EPA Particulate Matter Rule Changes

Guest post by Clean Air’s spring intern Clover Kagle

On February 7th,the EPA released an update to guidelines regarding the annual emission limits of PM2.5 particles. The new annual limit of 9.0 µg/m3 is a decrease of 25% from the previous limit, 12.0 µg/m3. The EPA bases the decision on the health requirements in the Clean Air Act and the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The EPA claims the new guidelines will save over 4,500 lives over the next 8 years.

However, many agencies believe the stricter regulations do not go nearly far enough. The WHO has a recommended guideline of 5.0µg/m3, and many other countries already are enforcing this guideline. The EPA is not changing any secondary thresholds, PM10 thresholds, or 24-hour PM2.5 thresholds. The new limits do not affect most of the United States, with only 59 counties across the country needing to decrease their PM2.5 emissions to meet new guidelines. 

Another change in this decision is the air quality index levels. The EPA released the following graphic showing the revisions to health safety levels denoted by AQI – note that the threshold for “Moderate”, “Very Unhealthy”, and “Hazardous” are now lower than the prior thresholds.



NYS DEC Public Meeting About Superfund Clean-up at Former Tonawanda Coke Site

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will be hosting a public meeting about a Proposed Amended Remedy for a portion of the former Tonawanda Coke site on Thursday, March 21, 2024 at 6 pm at the Kenmore Branch Library (160 Delaware Road, Kenmore, NY) as well as online. Click here to read the announcement and for online registration information.

When Tonawanda Coke closed and clean up began, the facility was portioned into several parcels, with Honeywell (the Potentially Responsible Party) charged with managing and paying for the clean ups at the Superfund-designated parcels, shown below with the black outlines, and the developers of the Riverview Tech Campus in charge of the brownfield portion of the site with taxpayer subsidies, shown below in the blue outline. This meeting is about Site 109, circled in red below. Click on the image to enlarge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

An “Amended Remedy” refers to a change in the strategy planned for cleaning up, or “remediating”, a contaminated site.

The changes proposed to the clean up plan for this portion of the site are

  • Excavating contaminated soil which exceeds protection of ecological resources soil cleanup objectives in the area of an on-site drainage ditch. Excavated soil will either be managed on-site or offsite based on the level of contamination in the soil;
  • Collecting and analyzing post-remedial soil samples and post-remedial groundwater samples to evaluate the effectiveness of the remedy;
  • Importing clean material that meets the established soil cleanup objectives for use as backfill;
  • Construction of a cover system over the entire site;
  • Implementing a Site Management Plan (SMP) for long term maintenance of the remedial systems; and
  • Recording of an Environmental Easement to ensure proper use of the site may be necessary.

In simple terms, the amended plan proposes to dig up contaminated soils, move some to a controlled area of the site or off site to a hazardous waste landfill, studying the soil and groundwater left behind, trucking in clean soil to cover up the dug up areas, adding a cap on top (typically a plastic membrane), setting up monitoring stations, and then limiting public access to the site, including preventing any future development.

For a deeper dive, including the original planned remedy, see this document. More info is also available in the DEC’s document vault for the site, which you can find directly by clicking here or through the InfoLocator map.

Can’t make the meeting, but want to submit a comment or have a question?

For Project-Related Questions, please reach out to Benjamin McPherson, Project Manager, at NYSDEC, 700 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14209 or 716-851-7220 or benjamin.mcpherson@dec.ny.gov.

For Project-Related Health Questions, please reach out to Angela Martin, NYSDOH, Empire State Plaza, Corning Tower, Room 1787, Albany NY 12237, or 518-473-4671, or beei@health.ny.gov.

To submit a public comment, please send to Benjamin McPherson at the above information. All public comments on this Amended Remedy must be submitted by March 29, 2024.

Want to get involved with Clean Air’s team advocating for strong clean up standards at Tonawanda Coke as well as other sites in the River Road industrial corridor? Join our River Road Watchdogs!



NYS DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos Stepping Down

Earlier this week NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner, Basil Seggos, announced he would be stepping down. Seggos has served in this role since 2015.

