On Thursday, March 8th, the NYS DEC will hold a public hearing in their office on Michigan Avenue at 3pm concerning a new ruling for power plants and other power generating facilities, new and existing.

Article X of the Power NY Act will have a stronger Environmental Justice component taking into consideration factors that the old legislation did not, like:

• Increased funding for local communities to hire legal and technical consultants that will enable them to participate effectively in power plant siting decisions;
• Requiring proposed power plants to avoid or minimize any cumulative impacts on air quality in the vicinity of the proposed power plant; and,
• Requiring proposed power plants that would result in or contribute to disproportionate impacts in an affected community to avoid, offset or mitigate these impacts within that community.

Clean Air Coalition has asked the DEC to take it a step further: on Wednesday, March 7th 6:30PM at Assumption of the Blessed Church at 435 Amherst Street in Buffalo, the DEC will hold a presentation on Article X, its new Environmental Justice component, as well as answer any questions residents have on the ruling.

The session at Assumption Church will allow citizens to learn from the DEC what the legislation includes and to have their questions answered before comments are accepted. True to their new push for Environmental Justice, the DEC is taking into consideration that normal citizens do not have access to information regarding legislation, and that a place for them to ask questions is not always provided. Western New York residents who are concerned with new and existing power generating facilities should feel free to attend one or both sessions. Feel free to call the Clean Air Coalition with any questions at 852.3813.

Join us on March 20th at 7PM and find out what toxic chemicals are stored in your neighborhood on the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Database. TRI is a government-mandated database that houses information on what chemicals are stored in the manufacturing facilities near you!

Have a few hours the last Monday of the month? We need you!

On the last Monday of every month from 1-4pm folks meet up at the Clean Air Coalition Headquarters (at 341 Delaware Ave- the big church on the corner of West Tupper and Delaware) to help with mailings, research, turn out calls, or other important work.

Member Mondays is a great way to meet other folks that care about their neighborhood, and do real work that pushes forward the change we want to see. We hope you stop by!

The Clean Air Coalition of Western New York announced the second year of the Lois Gibbs Fellowship, a selective, 7-month program that provides a diverse set of emerging citizen leaders with the tools and training to build sustained political will to improve the environment and health in Western New York neighborhoods.

The Lois Gibbs Fellowship will provide rich training opportunities in the following areas:

• Developing effective messages and media outreach
• Strategic campaign planning and power mapping
• Holding elected officials accountable
• Grassroots lobbying
• New media
• Corporate and Government research
• Engaging faith-based communities

The Fellowship is open to anyone in Western New York. Applications may be found online or by calling the Coalition to request a paper application.

Individuals interested or working in environmental health and justice issues are strongly encouraged to apply. The application is open to people new to organizing as well as experienced folks looking to hone their skills. The Fellowship is designed as a part-time program that can accommodate people who are working full-time. Applications are due February 15th.

The program is named in honor of Lois Gibbs, a grassroots environmental justice advocate from Western New York. She is best known for her successful campaign to relocate families living on top of a toxic waste dump in Niagara Falls. Lois Gibbs is emblematic of the program’s philosophy: ordinary individuals can make an extraordinary difference when they organize.

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) continually measures levels of pollutants in the air.  The Clean Air Coalition uses the data from these monitors to keep polluters in check, and ensure that emissions are kept within a legal range.

DEC Air Monitor in Tonawanda

The two DEC air monitors in Tonawanda are located in the Brookside Terrance neighborhood and right next to the 290 off of Grand Island Blvd.  The monitors run 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. This raw data is then complied by DEC technical staff and reports are created for the public. Information from air monitors helps community groups like us identify which polluters are the worst.

On Buffalo’s West Side, The Coalition has been working with residents surrounding air quality issues. A study conducted by Dr. Lwebuga- Mukasa, found that nearly 45% of West Side households reported at least one case of chronic respiratory illness or asthma. There are many misconceptions as to why so many people have asthma, but no-one is talking about the fact that 5 thousand trucks, and 20 thousand cars pass through the West Side everyday emitting tons of diesel exhaust that we know has 40 known toxic chemicals in it. Despite this, there are currently no air monitors on the West Side.

Due to budget cuts, DEC is completing their annual network review, which will be released in the spring of 2012. The network review may contain a proposal to shut down one or more monitoring sites at the end of the calendar year.

Tell the DEC we need to continue air monitoring in both Tonawanda locations, and start monitoring the air on Buffalo’s West Side. Sign the petition now!

