The push comes in the face of controversial proposed Central Hudson rate hikes, which could go into effect next summer, raising bills by an average of $30-month for gas and electric customers.

Food & Water Watch Senior NY Organizer Laura Shindell said:

“New Yorkers are paying more and more money every year to expand a gas system that we know is dangerous for our communities and our climate. Not only do our high bills cover our own utilities; they also cover new gas lines for all new customers. We need to close this outdated loophole that only serves to expand fossil fuels, line industry pockets and spur on the climate crisis. Governor Hochul must put the NY HEAT Act in her budget to lower energy bills and stop the consumer subsidized gas system.”

“We’ve talked to hundreds of Beacon and Fishkill residents over the past year, and so many people are frustrated by their skyrocketing, inconsistent energy bills. Yet Central Hudson is asking for a massive rate increase without meaningfully addressing their predatory billing practices or stepping up to transition off of toxic fossil fuels. We shouldn’t have to pay for them to get their act together, nor can we wait for this company and others to do the right thing on their own. That’s why bills like NY HEAT are so important – not only to transition us off of fossil fuels, but to ensure that everyday New Yorkers aren’t forced to subsidize the failures of an unethical, dying industry,” says Jessie Van Amburg, a member of Beacon Climate Action Now.

The NY HEAT Act, which passed the NYS Senate this year, will stop expansion of the fracked gas system to protect the climate, and reduce future rate increases while limiting energy bills to 6% of household income and saving low and middle-income New Yorkers up to $75/month on their energy bills. The NY HEAT Act also gets rid of the unfair 100-foot rule, which forces New York families to subsidize new gas hookups to the tune of $200 million every year while accelerating fossil fuel-generated climate change that supercharges storms and floods, turns the sky orange and the air toxic from wildfires, and drives deadly extreme heat and cold.

Photos and video available here.

The post Hudson Valley Advocates Urge Gov. Hochul to Put NY HEAT Act in State Budget appeared first on Food & Water Watch.

Thousands of toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” have infiltrated our lives, creating a public health crisis on a near-unimaginable scale. At Food & Water Watch, we are fighting for strong regulations to stop PFAS and hold corporations accountable for cleaning up their toxic mess. 

At our November Livable Future LIVE event, we sat down with experts to discuss how we can push for the PFAS policies we need. Our panel included: 

• Mary Grant, Director of our Public Water for All Campaign,
• Natalie Balbuena, Food & Water Watch researcher and author of our report, “PFAS and the Chemistry of Concealment,” and
• Kyla Bennett, Director of Science Policy at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

Here are some highlights:

How Corporations Are Swaying the Public Response to PFAS

As Natalie explained, companies exploited weak regulations to keep us in the dark about PFAS, even as they gathered mountains of evidence suggesting harm. Their monopoly on information allowed them to keep marketing and selling PFAS without regulators or the public knowing the truth. 

This is a particularly egregious example of how companies sacrifice our health for profit. And it underscores the fact that knowledge is power. 

Now, thanks to the work of frontline communities, advocates, and scientists, the truth is coming out. And with more knowledge, we have more power to demand protections for our families and communities.

However, we’re facing another challenge. As Natalie detailed at this event and in her report, the chemical industry is spending big to influence lawmakers. In just a few years, current and former top PFAS makers and the trade group that advocates for them have spent more than $100 million lobbying on PFAS and other issues.

We know that this makes our fight harder, but not impossible. At Food & Water Watch, we’ve shown again and again how people power can trump corporate cash. 

3 Things You Can Do to Address the PFAS Crisis

1. Protect Yourself and Your Family at Home

Natalie and Kyla explained several steps we can take in our lives to protect ourselves from PFAS. “The number one thing you can do is get a filter if you can afford one,” Kyla said. She uses one on her faucet, as her municipal well is highly contaminated.

Kyla also recommended avoiding plastics, especially plastic containers. PFAS can leach from the containers into the food, cleaners, and other products inside.

