Taking Action for Health and Environmental
Justice
The
Onslaught of "Incinerators in Disguise"
Greenaction
has launched a major effort to defeat the waste industry's 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. 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,
Hanford, Imperial Valley, Santa Barbara, and elsewhere. We have
won initial victories in Chowchilla and Santa Cruz!
Alameda,
San Leandro and Oakland, California
Greenaction
and community allies held a successful press conference December
18th to launch a three city grassroots alliance against
Alameda Power and Telecom's study of whether to build a garbage
"gasification" plant to generate power in Alameda, San
Leandro or Oakland. Such a plant would emit dioxin and many
other pollutants. We are alerting residents about the plan and the
truth about toxic emissions. We are demanding clean energy and zero
waste programs instead of a polluting trash-burning plant.
Chowchilla,
California
Just days
before the City Planning Commission was to consider approval of
North American Power Company's application for a "pyrolysis"
facility for medical waste, Greenaction
discovered this plan and alerted residents of the toxic threat.
Our quick action resulted in a community uproar, and based on our
documentation of technical flaws in the application the company
withdrew their application. A community meeting in October drew
150 irate residents who cheered Greenaction.
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. We
alerted residents of Moss Landing, Santa Cruz, Watsonville and other
communities about this dangerous project. Residents then
joined Greenaction in protesting the incineration plan, and the
Monterrey County Supervisors have rejected the idea of a regional
garbage incinerator!
Bayview
Hunters Point, San Francisco
Greenaction
and allies organized a big protest December 17th at PG&E corporate
headquarters to demand the immediate closure of the dirty, outdated
and unnecessary PG&E Hunters Point power plant. We marched to
the law office of Michael Kahn, chairman of the California "Independent
System Operator," the quasi-state agency responsible for keeping
the PG&E plant open over the community's objections.
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, new plants will unacceptably increase pollution
in the city's most polluted neighborhoods. Our communities need
renewable energy and conservation, not more fossil fuel power plants.
We launched the Bayview Hunters Point Mothers Environmental Justice
Leadership Project, training mothers in community organizing, media,
research, public speaking, computers and environmental health.
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. Stericycle should replace the incinerator
with non-incineration technologies such as an autoclave, which if
operated properly is safer than incineration.
Environmental
Justice Air Quality Coalition
Greenaction
and coalition allies conducted a successful toxic tour of polluted
San Francisco neighborhoods for dozens of high-ranking government
officials from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the
U.S. EPA, state EPA, state Air Resources Board and city officials.
Government officials heard loud and clear the complaints about health
problems and lax enforcement in low-income communities impacted
by air pollution.
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 site. We are calling on the City to move
the children's play structures in South Prescott Park away from
the vinyl chloride site.
Gila
River Indian Community, Arizona
In November
2002 tribal members and Greenaction
pressured Stericycle to shut 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 tribes at a Department of Energy meeting in
Moab, Utah to demand 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 next
to the White Mesa Ute reservation, and was built on top of ancient
and sacred sites, including burials. Greenaction, Utes, Navajos,
Mormons, small businesspersons and environmentalists want to close
the IUC plant that pollutes the environment and desecrates the sacred
sites located at and next to the facility.
San
Joaquin Valley, California
Greenaction
and the Grayson Neighborhood Council held the first ever protest
against the Covanta garbage incinerator in Crow's Landing in Stanislaus
County on October 17th. We are beginning work on pesticide
drift and educating residents about nitrates contamination of some
wells in the area. We have programs to build the skills and capacity
of Youth and Women in the area to be informed and involved.
Precautionary
Principle Becomes Law in San Francisco
We joined
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 in decisions
about public health. We joined allies in successfully calling on
California EPA to adopt strong environmental justice guidelines
including the Precautionary Principle.
