September-October Eblast Updates

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October – November 2022 Updates from Clean Air

What do you call a barking pumpkin?

A gourd dog!

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We have lots of updates to share this month, including important updates about the clean up progress at Tonawanda Coke – scroll down to read more!

With Bread and Roses,

Bridge, Chris, Cindy, Gia and Phil


Movement Mixer October 19

Clean Air’s next Power Building Movement Mixer will be on Thursday October 19 from 4:30-6pm at Flying Bison Brewery, 840 Seneca Street in Buffalo.

This brewery is located just a short walk from our Seneca-Babcock campaign area.

Our goal with these mixers is to create a social space for our members, supporters, and all involved in the fight for justice to meet, chat, and strengthen our collective organizing!

Clean Air’s COVID Safety and Event Accessibility Policies

As COVID rates increase, cold and flu viruses circulate, and with the onset of cooler weather that prevents opening windows, the staff at Clean Air would like to emphasize that masks and preventative vaccinations are strongly encouraged.

Many of our members are particularly susceptible to respiratory conditions due to the environmental injustices they have been exposed to, and taking preventative measures helps protect them against further harm – show your love by getting vaccinated!

Also just a reminder that all our public events are planned with childcare and food provided, and that additional accessibility measures, like interpretation, is also available with pre-registration.
Read more at bit.ly/CleanAirEvents.


Tonawanda Coke Alternatives Analysis Imminent

Clean Air continues to participate in the Tonawanda Coke Working Group, an oversight group of advocates and public officials tracking the clean up at the sites of the former Tonawanda Coke.

We recently learned that an Alternatives Analysis for the largest former TCC parcel, which is a report that looks at different tracks the site developer could follow for clean up standards, will soon be published publicly and opened to public comment for 45 days.

Clean Air will share this report through our communication channels as soon as it is published, and we plan to host a community meeting within the 45 day comment period to review the report and solicit public feedback.

Stay tuned to our social media for the most recent announcements, or watch for emails and phone calls from us this month!

The NYS DEC also recently published a fact sheet about the contaminants so far found at Tonawanda Coke.

Interested in getting more involved? Click here to contact the River Road Watchdogs campaign!


Breathing Free Program Leaders Meeting October 17

Sign up today to be part of our first cohort of Leaders for our Breathing Free Community Air Monitoring Program!

On October 17 from 5:30-7pm, we will be holding a kick-off meeting for those who have registered to join the first Leadership Cohort- sign up for the program today and we will send you the link to register for the meeting.

Clean Air staff also will be speaking at the next Black Rock Riverside Alliance Environmental Speaker Series on October 7 about how our community air monitoring projects interlink.

Comptroller Audit of NYS DEC Air Quality Program

Last Week, the NYS Comptroller’s Office released an audit of the NYS DEC Air Quality program. Their findings align with research that we’ve conducted internally for our campaigns – while these facilities reportedly are not exceeding permitted emissions,  a distressing number of air permits for current industrial operations throughout NYS are expired, sometimes by five years or more, and the environmental justice maps that DEC relies on for determining whether greater oversight is necessary are outdated.

Click here to read our blog post which includes information on how to look up air permits for facilities, or click here to read the audit for yourself.


A Win in Tonawanda!

We’re celebrating a win for our Tonawanda Tomorrow Team – we have been requesting a public comment period extension on the Town of Tonawanda’s Draft Zoning Law Amendment by 30-45 days to allow for more public outreach and engagement. We’re thrilled to share that the Town extended this public comment period to October 31, which is a full 61 days, and even longer than our request!

Read more from WGRZ by clicking here, or click here to read the comments we submitted earlier this month. We also submitted comments from Smart Growth America on the Amendment – SGA is a national think tank that specializes in advocating for just development policies.

You can take action today to support our work by sending a letter today affirming the comments that we and SGA submitted, or submit comments of your own directly by either calling town representatives at 716-871-8847, Ext.1, or by emailing jhartz@tonawanda.ny.us. You can also use our form to submit a comment as a Clean Air member, either publicly or anonymously.