Natalie cautioned against buying waterproof items like clothing, which are usually coated with PFAS. Though some industries are starting to make waterproof items without PFAS, there isn’t any regulation, so there is no guarantee any of it is really PFAS-free. 

We can also reduce exposure on our dinner plates, Natalie said. Research has linked diets higher in processed foods to increased PFAS levels, and found higher levels of PFAS in meats and dairy. Kyla explained that organic farms can’t use PFAS-laden sewage sludge to fertilize their fields, so choosing fresh organic foods when you can is also helpful.

2. Support Federal Regulations to Stop the Flood of PFAS

Individual actions can help limit your PFAS exposure, but to protect everyone, we need collective action to pass policies. Many lifestyle changes are not accessible or affordable for everyone. 

To fully prevent PFAS exposure, Mary explained, “We also need to keep the pressure on policymakers, so that we turn off the faucet of PFAS.” This is especially important to protect communities of color, which are more likely to live near sources of contamination.

Specifically, Kyla, Natalie, and Mary outlined several changes we need at the federal level:

1. A broad, clear, and consistent definition of PFAS, which the government has lacked so far,
2. Regulation of the entire class of PFAS chemicals, so we stop playing whack-a-mole, 
3. A ban on all non-essential uses of PFAS,
4. Final, enforced legal limits on PFAS levels in drinking water,
5. Federal funding to remove PFAS from water through legislation such as the WATER Act, and
6. Designation of PFAS as hazardous substances under the Superfund law, which holds polluters accountable for paying to clean up their contamination.

Currently, the EPA is considering polluter-pays action for two PFAS through the Superfund program. However, several industries are lobbying for exemptions from clean-up responsibilities. An exemption has never been granted before, and doing so now would set a dangerous precedent for future regulations, Kyla warned. 

Ultimately, as Natalie explained, “The companies and industries want to push this bill [for cleanup] onto us.” We can’t accept this, and we must push for policies that fully protect us from PFAS and hold companies accountable.

3. Spread Awareness Locally to Protect Your Community and Build Support

Both Kyla and Natalie stressed the importance of sharing information and fighting locally to tackle the PFAS crisis. For example, Kyla has been visiting municipal meetings around the country to spread awareness about PFAS in artificial turf, often used in public sports fields and playgrounds. Natalie also suggested talking to local officials about PFAS: “Call them, make sure that they have it on their platform.”

Work like this helps to push immediate action in your backyard, while building support for national policies. And it’s working — localities and states around the country are filling in the gaps left by the EPA. 

For example, in Massachusetts, where Kyla lives, the state has regulated six PFAS in drinking water for nearly four years. Maine, meanwhile, became the first state to address PFAS in beef and dairy. And Minnesota recently banned all non-essential uses of PFAS after years of tireless community activism.

Knowledge Is Power, and We’re Gaining Both

PFAS are everywhere, and addressing them will continue to be challenging. In such circumstances, Natalie emphasized, “You gotta really focus on, ‘Well, what can I control?’ And, that’s my awareness, right? Many of the key tools we have begin with awareness.”

Spreading awareness has made a huge difference over the past few decades. The work of activists and communities brought the PFAS crisis to light and turned knowledge into power. 

We’re now seeing hundreds of new proposed regulations and laws. Companies are starting to face accountability through lawsuits, and brands are starting to pledge to stop using PFAS.

“When you educate the public and the public starts pushing back against the companies that are making these products, that works, actually,” Kyla said.

But we also know that without strict regulations, companies will always exploit the loopholes, avoid accountability, and continue endangering us for the sake of profits. To protect our communities, we need strong, urgent action to address PFAS.