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Aseguren los monitores de aire para que los contaminadores sean responsables

Enero, 17, 2012

El departamento de conservación ambiental (DEC) monita el aire continuamente para medir los contaminantes en el aire. El Clean Air Coalition usa la data de los monitores para asegurar que los contaminadores no se faltan, y para asegurar que emisiones son legales.

Hay dos monitores de aire en Tonawanda, uno en Brookside Terrace y la otra esta al lado del 290 y Grand Island Boulevard.  Los monitores corren 24 horas al día, 7 días de la semana.  Estos datos esta compilado del DEC y reportes están hechos para el público.  Esta información ayuda grupos como nosotros a identificar que contaminadores son peores.

En el West Side, el Coalition ha estado trabajando con residentes sobre la calidad del aire en su vecindario.  Un estudio conductivo por Dr. Lweguga- Mukasa encontró que casi 45% de los residentes en el West Side tienen un caso de asma o’ otra enfermedad respetaría. Hay muchos conceptos erróneos sobre porque tanta gente tienen asma, pero nadie habla sobre el facto que hay 5 mil camiones y 20 mil carros pasando por este vecindario cada día, imitando miles de toneladas de diesel que sabemos tiene 40 tóxicos conocidos.  A pesar de esto, no ha ni un monitor de aire en el West Side.

Por recortes presupuestarios, el DEC puede cerrar uno, o dos, de los monitores en Tonawanda al final del ano.

Dile al DEC que necesitamos continuar monitoreando el aire en los dos lugares in Tonawanda, y que empiecen a mónita el aire en el West Side. ! Firma le petición!

When: Wed, January 18, 7pm – 8pm

Where: Tonawanda Public Library – Kenmore Branch (160 Delaware Rd, Kenmore)

Description: Join us on January 18th to learn about the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). FOIA gives us the power to access government-held information, and use this information to make our communities healthier places to live.

Imagine a world where we didn’t need to control air pollution because we could prevent it.

The Clean Air Coalition’s membership did just that earlier this month at a workshop about pollution prevention. Check out our new short film featuring their thoughts about pollution prevention and how we can use this concept to help reduce dangerous emissions in Tonawanda.

Thanks to the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute for providing support for our workshop and film.

The Council adopted a resolution sponsored by Council Members David A. Rivera and Darius G. Pridgen calling on the Public Bridge Authority (“PBA”) to incorporate the principles of environmental justice into any future plans for the Peace Bridge plaza and bridge expansion. The Peace Bridge is the nation’s third largest land port and about 5,000 diesel trucks and 20,000 cars pass over the Peace Bridge and through the west side of Buffalo every day. Diesel emissions have been classified by the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) as a probable human carcinogen, and emissions from diesel exhaust can lead to serious health conditions, especially in vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly. A 2005 peer-reviewed study found that over 45 percent of households on the west side of Buffalo have someone with asthma or other respiratory illness. The Council maintains that it is committed to insuring a safe and healthy environment for residents throughout the City. The resolution is also encouraging collaboration among authorities regarding the distribution of truck traffic across the region’s three international bridges and is requesting that the Department of Environmental Conservation and EPA conduct continuous air monitoring on Buffalo’s lower west side; that truck stop electrification stations be included in any future plans for the Peace Bridge plaza and bridge expansion; that the PBA fund the development of green buffer zones and the planting of mature tree species known for their ability to capture pollutants; and that all other public agencies involved in modifications to the current Peace Bridge project provide meaningful opportunities for public involvement by the communities most impacted by the port.

Read the entire article on BuffaloRising.com

On December 11th, join the Clean Air Coalition for the premier of their documentary, You Are Where You Live by Vince Mistretta.

The film chronicles the personal stories of The Clean Air Coalition’s fight for the people’s right to a healthy environment by following Coalition members Ann Sciandra, Rosa Caraballo and Renata Pokrasky.

This documentary is a part of Squeaky Wheel’s Channels Series.

Channels: Stories from the Niagara Frontier, addresses the need to disseminate information about current social and political initiatives with the goal to educate people about important issues in their communities.

The free screening will be shown at the Burchfield Penny, 1300 Elmwood Ave on Sunday, December 11th at 3PM.

Part 4 of a four-part series, Poisoned Places: Toxic Air, Neglected Communities

N.Y. Plant’s Neighbors Expose Regulatory Gaps

• Click to stream the audio
• Click to download the audio