Minneapolis, MN – Residents of the East Phillips neighborhood and organizers with the Climate Justice Committee rallied outside of Smith Foundry on Tuesday, June 4, after an announcement from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it had reached a settlement with Smith, with the most significant provision requiring that the heavy-polluting foundry shut down its furnace within 12 months.

The rally showcased the results of a steadfast commitment to environmental justice. At the rally, every speaker emphasized that, while the ruling from the EPA is a huge step in the right direction, the Shut Down Smith Coalition, East Phillips residents and their allies are not finished.

Residents who spoke drove home the point that their collective effort is leading to results – that they are building an environmental justice fighting-machine that takes on the system in the streets, in the courts and in political offices. The Smith rally was a time to celebrate a major success, and to motivate organizers and neighbors for the next phase of the fight: demanding a total closure.

After the rally, the Climate Justice Committee circulated the following statement, summarizing these developments, the present state of the struggle, and where it goes from here:

“After a long campaign by community organizers in the East Phillips neighborhood, the EPA finally announced on Tuesday, June 4th, that they had reached a partial settlement with Smith Foundry, requiring that the facility permanently shut down its furnace within 12 months, immediately shut down two of their pouring lines, and pay an $80,000 penalty. Still, the settlement allows Smith to continue to operate as a metal finishing shop.

“This represents a major advancement in the East Phillips and Little Earth communities’ struggle for environmental justice, which is in direct continuity with the significant and hard-won victories at the Roof Depot and Bituminous Roadways. Every inch of ground gained thus far is the result of a tireless, multi-pronged struggle by a broad coalition of activists and community members who were willing to fight for the air we breathe by any means necessary.

“However, this fight is NOT over. Twelve more months is far too long for the neighborhood to continue to endure Smith Foundry’s reckless pollution. And, there are unknown ramifications of operations as a metal finishing plant.

“If Zynik Capital, the EPA, or the MPCA—whose commissioner, Katrina Kessler, was recently granted new powers by the MN State Legislature to shut down polluters like Smith—really treated public health as their top priority, Smith could be shut down today.

“Furthermore, we will continue to loudly demand that all Smith Foundry workers affected by the shutdown be afforded everything they rightly deserve, including generous severance packages, compensation for negative health impacts caused by working at Smith, and a just transition to new employment in a healthy and safe workplace.

“Finally, we demand that the MPCA—and Zynik Capital—issue apologies to the residents of East Phillips and Little Earth. This agency has steadfastly refused to use its enforcement powers, and instead has delivered decades of negligence, lies, and utter disregard for neighbors’ complaints about the epidemic of industrial pollution in their community. MPCA and Zynik must also provide reparations to the neighborhood in whatever form the residents see fit.

“As we enter a new phase in our efforts for environmental justice, we are determined to continue heightening the level of struggle and raising the bar for what communities can achieve when they are prepared to fight. Until East Phillips, Little Earth, and all communities across Minnesota have the power in their hands to build a future free from environmental injustice, the Climate Justice Committee will stay in the streets.

“When we fight, we win!”

#MinneapolisMN #MN #Environment #EnvironmentalJustice #EnvironmentalRacism #SmithFoundry #CJC #EPNI #OppressedNationalities #IndigenousPeoples

Minneapolis, MN – On the evening of February 7, residents of East Phillips confronted the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) at a community meeting and then held a press conference regarding the Smith Foundry.

East Phillips is a primarily oppressed nationality neighborhood and home to the Little Earth indigenous community. East Phillips has the highest rates of asthma in all of Minnesota, with many residents suffering from COPD among other respiratory health issues.

The double-dealing of the MPCA was on clear display by trying to break the community meeting up into smaller, fragmented groups at “answer” tables. The East Phillips community and their supporters refused to cooperate, ignoring the “answer” tables and demanding that the MPCA address the community as a whole.

This was a follow-up meeting after the federal Environmental Protection Agency found, in a surprise inspection, that Smith Foundry was polluting the neighborhood and it required an outside agency to come to test the facility again.

