Taking Action for Health and Environmental
Justice
The
Onslaught of "Incinerators in Disguise"
This summer
we discovered the waste industry had begun a major attempt to site
incineration-like technologies in California. Claiming that pyrolysis,
gasification and plasma arc technologies are "not incinerators,"
the industry is proposing facilities around the state. There is
also a new push for "waste to energy" incinerators. Unfortunately
these "alternative" and "conversion" technologies
have similar toxic emissions as incinerators. Proposals for these
'incinerators in disguise' are being considered in the Santa
Cruz area, Chowchilla,
Alameda,
Del Norte County, Imperial Valley, Santa Barbara, and elsewhere.
Greenaction has launched a major campaign effort across the state
to defeat these proposals and promote clean technologies and pollution
prevention.
Alameda,
San Leandro and Oakland, California
Alameda
Power and Telecom (the city power agency) is considering whether
to build a garbage
"gasification" plant to generate power in Alameda,
San Leandro or Oakland. Our research has shown such a plant would
emit dioxin and many other pollutants. We are alerting residents
about the plan and the truth about toxic emissions if such a facility
is built. We are building a tri-city coalition to oppose the garbage-burning
plan and to support "zero waste" programs and clean, renewable
energy.
Chowchilla,
California
Just days
before the City Planning Commission was to consider approval of
North American Power Company's application for a facility using
pyrolysis technology ("Thermal Recovery Unit") for medical
waste, Greenaction discovered
this plan and alerted residents of the potential toxic threat.
Our quick action resulted in a community uproar, and based on our
documentation of technical flaws in the application the company
temporarily withdrew their permit. A community meeting in October
drew a standing room only crowd of 150 irate residents who cheered
Greenaction and blasted government officials and the company for
not informing them.
Santa
Cruz County, California
The Santa
Cruz County Board of Supervisors are studying a "waste
to energy" garbage incinerator project, and identified
Moss Landing in Monterrey County as a possible site. Greenaction
alerted residents of Moss Landing, Santa Cruz, Watsonville and other
communities about this dangerous project. On August 26th we held
a successful press conference and joined dozens of residents at
the Board of Supervisors meeting.
West
Oakland, California
We are
working with the Chester Street Block Club Association to watchdog
and participate in USEPA's process to list the vinyl
chloride contamination at 3rd and Mandela as a Superfund
site to make it eligible for federal cleanup funds. We will make
sure EPA does a thorough, safe and prompt cleanup, using the safest
possible technology for remediation of the toxic contamination.
We are also calling on the City to move the children's play structures
in South Prescott Park away from the vinyl chloride contamination.
Bayview
Hunters Point, San Francisco
We have
generated tremendous
pressure on PG&E and state officials to close the dirty,
outdated and unnecessary PG&E Hunters Point power plant. We
are targeting the "Independent System Operator," the quasi-state
agency responsible for the power grid and for keeping the PG&E
plant open over the community's objections. We brought together
a grassroots coalition of community groups and residents to file
a complaint against PG&E and the California "Independent
Systems Operator" charging them with violating the civil rights
of residents due to the failure to close the power plant and the
use of discriminatory standards in their decision-making.
Greenaction
and the community have stalled the siting of four new fossil fuel
"peaker" power plants proposed by the City for the Potrero
area, next to Bayview Hunters Point. Unless the PG&E plant is
closed and the Mirant plant in Potrero phased out, the new proposed
plants will unacceptably increase pollution in the city's most polluted
neighborhoods. Our communities need renewable energy and energy
efficiency, not more fossil fuel power plants.
We also
launched an exciting new project, the Bayview Hunters Point Mothers
Environmental Justice Leadership Project, to train African-American
mothers in community organizing, media, research, public speaking,
computers and environmental health.
Precautionary
Principle Becomes Law in San Francisco
We joined
with allies in achieving a first of its kind victory in the U.S.
when the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved
legislation incorporating the Precautionary Principle into law.
The Precautionary Principle calls for industry and government to
follow a "better safe than sorry" approach when making
decisions where public health could be impacted. We joined statewide
allies in successfully calling on California EPA to adopt strong
environmental justice guidelines including the Precautionary Principle.
Environmental
Justice Air Quality Coalition
We have
been very active with our community partners in the Environmental
Justice Air Quality Coalition that has successfully pressured the
Bay Area Air Quality Management District to change and improve their
complaint process to make it easier for residents to file complaints
against industries emitting excess odors and visible emissions.
Gila
River Indian Community, Arizona
In November
2002 tribal members and Greenaction pressured Stericycle to shut
down a commercial medical waste incineration operation.
Now we are helping tribal members take on Romic, a company that
brings hazardous waste from around the world to their facility on
the reservation.
Colorado
River Indian Tribes, Arizona
We are continuing
our campaign with Colorado River Indian Tribes members to evict
Westates Carbon/US Filter from tribal lands. Both Westates
and Romic have operated on tribal lands without full permits and
with minimal regulatory oversight from the USEPA. Our work at both
reservations succeeded in getting EPA to improve their regulation
and oversight of these polluters, including inspecting and fining
Westates and Romic.
White
Mesa Ute Reservation, Utah
White Mesa
Ute tribal members, Greenaction and allies joined with the Ute Mountain
Ute Tribe and other Ute tribes at a Department of Energy meeting
in Moab, Utah to demand that
the DOE reject International Uranium Corporation's request to slurry
and truck radioactive uranium tailings and toxic waste from
Moab to the White Mesa Uranium Mill. The IUC mill is located adjacent
to the White Mesa Ute reservation, and was built literally on top
of hundreds of ancient and sacred sites, including burials. Greenaction
is helping bring together a coalition of Utes, Navajos, Mormons,
small businesspersons and environmentalists to work for the closure
of the IUC plant that pollutes the environment and desecrates the
sacred sites located at and next to the facility.
North
Salt Lake City, Utah
We are working
to encourage Stericycle to phase
out their incinerator that burns medical waste and non-medical waste
from across the west. We want the company to replace the incinerator
with non-incineration technologies such as an autoclave, which if
operated properly is safer than incineration. We have discovered
that the incinerator has had about two dozen bypasses of the pollution
control equipment in the last year, emitting dangerous toxic pollutants
directly into the air.
Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska
Greenaction
mobilized our members and supporters to oppose renewed attempts
by the Bush Administration to win congressional approval to drill
for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. We work with the
Gwich'in Indian Nation of northern Alaska in this campaign to protect
ANWR and the caribou and other wildlife that live there.
San
Joaquin Valley, California
Greenaction
and the Grayson Neighborhood Council have stepped up our campaign
against the Covanta garbage incinerator in Crow's Landing in Stanislaus
County. On October 17th we held the first ever protest at
the incinerator, and about 50 residents attended. We are beginning
work on pesticide drift and educating residents about nitrates contamination
of some wells in the area. We have an active program to build the
skills and capacity of Youth and Women in the area to be informed
and involved in environmental health issues.
Greenaction
Web Site (www.greenaction.org)
Our
website is being used by thousands of people across the country
and the world. Community and environmental activists, students,
educators, government officials, media and even polluters regularly
visit the Greenaction website for updates, solid information and
action alerts on campaigns for health and environmental justice.