Watch the Full Recording

You can watch the full recording in the YouTube video below. Learn more about:

• Why we need a broad definition of PFAS and why we need to ban all non-essential uses,
• What exactly corporations knew about PFAS and the strategies they used to cover up what they knew,
• How the PFAS crisis furthers environmental injustice by disproportionately harming Black, Brown, and low-income communities,
• The risk of PFAS in our foods from spreading sewage on fields as fertilizer,
• The role of the U.S. Department of Defense in spreading PFAS and its efforts to avoid accountability,
• The revolving door between industry and regulators that allows dangerous chemicals onto the market, and
• More successes around the country in regulating PFAS and holding polluters accountable.

Resources From the Event

• Check out the full report, “PFAS & The Chemistry of Concealment”
• Sign up to attend our upcoming free, virtual Livable Future LIVE events 
• You can make a gift — and have it matched!
• Check out our newly updated Guide to Safe Tap Water and Water Filters
• PFAS Central’s list of PFAS-free consumer goods
• List of filters certified by NSF to remove PFAS 
• The PFAS-Tox Database for studies on PFAS and human health
• An interactive tool from Silent Spring Institute to better understand PFAS contamination test results

The post 3 Things You Can Do to Fight Toxic PFAS Forever Chemicals appeared first on Food & Water Watch.

Hillsborough County is home to almost 700,000 TECO customers and has no plan to move off climate-killing fossil fuels or ensure affordable energy. Advocates are calling on the County Commission to pass a climate plan that moves off fossil fuels, increases energy efficiency, and lowers energy bills.

Food & Water Watch Senior Florida Organizer Brooke Ward issued the following statement:

“Hillsborough County residents are paying some of the highest energy bills in the nation, as our dangerous reliance on fossil fuels spikes bills and plummets us further toward climate chaos. The state Public Service Commission must listen to Floridians loud and clear: it’s time to stop for-profit utility price gouging. Here in Hillsborough County, the County Commission must take action against the intertwined climate and energy affordability crises. Chair Hagan must pass a comprehensive climate plan to move off fossil fuels, increase energy efficiency and reduce energy costs now.”

Every two to four years, utilities enter into an agreement to set the base rates for the next two to four years. TECO is projected to file its next base rate case in 2024. If granted, the utility’s petition — filed in October — would avoid the standard cost of service study, risking strapping residential customers with higher rates and a greater energy burden than industrial and commercial customers. The Public Service Commission will hold a hearing on TECO’s petition on January 10.

The post 400+ Floridians Tell State Public Service Commission To Stop TECO Rate Hikes appeared first on Food & Water Watch.

On the flip side, we celebrated many incredible victories that will protect communities and our planet far into the future. We banned gas hook-ups in new buildings in New York State, forced Easterday Dairy to cancel plans for a mega-dairy in Oregon, and defeated a proposed liquefied natural gas plant in Port St. Joe, Florida, to name a few. 

Through thick and thin, we’re so grateful for you and our wonderful Food & Water Watch community.

Our wins were that much sweeter because we celebrated them together. And our pain was that much easier to bear because we processed it together. This year has shown us again and again how essential community is in our fight for change — and how grateful we are to have a community full of supporters like you.

We thank you for the incredible difference you made this year in our fight for a livable future. And we’re so happy to share our 2023 in review,¹Information included in this article is from activities dated January 1 to October 31, 2023. made possible by people who love our planet — like you!

You are strengthening our Food & Water Watch community!

Big, systemic change requires people power. This allows us to connect with communities across the country to push for the bold action we all need to stop the worsening of the climate crisis and to protect our food and water.

Because of you, our grassroots movement and our capacity to create change have both grown. This year, together we:

• Engaged 2 million+ supporters
• Mobilized nearly 2,300 volunteers
• Held 250+ organizing events and volunteer activities such as rallies, protests, volunteer meetings, phone banks, canvassing days, and more

You are holding those in power accountable!

Protecting our food, water, and climate requires action from our elected leaders. Our groundbreaking research, bold policy recommendations, and targeted legal actions are some of our best tools to do just that.

Your generosity is the force behind all of our research, policy, and legal work. With you, we’re demanding those in power stay accountable to communities, not corporations.