The Smith Foundry has been releasing lead and other pollutants into the air on a permit they received in 1992. This permit does not monitor for lead. On Tuesday this week, the MPCA went out of their way to announce via Twitter that they found “The Smith Foundry is meeting their permit requirements. The facility emits low levels of lead.” The MPCA proudly shared this information, despite the fact there is no safe level of lead.

At the meeting on Wednesday night, residents pointed out that Smith has been poisoning the neighborhood for 120 years, while MPCA denies this and claims the foundry is in compliance with its permits. Brian Dickens, an Environmental Protection Agency employee named on Wednesday night, said that last year the Smith Foundry was in complete violation of their permits, but he states that “things have improved a lot.” 20-year Phillips resident Steff Yorek responded, “How can we trust you to maintain that they’re in compliance with the permit after you’ve allowed them to poison our air for decades?”

The MPCA is aware that this residential neighborhood is flooded with polluters and did not express any interest in changing that. As stated by MPCA representative Frank Kohlasch, “Bituminous Roadways is next door to Smith Foundry. Considering all sources of pollution around Smith Foundry is critical to the process for meeting permit requirements, we have to consider all the polluters. What are all of the other sources of air pollution that can be quantified?” Kohlasch did not respond when a neighbor pointed out that this is a residential neighborhood, not an industrial wasteland. The attendees of the neighborhood made their point clear: Smith Foundry does not belong in a residential neighborhood.

At the press conference called by the Climate Justice Committee, the MPCA was exposed for protecting the polluters like Smith Foundry, and not the community of East Phillips. A question-and-answer chant showed the community’s understanding of the role of the MPCA. The question to the community was, “Who keeps us safe?” The answer by the community was, “We keep us safe!” and “What do we want? Shut it down!”

#MinneapolisMN #Environment #EnvironmentalJustice #OppressedNationalities #IndigenousPeoples #EPA #SmithFoundry #CJC #EastPhillips #EnvironmentalRacism

Minneapolis, MN – On Friday, November 10, community members gathered outside Smith Foundry in the Minneapolis East Phillips neighborhood to demand accountability following the EPA’s discovery of many violations of the Clean Air Act and other pollution control standards.

Smith Foundry has been the leading source of lead poisoning in Hennepin County for years, and a major source of air particle pollution. These pollution sources contribute to elevated levels of asthma, heart disease, and other devastating health outcomes for residents of East Phillips and surrounding areas, many of whom spoke out about it during the rally.

Local dancers Kalpulli KetzalCoatlicue opened with a prayer and dance before speakers took to the mic.

Climate Justice Committee member CJ McCormick, who emceed, pointed out that MPCA claimed ignorance of the violations after allowing Smith Foundry to self-report.

Crow Belcourt, a member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) and lifelong East Phillips resident, sang the AIM National Anthem. He said his elders taught him to always think about the welfare of the next seven generations. “I’m here to represent the community. I’m here to represent these mothers holding these babies. We’re here for the future generations,” he said.

CJC member Kawakata El-Ti had a sharp message for the century-old Smith Foundry: cease and desist! “It’s 2023, and in over 100 years you still can’t figure out how to keep the air clean?” he said.

A community member whose family immigrated from Mexico, said that immigrant families trying to build a better life are usually confronted with two options: housing that’s either too expensive, or in an area that’s too polluted, like in East Phillips.

Black, brown and indigenous communities form the backbone of East Phillips. Environmental racism and historic red lining practices are what have enabled the foundry to operate in a residential area, despite the obvious dangers it poses to people who live in the neighborhood.

“If it isn’t bad enough being here in the arsenic triangle, now we have to worry about lead,” said Tanya Perez of Circulo de Los Amigos daycare.

DSA member Michael Wilson said the silence is deafening from those who try to use things like philanthropic funding as a bandage for the deeper health crisis. “It reinforces how Black and brown bodies are not a priority,” he said, adding that it would be different if this were happening in a neighborhood like Lake Harriet.

Evan Mullholland of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy highlighted a particularly alarming discovery from the EPA inspection: the furnace chimney stacks above where the foundry burns metal have zero pollution controls or seals, meaning the fumes are sent straight into the air. “I’m not against the foundry or the workers – I’m against pollution!” Mullholland said.