Seggos’ legacy is a mixed one, as journalist Peter Mantius notes. At our office we have a cardboard cut out of Seggos that we used in a public meeting in early 2020 to call out the parceling up of the Tonawanda Coke site to shift much into the Brownfield program, despite Honeywell Corporation’s clear role as a Potentially Responsible Party for the whole site.

While the final decision on this and other issues rests on the commissioner’s shoulders, ultimately this and other failings of DEC are due to systemic legislative policy decisions that prioritize corporate profits over public health and environmental justice, not just the decisions of one person – we need legislative reforms to shift these systems, such as changes to the Brownfield Clean-up Program.



The Brownfield Clean-up Program Needs Reforms

Members of the Buffalo Building and Construction Trades Council rallied last week at the Wood & Brooks construction site on Kenmore Ave in Tonawanda to bring attention to a loophole in statewide prevailing wage laws. The law currently includes exemptions for projects that receive historic tax credits or brownfield tax credits.

In related news, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance also recently shared the findings of a report on return on investment for these and other tax credit programs, and found that the Brownfield Program is currently returning only 11 cents per dollar spent, although the report also notes that researchers did not study other positive impacts like community environmental and public health or even the economics of reactivating these vacant parcels. We would love to see a more targeted study that examines these topics in particular, but we wager that taxpayers are not getting the full benefits from this program that we could be receiving.

Overall, the NYS brownfield tax credit program is in need of reform, not only to address the prevailing wages loophole, but also to strengthen community oversight of these remediations through Community Advisory Group and to direct the funds better towards downtown redevelopments that do not have clear parties responsible for the pollution. Far too often, we have seen large large industrial parcels which are still connected with polluters responsible for the contamination (Potentially Responsible Parties, or PRPs) placed in the brownfield program with taxpayer dollars subsidizing the clean up rather than these large corporations.

In early 2022 we co-sponsored a letter to legislators asking them to include these reforms to the Brownfield Clean-up Program which was signed by labor and community groups from all across the state. Unfortunately these reforms did not make it into the final version of the law, but it has spurred conversations in Albany and these changes can be added through legislation.

We applaud our friends in labor for continuing to raise awareness of these issues, and will share more on this issue in the future, including how you can support calls for change. If you would like to join the fight for these changes, please reach out to Chris.

Download (PDF, 50KB)



Meet our 2024 Board Candidates!

 

We are excited to provide our members the opportunity to make their voices heard by voting on the 2024 Slate of Candidates for the Board of Directors. Answers from the Board Candidate Application are listed below so you can get to know our candidates. Cast your vote by our Annual Meeting on February 27. In order for your vote to count you must be a current dues paying member. This means you have made a financial contribution to Clean Air in the last calendar year and reside within our membership areas. Members can vote in 3 different ways; in person at the Annual Meeting, by mailing in your paper board ballot you will receive in the mail if you are a current member, or online by clicking the link here. You can register to attend the Annual Meeting here. Food, non alcoholic drinks, and childcare will be provided.

Board Candidate Name: Bryan Shepard

Why would you like to serve as a member of Clean Air’s Board of Directors? To increase community activism regarding environmental justice issues.

What skills, knowledge (learned or lived!) or experiences can you offer to the organization as a member of our Board? As a labor activist, environmental & safety issues directly affect our labor union constituency. I’ve learned that environmental justice will only come about if we demand it.

What do you hope to learn or try on as a Clean Air Board Member? Learn & educate about toxic contaminants and how they directly impact chronic health conditions in underserved communities.
One of the ways that we ask board members to do “the work” with Clean Air is to assist us in fundraising efforts. Are you open to inviting others to join our work by becoming a member or supporter? Are you open to learning more about fundraising and trying it on? Yes
Being a member of the Clean Air Board requires a time commitment – there are monthly full board meetings and events. Are you willing and able to devote approximately 6 hours per month for Board service? Yes

It is crucial that the Clean Air Board reflect the diversity of the communities that we are rooted in. The Board should be inclusive in terms of age, race/ethnicity, sex, faith/religion, ability, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, social economic status, and more- just as our membership is. Please tell us about how you would support Clean Air in reflecting and embracing the diversity of the community. Enlighten community members to the fact that environmental justice affects everyone. We should look to increase membership in all communities across WNY.