This year, together we:

• Released 21 new research reports and fact sheets
• Won 7 lawsuits and have 20+ more ongoing
• Held 260+ meetings with Congressional leaders to educate and push for policies

You are powering our outreach and education!

A critical part of our work together is spreading the word about threats to our environment and how each of us can help protect our food, water, and climate.

Because of you, we boosted critical information about the health of our planet publicly and widely, empowering people with information.

This year, together we:

• Attracted 1.1 million+ visits to our website, foodandwaterwatch.org
• Earned 5,800 media hits, including in The New York Times, Washington Post, and CNN
• Engaged 2,029 attendees at 9 Livable Future LIVE events, our monthly educational series
• Sent 431,000+ digital petition signatures and letters

You are making incredible victories possible!

Your commitment to building a brighter future for all has not only strengthened our movement; it has led to many meaningful protections for our food, water, and climate. 

Your generosity sparked too many victories to list them all here. Below are some highlights to be proud of and to build upon next year! 

This year, together we:

• Made progress reining in and stopping factory farms in Oregon.
  
  We won the passage of SB 85 — the first legislation in decades to reform factory farm regulations in the state. This bill will require a more intensive water permitting process and increased oversight on the practice of spreading factory farm waste on fields. It will also allow local governments to require setbacks between factory farms and communities. 
  
  Additionally, we forced the notorious industrial agriculture giant Easterday to cancel its proposed mega-dairy in Boardman, Oregon. In doing so, we helped protect this community on the Columbia River, which already struggles with nitrate-contaminated water due to mega-dairies’ irresponsible waste management practices. 

• Stopped dirty energy projects from coast to coast,
  
  including a gas-fired power plant in Woodbridge, New Jersey, a liquified natural gas plant in Port St. Joe, Florida, a blue hydrogen power plant in West Whiteland, Pennsylvania, and a carbon pipeline that would have spanned parts of South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois.

• Secured a win against fossil fuels and a win for renewables in New York. 
  
  We passed the All-Electric Building Act, which bans gas hookups in new buildings in New York State. It made New York the first state in the country to ban gas in new construction by law. 
  
  We also helped pass the Build Public Renewables Act. This law will require the New York Power Authority (NYPA), the state’s publicly owned power utility, to provide only renewable energy to customers and be the only energy provider to all state-owned and municipal properties. It also allows NYPA to build renewable energy production to meet the state’s goals of achieving 70% renewable energy by 2030 and 100% by 2040.

• Won important measures to protect our water. 
  
  Working with community groups, we successfully pressured the Environmental Protection Agency to propose the first federal, enforceable limits on six types of PFAS. PFAS are a widespread contaminant in our water that poses severe health threats, including immune and reproductive system harm and cancer. 
  
  We also saved the Hudson River from radioactive waste dumping by passing the Save the Hudson Bill in New York. 

• Powered the March to End Fossil Fuels — the largest demonstration to stop fossil fuels in U.S. history.
  
  On September 17, more than 75,000 people joined us in the streets of New York City for the March to End Fossil Fuels. Together, we demanded the Biden administration do more to curb climate change by ending fossil fuel use.

This short list of wins shows just how much you have strengthened our community and shines a light on the power you have to protect our planet. Thank you for fighting like you live here!

You can build on these wins in the coming year!

Big change happens step by step. And because of you, we have taken great strides toward a livable future in 2023 that we can build upon in the coming year. 

Next year is a presidential election year — a big one. Amid so much climate denialism and candidates under the influence of corporate cash, 2024 will no doubt present huge challenges. With your continued commitment to sustainable food, clean water, and a livable climate, we can take on these challenges and protect what we love.

The post Strength in Numbers — You’re Building People Power and a Brighter Future! appeared first on Food & Water Watch.

Washington, DC  – Today, the EPA proposed a major update to federal water quality regulations for lead in drinking water. While this proposal lays out an ambitious vision for clean water, it requires a deeper commitment to provide the funding necessary to make it a reality.