Roxanne O’Brien, of Community Members for Environmental Justice, was a key person in the successful fight to shut down Northern Metals. “The Smith Foundry fight is like Northern Metals all over again,” she observed. She suggested each person request meetings with each level of their elected representation, as well as show up at MPCA meetings. She also mentioned an upcoming challenge to the law that allowed Smith Foundry to be grandfathered in.

The EPA inspection revealed that not only was the foundry in violation of numerous pollution standards, but that the MPCA was not doing its job in regulating the foundry as a local agency. As several speakers pointed out, foundry workers are also put in the crossfire of dangerous working conditions.

Peter Molinar, a former Smith Foundry worker and shop steward, has long-term health issues as a result of his time working at the foundry, and cited a long list of colleagues who died prematurely over the years due to the job.

In his speech, Joe Vital of East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI) was adamant about the need to include people employed by Smith Foundry in the discussions. “We have to talk about the workers who are directly impacted on the inside,” he said, calling for a just transition for everyone.

Karen Clark of EPNI, also spoke. A longtime East Phillips resident, she once served in the Minnesota legislature, where she helped pass cumulative impact laws. She said between city, state and federal laws, we can hold the neglectful regulatory agencies accountable.

Joan Vanhala, who lives just three blocks away and has lived in southside for 40 years, said it’s time to declare this a public health emergency. “Let’s make sure we center our people’s health in this,” she said.

State Representatives Aisha Gomez, Mohamud Noor and Hodan Hassan all showed up and delivered promises to hold MPCA accountable by bringing them into the community to directly face everyone’s questions, concerns and demands. Gomez said the failure of the regulatory system is made even more painful by knowing the history of the neighborhood consistently telling these agencies what’s wrong.

Joe Vital echoed other speakers, emphasizing that neither the EPA nor the MPCA have prevented pollution in East Phillips, only the people can. Closing the rally on a passionate note, Vital posed a question to the crowd, “Who keeps us safe?” The gathered people responded with, “We keep us safe!”

#MinneapolisMN #EnvironmentalJustice #EnvironmentalRacism #CJC #EPNI #

Minneapolis, MN – Minneapolis’ Mayor Frey and seven Minneapolis city council members are talking about how they feel personally threatened after the Roof Depot struggle has become national news – after years of ignoring the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute, the group that has been spearheading the push to buy the building with the goal of creating a neighborhood space. As the neighborhood is mobilized and righteously angry about the pollution, Frey and his cronies in the Minneapolis city council try to demonize the neighborhood, attempting to paint activists, particularly indigenous activists, as violent.

The Climate Justice Committee condemns the scapegoating of indigenous people by city officials who are trying to divert attention away from the ongoing poisoning of the East Phillips neighborhood.

East Phillips is a neighborhood that includes the largest native preference Section 8 housing, Little Earth. It's also home to very large Latino and Somali populations, and overall is one of the most diverse parts of Minneapolis with a strong working-class identity. Historically this neighborhood has been the site for many polluting companies, like the asphalt manufacturer Bituminous Roadways and Smith Foundry, both located across the street from the Roof Depot building currently under contention. East Phillips has been underdeveloped, underserved and over-polluted for decades. The Roof Depot company closed its doors and in 2015 leaving residents hoping for something better. This led to the formation of the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI).

EPNI intended to buy the site and create something that was sorely missing – a community space with an indoor farm for fresh produce for the residents and the potential for housing, job training and more. But quickly it became clear the red tape of capitalism couldn't understand or account for community ownership structures, while at the same time Mayor Frey's development plans took shape. The city swooped in and purchased the site, under the thread of eminent domain, for the city's industrial fleet. The current city plan will add over 800 parking spots with the intention of filling some portion of that with Minneapolis industrial vehicles.

This all came as a surprise to East Phillips residents as it's also the location of the Midtown Greenway bike trail and was named a 'Green Zone' by the same mayor and city council, acknowledging the historic pollution in the area.

EPNI tried in vain to meet with the mayor's office for several years. The city council members’ votes went back and forth on the future of the site, but every time coming up short of giving control or voice to the residents most affected. EPNI invited Frey to talk to members of the community on multiple occasions all to no response.