Buffalo News Editorial Board Agrees – Drop Crypto Mining in NT!

The Buffalo News editorial board recently published a column opposing the continued use of the former Fortistar gas plant in North Tonawanda for cryptocurrency mining by Digihost. This follows reporting that included interviews with several of the residents we


have been supporting in their fight. You can also support these residents by sending a letter to Governor Hochul and the DEC opposing the renewal of the Title V air permit at this facility, and urging an acceleration of the permit review to bring it to public comment.

We will be holding a meeting on October 18 in North Tonawanda to discuss the progress to date – contact Bridge if you are interested in attending or getting more involved in this work!


Seneca-Babcock Canvass September 30

We will be canvassing on Saturday September 30 in the Seneca-Babcock neighborhood.

Contact Phil today for more information or to sign up!

Plastics Company Drops PVC Proposal

Clean Air is supporting Beyond Plastics in a coalition effort opposing the proposed plastics factory in Lockport.

While the fight is still ongoing, we are celebrating the recent announcement that the developer has dropped the proposal to manufacturer PVC – a similar facility was the destination of the train that derailed in East Palestine OH, and the dropping of this part of the proposal lessens the danger to the region of a similar chemical disaster.


Winter Prep Emergency Training October 14

The last of our 2023 Emergency Prep and Mutual Aid trainings will be Saturday October 14 from 11-2pm. The focus of this training will be on Winter Weather Preparedness. Click here to register! Also be sure to weigh in on our 2024 class offerings today by filling out this survey!

NY Renews Fall 2023 Kick-off Call

Clean Air is a member of NY Renews, a statewide coalition of groups fighting for a Just Transition and to address the climate crisis.

On Wednesday October 4 at 6pm NY Renews organizers will be hosting the fall 2023 kick-off meeting on Zoom to discuss potential policy priorities for the 2024 legislative session – click here to register!


March for the Land

Clean Air staff will be traveling to Toronto this Wednesday to join the March for the Land, an Indigenous Solidary march in support of the Grassy Narrows community in northern Ontario in their fight against unwanted extractive mining. Read more about the march here, or check out this related commentary from The Catalyst Project!


September 27 2023 Toronto March for the Land Mobilization

Clean Air Stands in Support of UAW!


Clean Air September General Meeting

NYS DOT 33/Humboldt Parkway Public Hearing

NYS DOT is hosting two public hearing to review the recently released Draft Design Report/Environmental Assessment this Wednesday September 27, the first from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the second from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m both at the Buffalo Museum of Science, 1020 Humboldt Parkway, Buffalo.

We strongly urge our members to attend at least one of the sessions and submit a comment with your thoughts. Clean Air plans to submit a letter advocating for stronger measures to address air quality concerns. You can also submit your comments by emailing Kensingtoncommunityoutreach@dot.ny.gov or by calling (716) 370-0071.

Public comments on the Draft Design Report/Environmental Assessment are due October 27.


NYS DEC East Buffalo Environmental Forum

We hope you can join us at NYS DEC’s next East Buffalo Environmental Forum on Wednesday October 11 from 5:30-7pm at the Merriweather Library, 1324 Jefferson Ave in Buffalo.

This meeting will also be livestreamed – contact Kayla Baker for more information at kayla.baker@dec.ny.gov or 716-541-9631.
Clean Air staff will be in attendance.


Support Residents of Grand Island

Residents are organizing with the Coalition for Responsible Economic Development for Grand Island (CRED4GI) in opposition to a proposed large scale warehouse on the island. We urge our members to support their efforts by signing their petition today, and by sending an email to publiccomments@grand-island.ny.us by October 6 echoing the points raised by CRED4GI.


Support Residents of East Palestine

The residents of East Palestine OH continue to urge President Biden to declare a Major Disaster in response to the chemical disaster from the Norfolk Southern train derailment in February. President Biden did recently announce further federal assistance in response, but has yet to make a Major Disaster Declaration. Support the resident’s call by signing this petition today.