The proposal would require full lead service line replacement for most systems over a decade expected to begin in January 2028 (three years after the rule is finalized), ban most partial lead service line replacements, and lower the action level from 15 ppb to 10 ppb, among other major improvements. Lead is a dangerous neurotoxin that can harm every major system of the human body, and lead service lines are the single biggest source of lead contamination in drinking water.

In response to this proposal, Food & Water Watch Public Water for All Director Mary Grant issued the following statement: 

“The Biden administration has proposed long-overdue meaningful action toward the goal of eliminating lead from drinking water, but to ensure that every community has safe, lead-free water, much more must be done – much faster –  at no cost to impacted households. The clock should start now. No amount of lead is safe, and the law must reflect that. 

“The federal government has already waited far too long to require the elimination of these toxic lead water pipes, which poisoned the water in communities across the country from Flint to Jackson to Newark to Washington, D.C., and more. We applaud the water activists, advocates and agitators who emerged from those water contamination fights to build the power that led to today’s action. 

“It is long past time to remove all lead service lines, and no community and no household should be left behind, regardless of ability to pay. Congress must step up to provide funding to replace the entire service line at no cost to impacted households, prioritizing low-income and environmental justice communities. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided a $15 billion downpayment on this overhaul, but the total cost could exceed $60 billion, according to industry estimates. Congress must pass the WATER Act to provide a permanent, dedicated source of federal funding at the level that EPA says is necessary to comply with federal water quality regulations. Everyone deserves safe, lead-free drinking water.”

The post Biden’s Lead Water Proposal is Progress –  But Still Not Enough appeared first on Food & Water Watch.

Isabel Penman

Northern California Organizer

Berkley, CA

E-MAIL

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Angeline Reid

Human Resources Director

Chesapeake, VA

E-MAIL

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The briefing comes two weeks before a December 6 Indian Point Decommissioning Board Oversight meeting where advocates will call for on-site nuclear fuel storage.

Food & Water Watch Senior New York Organizer Santosh Nandabalan issued the following statement:

“New Yorkers celebrated a tremendous victory against corporate polluters this summer, when Governor Hochul signed the ‘Save the Hudson’ bill into law, saving our beloved Hudson River from becoming a nuclear waste dump. We must now remain vigilant against Holtec’s efforts to prioritize corporate expediency over environmental and public health. Storing Holtec’s waste on-site is the only option to safeguard our air, water and health against dangerous nuclear contamination — Governor Hochul must support this alternative to dumping and direct her agencies to call for on-site storage for the radioactive wastewater at Indian Point.”

Widespread outrage against decommissioning corporation Holtec International’s initial plan to dump more than one million gallons of toxic radioactive wastewater from the Indian Point site into the Hudson River led to Governor Hochul’s signing the “Save the Hudson” bill into law in August. The legislation is expected to stop the dump, which was opposed by at least 35 Hudson River localities, 138 groups and nearly 500,000 people.

The post 90+ Join NY Briefing On Safe Handling Of Dangerous Indian Point Waste appeared first on Food & Water Watch.

For years, our Jersey team has worked with a broad coalition opposing the proposed plant. This fall, the campaign saw victory, as the developer finally announced it was dropping the project. Here’s how it all went down.

CPV Proposes Another Dirty Gas Plant in Woodbridge

In 2016, the company Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) began operating a fracked gas power plant in the Keasbey neighborhood of Woodbridge. But one plant wasn’t enough. 

That same year, it proposed a second on the site. Not only that — the CPV2 plant would have become the biggest fracked gas power plant in New Jersey.

This would be horrible for the health of nearby communities, and CPV knew it. In its permit application to the state, the company predicted its new plant would emit hundreds of tons of toxic pollution every year, including dangerous sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, ammonia, volatile organic compounds, and lead. 