The Climate Justice Committee, a newer group in the Twin Cities, joined with the struggle, wanting to help mobilize the community and to work with the residents of Little Earth and EPNI to resist this clear plan of environmental racism.

Over the summer of 2022 EPNI anonymously received a city document showing how Mayor Frey's plan to move the city's diesel fleet wasn't fiscally sound. The document showed that upgrades to the current waterworks location in the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood would make more sense. But this report was slid under the rug and not given the light of day until well after Frey's plans were in motion.

EPNI continued to call for meetings with Frey's office, finally attempting a legal strategy which did lead to a meeting with the mayor’s office. The empty promises made in the meeting by Frey's team never materialized, or were outright lies.

Parallel to the legal fight, the Climate Justice Committee, EPNI and Little Earth residents were confronting Frey about the poisoning of East Phillips and bringing the fight to city council meetings and taking rallies into the mayor’s office. But after Little Earth residents fill the council chambers, city council members claim to feel threatened – filing restraining orders against elders and attempting to make policy changes to criminalize protests of city officials and at city meetings.

The narrative of vague death threats and violence is disingenuous, false and intended to distract from the real perpetrators of violence: Mayor Frey and his cronies on the Minneapolis city council. The mayor wrings his hands about death threats while East Phillips gets poisoned. One council member (Vetaw) filed a police report, but the only evidence clearly shows her physically assaulting a protester and taking their phone. Another council member (Palmisano) claims activists are paid to disrupt meetings, but can only show gas cards provided to help get those affected to meetings. These narratives are right-wing talking points meant to make the mayor and his cronies on the city council seem like the innocent victims, while they punch down at the Little Earth community actually under attack.

#MinneapolisMN #EnvironmentalJustice #environmentalRacism #RoofDepot

Minneapolis, MN – On Sunday, March 5, residents of the south Minneapolis neighborhood of East Phillips and supporters marched to celebrate community and fight against an environmentally racist project.

The city of Minneapolis, with support from Mayor Jacob Frey, plans to expand its existing public works yard in the neighborhood by demolishing the Roof Depot building. The Roof Depot is a former EPA Superfund site and within the Minneapolis Southside Green Zone, an area identified by the city as having “high levels of environmental pollution” and “racial, political, and economic marginalization.”

The city’s proposed Hiawatha Expansion project would bring an additional 888 diesel trucks through the neighborhood daily to conduct public works tasks that support all of Minneapolis. The majority-oppressed nationality and working-class neighborhood includes Little Earth, the only Indigenous-preference Section 8 rental assistance community in the United States.

East Phillips residents experience asthma, cancer and heart disease rates higher than the population outside this neighborhood and unexplained by family health histories.

Neighborhood residents and supporters from the American Indian Movement, the Climate Justice Committee, East Phillips Neighborhood Institute, grassroots groups fighting for the rights of immigrants and against police brutality, and many others, gathered on a pedestrian bridge to commence the march in acknowledgement of the Native land they seek to protect.

Protesters marched past the Roof Depot building and witnessed the additional concrete and fencing barriers put up by the city after the recent encampment aiming to stop demolition of the building, reminiscent of barriers put up in defense of the Hennepin County Government Center during the trial of Derek Chauvin after the murder of George Floyd.

Despite threats to protesters’ rights and the several police cars now observing the Roof Depot site at all hours of the day, the growing movement refuses to back down, give up, or be intimidated. The 100-plus people gathered on the pedestrian bridge Sunday were joined by additional impromptu marchers as the protest moved past their homes, bringing the crowd to well over 200 people. The caravan included a “Free Store” and “Mutual Aid Mobile.” These transformed into a free-of-charge market when the march reached its destination at a park in Little Earth, where it concluded in song.

The demolition of the Roof Depot has been delayed until the Minnesota Court of Appeals rules on the neighborhood’s case against the city, but the fight for control of the Roof Depot site and for environmental justice in East Phillips is far from over.