Bryan’s Bio: 
CWA Local 1122 Steward & Human Rights Committee member Bryan Shepard is a former M&T Bank internal auditor and Assistant Vice-President of Metroteller Banking Systems.
He is currently a 34 year Central Office Technician for Verizon, installing and maintaining long range fiber optic networks. Through many labor disputes and strikes, he became a committed labor activist, emphasizing the link between labor and environmental justice, as they both impact our workplace and communities. He served for 20 years as a youth counselor at Friendship Baptist Church and founded the Manhood Initiative Project, a mentoring program teaching at-risk boys the basics of manhood and responsibility. He is committed to increasing community activism in order to combat environmental injustice. Through education and awareness of air, land and water contamination, and their relevance to chronic health conditions, we can improve the lives of many.

Board Candidate Name: Xavier Eddy

Why would you like to serve as a member of Clean Air’s Board of Directors? I believe building grassroots power is the only way justice can be won! I’m extremely proud and impressed with the work Clean Air does, and I believe I can bring some fresh perspective and strategy to our organization.

What skills, knowledge (learned or lived!) or experiences can you offer to the organization as a member of our Board? Hopefully a lot! As a “professional” organizer, I’ve organized in geographically and culturally diverse regions across the country. I’ve been involved in Labor, Racial Justice, anti-imperialist, and Environmental Justice fights across half this country. I was heavily involved with a few Environmental Justice Organizations across the south and particularly in Cancer Alley in Louisiana. I also have an academic background in strategic corporate research and it’s role in successful campaigns, as well as experience review building permits, environmental permits, etc in construction. I also have experience as a street medic, and in organizing rallies and marches.

What do you hope to learn or try on as a Clean Air Board Member? I hope to deepen my connections with the various communities of WNY, and better my skills on the fundraising side of things.

One of the ways that we ask board members to do “the work” with Clean Air is to assist us in fundraising efforts. Are you open to inviting others to join our work by becoming a member or supporter? Are you open to learning more about fundraising and trying it on? Absolutely! I already am a member and would love to see us expand our membership to be even more dues based but am willing to assist in any form of fundraising.

Being a member of the Clean Air Board requires a time commitment – there are monthly full board meetings and events. Are you willing and able to devote approximately 6 hours per month for Board service? Yes

It is crucial that the Clean Air Board reflect the diversity of the communities that we are rooted in. The Board should be inclusive in terms of age, race/ethnicity, sex, faith/religion, ability, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, social economic status, and more- just as our membership is. Please tell us about how you would support Clean Air in reflecting and embracing the diversity of the community. My mentor in organizing was an old Chicano UFW organizer, and the number one thing he hammered into me was LUPE, la Union del Pueblo Entero. We must strive to build a union of the entire community. To build a truly grassroots organization, we must be both reflective of and responsive to the communities we work in and with. I’m young and queer, and grew up in Rural Poverty, and want to continue to grow a board and organization of kinfolk across all spectrums of diversity.

Xavier’s Bio: 
Xavier is a passionate organizer, who’s Union Organizing has brought them across the country fighting for Economic, Environmental, and Racial Justice. They’ve been involved in campaigns from the Rural West to the Louisiana Gulf Coast to the Adirondacks and they are now proud to call Buffalo Home. Xavier is also an Organizer with 1199SEIU, the healthcare union, a hiker, backpacker, and rafter, and now lives on the west side with their dog Ginger.


January/February Monthly Updates – Annual Meeting February 27 and Much, Much More!

Click here to subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter, and view this month’s edition by clicking the “Read More” link below. (more…)



Reflections on the 2024 National LGBTQ Creating Change Conference in NOLA

Bridge, our Tonawanda-area Environmental Justice Organizer, attended the National LGBTQ Task Force’s 2024 Creating Change Conference in New Orleans from January 16-20. Here’s a few of their reflections on the experience.


Organizing can be hard and at times disheartening – and, I should say, I have been feeling that more than usual lately. It’s easy to get depressed this time of year when the outdoor conditions are unpleasant and the sun only visits us for a few hours. Add to that a rather oppressive feeling of dread I have as we enter 2024, and it’s no wonder I have felt so grumpy lately.