Woodbridge and its neighbors have long-faced terrible air quality and related health problems like asthma. The American Lung Association has previously given Middlesex County a grade “F” for ground-level ozone until this year. (Ozone worsens lung problems and comes from sources like car exhaust and burning gas.) Moreover, Woodbridge is in the top fifth of New Jersey municipalities when it comes to health risks from toxic air pollution, including cancer.

To add insult to injury, we later learned that CPV’s first plant, CPV1, had been racking up pollution violations for years. On the same day as CPV2’s one and only environmental justice hearing, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) fined CPV $69,000 for violations at CPV1.

Many of these fines were for violating the state’s Air Pollution Control Act. And though the violations dated all the way back to 2016, DEP only notified the public by announcing these fines in 2023.

This is part of a clear pattern in New Jersey. Black, Brown, and low-income communities disproportionately face pollution from dirty industries, huge highways, and gas plants. We were seeing it again with CPV’s proposal in Woodbridge’s majority-Hispanic neighborhood of Keasbey. 

Governor Murphy Has Failed Woodbridge and New Jerseyans

New Jersey has much-touted state laws that should be addressing environmental injustices and stopping dirty fossil fuel projects. But Governor Murphy’s administration has directly contradicted them by refusing to oppose the CPV plant.

In February 2023, Governor Murphy proudly declared a goal to move New Jersey to 100% clean energy by 2035. Despite this, the administration did not oppose CPV2, which promised 2.3 million tons of greenhouse gasses every year. 

Additionally, Governor Murphy signed an environmental justice law three years ago, applauded as one of the strongest in the country. Environmental justice communities — disproportionately low-income and majority-people of color — have long suffered from pollution because of discriminatory policies and environmental racism. The Governor’s new law was intended and designed to protect them from more of it.

This would have been welcome for residents in Keasbey. In fact, the DEP has designated Keasbey an “overburdened community” under the environmental justice law. 

But frustratingly, the administration took more than two years to write the rules for implementing the law, and it didn’t adopt them until April of 2023. This allowed major polluting facilities to vie for state approval before the law could be implemented. 

Even after adopting the long-awaited rules, Governor Murphy’s DEP declined to apply the law to CPV’s proposed gas plant, and the Governor has failed to publicly oppose the plant. A state administrative order that sought to follow “the spirit” of the law failed to actually deliver environmental justice to the residents of Keasbey, Woodbridge, and neighboring communities.

We’re here in Woodbridge to call on ⁦@GovMurphy⁩ to reject CPV’s fracked gas power plant proposal in Keasbey #EnvironmentalJustice #ClimateEmergency pic.twitter.com/ZbUvzzpioi

— Food & Water Watch NJ (@FWWNewJersey) June 3, 2023

Our Campaign to Stop CPV2 in Woodbridge

After proposing its second Woodbridge plant, CPV’s application sat with the DEP for years. But that changed in 2021, when the company finished the air modeling needed to move its application forward.

Around the same time, Food & Water Watch’s work around other gas plants was gaining steam. The pattern was becoming increasingly clear: fossil fuel projects threatened environmental justice communities across the state. And New Jerseyans had had enough of it. So as CPV2’s gears began turning again, we poured resources into efforts to stop it. 

Though Woodbridge’s mayor and Town Council had already greenlit CPV2, we knew we could throw a wrench in at the state level. CPV2 still needed a key air permit to operate the plant.

That made our targets clear: the DEP, which would approve or deny the permit, and Governor Murphy, to whom the DEP is ultimately accountable.

From 2021 to 2023, our team took on several strategies to gain ground. Here are three:

1. Building a Strong, Diverse Coalition of Allies

We couldn’t do this alone. To stop CPV2, we had to create a strong coalition with frontline communities and organizations. Coalitions allow us to share resources, connections, and tactics. In coalitions, we build relationships and people power across intertwined issues like social justice and environmental protection.

Food & Water Watch became a founding member of the “Don’t Gas Middlesex” coalition, made up of over 50 organizations opposing CPV2. The Perth Amboy Area Branch of the NAACP, Our Revolution Middlesex County, and Empower NJ were just some of the key organizations that worked with us in this fight.