#MinneapolisMN #EnvironmentalJustice #environmentalRacism

Minneapolis, MN – This week has been eventful in the East Phillips fight to stop the demolition of the arsenic-contaminated site of the Roof Depot building in south Minneapolis.

At dawn on Tuesday, February 22, defenders set up encampment at the site. That evening, Minneapolis cops evicted the encampment.

On Thursday, February 24, Little Earth – a mostly native housing complex bordering the Roof Depot site – residents had a caravan to the Minneapolis city council meeting. Despite over a foot of snow falling, dozens of residents made their way to City Hall in support of City Councilors Jason Chavez (who represents the East Phillips area) and Aisha Chughtai as they made one more attempt to rescind the demolition contract.

While one council member was persuaded by the packed room of Little Earth residents and ongoing struggle by community members and supporters, the measure failed, and the demolition was to move forward as previously planned.

Cowardly city council members, who didn’t want to be confronted about their choice to poison the neighborhood, filed charges against three of the protesters. These charges are an ongoing issue that the Climate Justice Committee and members of the community will continue to fight against.

Then on Friday, February 24, a Hennepin County District Court judge granted an injunction, halting the city of Minneapolis from demolishing the former Roof Depot building. The injunction gives at minimum a two-week window halting demolition while the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute, authors of the lawsuit, put together a $10,000 bond and meet other stipulations.

Little Earth residents, the American Indian Movement, the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute, the Climate Justice Committee and many others vow to use this time to continue to build opposition to the city plan, which is to demolish the building to make create a facility for over 800 diesel trucks.

For updates, follow @climatejusticemn, @eastphillipsurbanfarm and @defendthedepot on Instagram.

#MinneapolisMN #EnvironmentalJustice #environmentalRacism #EastPhillips

Minneapolis, MN – On January 29, 70 activists, community members and supporters held a rally and healing circle in response to the Minneapolis city council’s recent vote in favor of continuing their legacy of environmental racism in the city of Minneapolis. The East Phillips Neighborhood Institute and the Climate Justice Committee organized the rally.

The city council voted on Thursday, January 26 to demolish a former industrial site, the Roof Depot building, against the demands of the community. The building is currently trapping arsenic below the soil and keeping it out of the lungs of East Phillips, a majority oppressed nationality, working-class neighborhood in Minneapolis. East Phillips is also home to Little Earth, a housing complex with the largest concentration of indigenous people in the city.

Residents have asked the city to provide a remediation plan for the arsenic that would be released by demolition, but the city has yet to formalize any sort of plan to reduce harm in the neighborhood. Worse, the city plans to increase harm with their post-demolition plans, by using the empty lot as a refueling station for all of the city’s diesel trucks. Due to industry and heavy traffic already concentrated in East Phillips, the neighborhood has a shocking 12% asthma rate. Arsenic released into the air and diesel trucks are the last thing this community needs, and folks came out on January 29 to express their responses to the city council’s devastating vote.

The mic was open to anyone in the crowd, and many East Phillips residents shared experiences of having loved ones with respiratory issues due to the pollution of East Phillips. One lifelong resident, an Ojibwe mother, spoke through tears, saying, “I have two children that have disabilities because we live in this neighborhood,” adding, “the doctor said he thought my last was born with that heart disease because of living here.”

While people coming to the mic expressed frustration with the city government, none showed any sign of throwing in the towel and forgetting about the Roof Depot struggle. Community members made it abundantly clear that they will not back down from this fight.

Little Earth resident Nicole Perez, said, “We have a lot of residents that are willing to step up for this. We don’t want this to happen to our community. It scares us very much and we will fight till the end!” Another supporter in the crowd, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, seconded this sentiment, declaring, “If I were back in Pine Ridge they would come from all entities of our land on horseback here, just like they did in Rapid City. And I am going to ask them to come here if we have to because this is affecting our children, our tribe!”

Katherine Gould of the Climate Justice Committee summed up the perspectives of the crowd when she said, “Thursday’s decision brought a lot of clarity, clarity that we are the ones who save us. It’s not city council or regulatory agencies or legal systems sweeping in. It’s not a city that will ignore its own guidelines whenever it becomes inconvenient or expensive or just costs the city profits.”

