stepping out of your place of comfort, take some risks like signing a petition that your friends might not agree with or giving something– a dollar, an hour, food, make a phone call, go to a meeting  and so much more. Today is the day for you to make a change so we — all of us — can live in a free, safe, healthy  and inclusive world.

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Federal Court Tells EPA Review Rules on Fracking Wastes

A federal court case brought by CHEJ and allies rules in our favor. The Judge directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to review and possibly update its regulations on oil and gas waste, in a decision that was welcomed by environmental groups who had sued the agency, claiming its rules have failed to keep pace with the fracking boom. This is a good start to the New Year. Let’s keep winning.

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Backyard Talk

Drinking Water –Topped the List of Calls for Assistance

Fortunately CHEJ was able to help community after community with questions and concerns about their water. Moms, dads and individuals panicked ask for help – what can we do to protect our children – ourselves?
CHEJ scientists were there to answer questions about toxicity, safe levels and health impacts from exposure.  We were there to help because you were there — providing the resources through contributions large and small. Thank you for making sure we were able to respond to the many people who needed advice from a trusted person.
Here’s a few of their introductory sentences.
“There is dioxin in our drinking water.”  Houston, Texas
“There’s a licorice smell when I turn on the tap water.” Charleston, West Virginia
“We have lead in the nurse’s station faucet at our elementary school.” Ithaca, New York
“EPA said don’t drink the water it has a toxic chemical in it.”  Flint, Michigan
“We need protection from coal ash in our drinking water.” Uniontown, Alabama
“The water in our childcare center has flame retardant chemicals.” Portsmouth, NH
“State says don’t drink, bath or use the water at all – it contains a solvent that’s dangerous.” Corpus Christi, Texas
“The water stinks but we’re told it is fine to drink. Where can I test my water?” Portland, Oregon
Unfortunately, the issue around safe drinking water are not going away any day soon. In fact some believe the trend toward unsafe water is more likely to continue. Why? Not because there is more pollution that will contaminated the water, although there might likely be more. It’s because people are now demanding that schools, day care facilities and water suppliers provide a yearly test that includes lead, copper and other contaminates. Parents and teachers are asking that all child related facilities test yearly and share the results of the water samples with parents, staff and school boards immediately.
This testing is not routine and when it is done the results are rarely shared with the public. Therefore, places where children have been exposed for years, will surface and concerned people will be looking for trusted advice.
Thanks to your continued support CHEJ will be there to pick up the phone and provide the assistance needed. Please join us again this year so we can be there for people in crisis and provide honest answers to their questions.

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Is Your Drinking Water Safe?

Corpus Christi, Texas, residents warned to avoid tap water.
Residents of Corpus Christi, Texas were told to not to drink or bathe in the tap water because of a chemical contamination. About 300,000 people in Corpus Christi on the Gulf of Mexico coast were impacted by this crisis. Residents were told that nothing including boiling, filtering, adding chlorine or other disinfectants, or letting the water stand will not make the water safe.
The contaminants have not yet been named, but are petroleum-based from an asphalt plant. The contamination was the result of a faulty valve in the city’s industrial area, which caused a back-flow leaking toxic contaminates into the drinking water supply.
In cities with industrial areas it is important to ask if your city has safeguards in place to prevent this type of accident from happening to your public water supply. Although the problem was unidentified and is being corrected there were 300,000 people who are potential victims of toxic exposures that can cause all types of medical problems including cancers, reproductive, nervous system and more.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

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Chemicals Reduce Childrens IQs

If you are interested in how many small amounts of chemicals can directly impact children’s IQ you need to spend a few minutes watching this video. CHEJ’s members have been frustrated by the regulatory agencies and their lack of willingness to address multiple chemical exposures. Most recently the Just Moms group in St. Louis, MO were told that a leader’s family has levels of radiation in their kitchen 200 times above background. How in the world do  you make Thanksgiving dinner in a kitchen full of radiation? Moreover, how can you have a family dinner when no one wants to come to your house? Along with the radiation are toxic chemicals that come from the burning landfill daily. EPA says they need to do more testing. How much evidence does the agency need before they move the people?
Karen Nickel with Just Moms STL says, “Allowing people to live inside of homes that are contaminated with the world’s oldest nuclear weapons waste is unacceptable and extremely irresponsible. For over five years, the community has endured breathing in toxic fumes from the underground fire at the landfill and there’s no clear end in sight. The Missouri Attorney General indicates a Chernobyl-like event could occur if/when the underground fire collides with the Manhattan Project waste. The schools in the area are on alert for a shelter-in-place event and have asked parents to stock-pile their children’s medication at school in the event they cannot be released. There is a higher than normal incidence of brain cancer in children under 17 in areas around the West Lake Landfill. Families are sick with bloody noses, asthma, and other respiratory illness and often keep children indoors because the toxic odors are so bad.”

Just Moms STL is calling on EPA Federal Administrator Gina McCarthy to use her power under CERCLA and Governor Jay Nixon to relocate families today.