Thankfully, returning from the Creating Change Conference, I feel much lighter and more hopeful – given that much of the conference centered on combatting the legislative attacks on the LGBTQIA+ community and the larger overarching issue of resurgent fascism and authoritarianism, you might be scratching your head wondering how.

For one, it’s just nice to be able to share space with others with very similar experiences and worldviews as you – I am an introvert, so I do not gain as much from this as others do, but I still found it extremely refreshing to not only see others doing organizing work for various movements but also be able to talk freely without pausing for explanations.

Second, to know that there are others all across the United States and around the world fighting in parallel is also not only reassuring, but also a reality check – as rough as life may be in WNY, there are folks in far more dire straits fighting back, and they need us to be doing our part to make their work easier.

Third, the Queer Climate Justice caucus session was immensely encouraging –

Finally, bigger picture, it is clear that we are one organization in a much larger fight for democracy and against fascism, and it’s all ultimately tied into our need for a Just Transition. In one session I attended, I heard from organizers with BlueprintNC about how they’ve organized in the wake of a terrorist attack on electric substations in early December 2022. Although the investigation is still ongoing, all signs at this time point to a concerted and planned attack by white supremacists in response to a Drag Queen Story Hour.

I was struck by some of the parallels to what we’ve experienced in Buffalo recently – the Christmas Blizzard, which struck only a couple weeks after the attack, led to massive power outages throughout the region, particularly in the environmental justice areas we organize within, which are predominantly black and brown communities, and in most part the outages happened due to systemic underinvestment in protective housing for our substations. While overt attacks by white supremacists aimed at bringing down electrical systems is certainly an escalation, I also think that it’s worth noting that the constant acts by extractive capitalists also serve as attacks on the same communities those terrorists target – and is no less deadly.

We need to continue to forge ahead for a Just Transition despite what will be thrown our way this year and beyond.


Did you miss our pop-ed training and discussion on how to combat authoritarianism and fascism through local environmental justice organizing that we held as part of our January 2024 General Meeting? No worries! Here’s the recording, as well as links to a few of the resources referenced throughout.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/varieties-of-democracy-institute-2023

https://www.whitesupremacyculture.info/what-is-it.html

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-is-ecofascism-explainer

https://www.gq.com/story/donald-trump-shady-scheme-to-buy-nfl-buffalo-bills

https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021/12/09/how-cryptocurrency-revolutionized-white-supremacist-movement

https://grist.org/extreme-weather/boots-on-the-ground-fema-oath-keepers-natural-disaster/

Ladder of Citizen Participation



Goodbye for now from Phil!

We want to give thanks to our Just Transition Organizer Phil Gambini who has moved on to a new chapter after giving us 2 incredible years of his passion, energy and care to our movement. We are proud of what Phil has accomplished and wish him well on his journey of full time education in the health care field! Please see Phil’s message below.


Dear Clean Air members and supporters,

I’m writing to you because my time at Clean Air is coming to an end. I am stepping away from my role as the organization’s just transition organizer in January. It’s a bittersweet announcement. I’m excited to be moving on to my next chapter in my life, but will be sad to leave the coworkers, supporters and members I’ve grown close to since joining the team at Clean Air.

There’s a lot to be grateful for. My tenure at Clean Air has been a deep learning experience. It has tested me, taught me and humbled me. I remain in awe of the dedication and energy of members who fight day in and day out for themselves, their people and their community. Each of them, in their own way, have their own struggles and hardships. Despite them, their drive and desire to change the world they live in for the better does not diminish. It should be a lesson to us all. It certainly is for me.

Though I am leaving Clean Air, I am not leaving the movement. My role and responsibilities will change, but my admiration for the work and the people who do it will not.

In solidarity,

Phil



January 2024 General Meeting

Join us on Wednesday January 24 from 5:30-7pm on Zoom for our first General Meeting of the year!

2024 will be a tumultuous year, with all eyes on the November election, and everyone is already feeling the related stress – join us as we discuss how organizing for environmental justice is a means to combat the rise in fascism and authoritarianism, and talk with peers about how you would like to take action. We will also review news from our current campaigns and how you can become a member or join a team.

This meeting will be online only due to weather concerns and the recent spike in respiratory illnesses. Please register to receive the link to the Zoom – https://actionnetwork.org/events/clean-air-january-2024-general-meeting