As the rally concluded, the crowd expressed their unity and unending support in the struggle for clean air in East Phillips as they chanted, “When Minneapolis attacks East Phillips, what do we do? Stand up, fight back! When Minneapolis attacks Little Earth, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

#MinneapolisMN #EnvironmentalJustice #ClimateChange #environmentalRacism

Minneapolis, MN – Over 100 protesters rallied at a Minneapolis City Council meeting on Thursday, January 26, where the city council members voted 7 to 6 to demolish the Roof Depot building. Protesters, called to action by East Phillips Neighborhood Institute and Climate Justice Committee, demanded a “no” vote on the demolition of the building, as it is currently trapping an arsenic plume underground, keeping it out of the air of the East Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis.

The city has no publicly stated remediation plan for managing any arsenic release by demolition. This would render previous efforts by the EPA's Emergency Response Branch to replace 600 properties' arsenic-contaminated topsoil in vain. Additionally, once they demolish the Roof Depot, the city plans to use the space as a refueling station for the city’s diesel trucks, which would double or even triple the pollution from heavy vehicle traffic in one of the most heavily polluted neighborhoods of Minnesota.

East Phillips is one of the city’s poorest communities, populated by majority working-class and oppressed nationality people. The neighborhood has some of the worst air quality in Minneapolis, causing 12% of the population in the neighborhood to have asthma. Council members who favored demolition recognized these facts, but expressed their intent to vote in favor of a demolition that would deepen environmental racism in Minneapolis. Protesters carried banners with slogans expressing key demands of the community, “Defend East Phillips” and “Urban farm, not toxic harm” to ensure that the city council had no illusions how they should vote on the question of demolition.

Council members favoring the demolition, recognizing the strength and unity of the defenders of East Phillips, attempted to abuse city council procedures to prevent the community from voicing their demands. Over 100 people showed up in opposition to the demolition, and in response, the city council president limited the number of people in the meeting to 33. The community responded by chanting “Let them in,” both in the council meeting and outside of the chamber. The folks from East Phillips understood that the Minneapolis city council would stoop to underhanded tricks and had prepared to coordinate actions in this manner.

Despite the overwhelming opposition from East Phillips, the Minneapolis city council voted to demolish the Roof Depot building. Having anticipated that climate injustice would be the likely result, East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI) and Climate Justice Committee (CJC) and their supporters have already planned more actions to stop demolition.

Defend East Phillips! Stop the demolition!

#MinneapolisMN #EnvironmentalJustice #environmentalRacism

Clive, Utah is home to a “near-surface” commercial facility that accepts radioactive waste from sites all over the country.

As for low-level radioactive waste, there is no clear definition as to what this is. There is no upper limit or lower limit of the radioactivity associated with this term.

The Tallahassee site had accepted low-level radioactive waste for burial from 1958 to 1964.

As for the Tallahassee site, high energy gamma radiation from material too dangerous to be shipped to Utah was also detected in the burial site. This material remained at FSU reportedly to be disposed of by other means that have not been specified.

It is common practice for powerful institutions such as FSU to degrade poor or minority communities with contaminants that would never be placed in wealthy white communities.

Such environmental racism is nothing new. The result can be disastrous on the health and wellbeing of these communities.

Why were residents in the nearby Black communities of Callan, off of Pottsdammer Street, and Providence, off of Levy Avenue, not notified of this shipment via two tractor trailer trucks that took place on July 22, 2021?

Why was this radioactive waste deposited in a “near-surface” disposal site where it will continue to be dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years?

Why did FSU choose a Tallahassee site near two Black residential communities as a destination for its radioactive waste?

A second site in the Apalachicola National Forest, three-and-a-half miles away from residents in the Fort Braden community has contaminated the ground water. This site received low-level nuclear waste from 1967 to 1979.

Contaminants at this site in the ground water include 1,4 dioxane, radium 226, radium 228, xylenes, aluminum, cesium-137, lead-210, lead 212, lead-214 and tritium.

The Screening Level Risk Assessment determined ,“There are unacceptable risks to human health at the site from high concentrations of these contaminants.”