DEC and EPA Regulatory Public Comment Periods


WBFO – “How New York rolls out climate funding is top priority for its most vulnerable”

WBFO published an excellent summary article about current state efforts related to environmental and climate justice, and how NYS is attempting to address injustices through these investments.


NYS Focus – “The Unstoppable Sand Land”

NYS Focus reported earlier this month on a sand mine in downstate that continues to operate in defiance of DEC rulings, and about the greater implications that these blatant violations have on statewide environmental violation enforcement.


Grist – “Study: Wildfire smoke is reversing years of US air quality progress”

Grist recently published coverage about a new study that examined how wildfire smoke is affecting air quality nationwide, and how it is causing a reversal of the decades of progress that followed the passage of the Clean Air Act. Distressingly, the data for this study was collected prior to the wildfire smoke we experienced earlier this year, so the current reality may be even worse than this study reveals.


Buffalo International Film Festival October 5-9

Are you attending the Buffalo International Film Festival next week? We recommend checking out these events in particular –

  • Racial Justice in View, featuring nonfiction and narrative shorts that shine a light on race, (de)colonialism, and inequity in the US, Canada, and sovereign Indigenous Nations
  • Razing Liberty Square, which examines an example of climate gentrification in Miami Florida
  • Community-Focused Nonfiction, a panel discussion about three place-based nonfiction films where the makers focus on the importance of community.


Participatory Budgeting 101

Did you miss the Participatory Budgeting 101 training in July? Click here to see the recording!








Report a Polluter

See dark smoke or dust rising from an industrial site, or smell something foul?

Visit dec.ny.gov/regulations/67751.html to file a report, or, for rapid response, call 1-844-DEC-ECOS (1-844-332-3267) or the DEC Spill Hotline/Odor Hotline at 1-800-457-7362.

If you’d like CACWNY to support you, send us a copy of your report!



Upcoming Events Calendar

CACWNY Events

Community and Coalition Events

Public Comment Deadlines and Hearings

Also see our regularly updated list of events at bit.ly/CleanAirEvents and linktr.ee/cleanairwny


Mutual Aid

Do you need a N95 mask? We have a limited supply available at the office for our members – send us a quick email and we’ll send a few your way! We encourage wearing masks at our in-person events, particularly during seasons of peak COVID transmission.



Be sure to check out the Buffalo Mutual Aid Network Facebook group, where mutual aid services and calls for donations and donations are being posted on an ongoing basis. You can also click here to join the Buffalo Snow Brigade. We also suggest checking out the resources at mutualaiddisasterrelief.org as well as their new website relieftoolkit.com.

If interested in joining mutual aid efforts with Clean Air, particularly in the realm of community resiliency amid climate change,
please reach out to Bridge.


Monthly Staff Recs

This month we recommend ditching Twitter! While it has never exactly been a well moderated platform, under the current ownership of longtime Clean Air baddie Elon Musk, it has taken a disturbing and distressing lurch to the far right, promoting overt white nationalist rhetoric and propaganda, not to mention highlighting widespread disinformation about a number of topics of concern to our membership.

We will no longer update our Twitter account and have pivoted to Bluesky. If you would like a Bluesky invite code and are a Clean Air member, supporter, or a social media manager for any non-profit organization in Erie or Niagara county, fill out this form and we will send you one as the codes are available to us.



Interested in joining our Tonawanda Tomorrow or River Road campaigns, Proof of Work campaign, or supporting NYRenews/climate justice?


Interested in joining our Peabody Street, TESLA campaigns, Energy Democracy Alliance, or other Just Transition campaign work?


Interested in joining our
American Axle campaign or supporting our work in the Delavan-Grider neighborhood?


Interested in joining our events committee, mutual aid team, or want to connect with CACWNY about an emerging campaign or issue?


Interested in supporting Clean Air’s grassroots fundraising efforts, or know of a grant opportunity that might support our work?


Want to donate to support our work?




 

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