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Big Community Meeting! October 9, 2003
See Also: 8/26/03 Read Press Coverage in the Fresno Bee! For more information, contact:
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Chowchilla Residents Up In Arms, Cheer Greenaction Over 125 angry Chowchilla residents packed into the Senior Citizen Center last night for a Town Hall meeting sponsored by local community members to educate and mobilize residents against North American Power Company's proposed medical waste treatment facility. The company did not attend, so an empty chair with their name on it was placed on the stage for all to see. The standing room only crowd heard from residents who urged the community to fight this dangerous proposal. Community members thanked Greenaction for bringing this issue to their attention, as neither the company or any government agency bothered to notify residents. When Greenaction discovered this project in mid-August, we went door to door to inform residents, who immediately starting organizing and spreading the word. Then city and Air District officials described their permit application review processes. In a big victory for the community and Greenaction, Dave Warner of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District announced that the company has just withdrawn their permit application!!! This comes a few weeks after the company also withdrew, at least for now, their application to the city. Greenaction's Director Bradley Angel then spoke about the project and Greenaction's concerns. Dr. Jorge Emanuel, an expert on medical waste treatment technologies who has worked with the World Health Organization and governments and non-profit groups around the world, described how the proposed "pyrolysis" unit would emit dangerous toxic pollutants including dioxin and mercury. Many residents had questions and comments, and the entire crowd was against the proposed facility. Residents were furious with city officials for not notifying the community about the proposal - pointing out that the city will mail residents notices about flea markets but not about a big waste facility. The meeting was conducted in English and Spanish, and it was great to see the community unite to defend their health and environment. Three tv stations attended, and coverage was really favorable ("residents up in arms!" reported channel 30). Residents will now demand their city council take action to stop the project. |