This contradicts FSU Vice President for Research Gary Ostrander who reportedly told Tallahassee Democrat reporter Byron Dobson, “there has been no human exposure or elevated risks to human or ecosystem health associated with site conditions.”

As for human health, it is abundantly clear that Black citizens in Leon County have a higher risk of dying from cancer than their white counterparts. In 2020 for every 100 white people who died from cancer in Leon County, 136 Black people died.

Shouldn't public health and FSU officials at least ask “Why?”

Questions remain. How much radioactive dirt remains at the Tallahassee site? What was the source of the gamma radiation that was too dangerous to ship from Tallahassee to Utah? Where is it now? What did FSU do with it?

Have the people potentially exposed to the radiation generated by FSU been monitored on a continuing basis for cancer? If not, why not?

Was any kind of cancer surveillance plan put in place for the benefit of the residents in Callen, Providence, or the residents approximately three miles to the north of the contaminated groundwater in the Apalachicola National Forest? This is near the Fort Braden community in Leon County.

Finally, what is the evidence that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) was ever implemented? This Act mandates the following: Inform the public of the environmental issues associated with the site; involve the public in the decision-making process that will affect them; involve the public in the responses under consideration to remedy these issues, and inform the public of the progress being made to implement the remedy.

It is clear from these requirements that FSU has not complied with this Act.

It therefore raises the question as to whether FSU's behavior has been illegal in regard to their contamination of the groundwater, their subsequent behavior and their total disregard for the wellbeing of the residents who may have been adversely affected.

#TallahasseeFlorida #TallahasseeFL #EnvironmentalJustice #FloridaStateUniversityFSU #environmentalRacism #RadioactiveWaste

The Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC) recently joined the Fairway Oaks community in a struggle against environmental racism.

The Fairway Oaks community was established in 2000 with the joint effort of the city of Jacksonville and Habijax. The city of Jacksonville knowingly and negligently sold hazardous land to Habijax, who then used the land to develop low-income affordable housing and sell it to low-income Black residents. Over 85 homes were built in a 17-day blitz of volunteers who propped up dozens of subpar houses.

After several years, residents noticed that their homes were starting to deteriorate. Houses began to crack in half, rot, and the very soil on which the foundation of the house were built began to implode. High levels of arsenic, methane gas and other toxic waste has put residents’ health at risk. The Fairway Oaks Community began to organize themselves and took action. They rallied, protested and fought for justice.

Nathaniel Borden, Fairway Oaks resident and leader of their movement, said, “Justice for Fairway Oaks would be each homeowner receiving enough money to go buy a house that is not on toxic land and each individual that has lived in Fairway Oaks for the last 18 years to receive a lifetime of health monitoring services.”

Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC) members came out to support the Fairway Oaks community at their third court hearing on June 21.

JCAC organizer Joshua Parks commented, “This is a blatant case of negligence and racism. The city and Habijax should be held accountable for their role in endangering a whole community of people simply to make a buck. People are paying mortgages on homes that are built on a toxic waste site, many of them first time home owners. That's just unacceptable.”

Parks continued, “This isn't the city’s first brush with environmental racism. Another poor community on the same side of town, in the Fairfax area, is also located on a toxic waste site which has been deemed an EPA Superfund site because of its high level of toxins. Workers at the site have serious health issues from exposure and residents have some of the highest rates of cancer.”

The South is no stranger to injustice. In fact, most of its Black residents are accustomed to it. This history of slavery and Jim Crow still lingers within Jacksonville’s social relations. Racism manifests itself in overt ways, with police crimes and vigilante murders of Black residents such as Keegan Roberts; and subtle ways, with the sneaky environmental racism of the city of Jacksonville and Habijax – a non-profit affordable housing development company, which knowingly built houses on a former toxic waste site in one of the poorest regions of the city, now known as Fairway Oaks.

The Fairway Oaks community and the Jacksonville Community Action Committee plan to continue working together and pressuring the city of Jacksonville and Habijax for justice.

#FairwayOaks #JacksonvilleFL #Healthcare #HousingStruggles #nationalLiberation #EnvironmentalJustice #environmentalRacism #JacksonvilleCommunityActionCommitteeJCAC