2. Gathering Support From Neighboring Municipalities

We knew we could build support and publicity for our campaign by driving neighboring municipalities to join our opposition. But though we had a strong case, we also knew we had our work cut out for us. 

Woodbridge is home to a powerful political machine in arguably the most powerful county in New Jersey. CPV2 enjoyed strong support from the mayor; the Woodbridge Township Council had already signed off on a 30-year tax break for the Keasbey site if CPV2 were built. It would be a challenge to get neighboring leaders to oppose the Woodbridge machine.

But we also knew that we had the facts on our side — we just needed to get leaders to see them. CPV2 wouldn’t have just hurt Woodbridge. Air pollution doesn’t recognize township borders, so communities across the region faced health risks, too. Notably, more than 70 schools would have been within 6 miles of CPV’s power plants, exposing children to dangerous pollutants. 

After years of speaking out at dozens of local meetings, 16 elected governing bodies came out in opposition to the Woodbridge plant. That included neighboring Somerset County and 10 towns and cities in Middlesex County.

3. Cultivating Consistency and Persistence With Volunteers and Organizers

Our work on this campaign really kicked into high gear in February of 2022. That month, we began holding volunteer meetings every two weeks. Dozens of volunteers joined each meeting to get updates, make plans, coordinate our tactics, and build friendships.

Soon, we had a strong group of determined activists willing to try many different tactics.

We rallied at the state capitol and in front of Woodbridge Town Hall; we marched through the streets of Woodbridge and all over the state to oppose CPV2, as well as all seven fossil fuel expansion projects planned for New Jersey.

We also delivered petitions to the Governor’s office and followed him to events throughout the state to make our voices heard. Hundreds of folks showed up for in-person actions, and thousands of people signed petitions and sent messages online.

The Turning Point: CPV’s One and Only Environmental Justice Hearing

After the Murphy administration decided that the environmental justice law didn’t fully apply to CPV2, it ordered CPV to organize a single public meeting to hear and address environmental justice concerns. CPV scheduled the meeting for February 2023.

CPV’s response to public concerns had been messy from the start. Its announcements and documentation were confusing and misleading. It had errors on public materials, directed residents to a web page missing key documents, and gave too little and too short a notice for its public hearing. 

Then came the hearing itself — the one and only chance for many to voice their concerns. It was scheduled on Microsoft Teams. There was no Spanish language interpreter, and several would-be participants couldn’t join by phone. But we were not going to let CPV’s shoddy planning silence us. 

We held a huge rally the week before, with nearly 50 supporters joining us. Throughout February, we worked to get the word out and boost turnout. 

And we succeeded. More than 150 people attended. The public testimonies went on for three hours instead of the planned two. Out of 40 speakers, 38 were vehemently opposed to the project, and several were quoted prominently in major media coverage of the hearing.

We also mobilized folks to send in hundreds of written comments. Ultimately, NAACP Perth Amboy secured a 30-day extension for the comment period, delaying the project.

By the fall, CPV conceded defeat. Thanks to our opposition, it missed a key deadline under its contract with the grid operator. CPV announced in October that it was officially pulling its plans. We successfully killed the plant.

The Fight Against Fossil Fuels in New Jersey Continues

The Woodbridge victory was a massive win for people power and grassroots organizing. Years of loud, diverse, and steadfast opposition delayed the project and ultimately made it untenable. The residents of Woodbridge and its neighbors can breathe more easily without the threat of yet another gas plant.

Meanwhile, the fight for environmental justice in New Jersey continues.

Two more dirty gas plants are still on the table at the state level: one planned by NJ Transit in Kearny and another planned in Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood by the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission. Food & Water Watch is also fighting two major pipeline projects, a turnpike expansion, and a liquefied natural gas terminal in New Jersey.

Governor Murphy has remained silent on Woodbridge — he must not do the same for these other fossil fuel projects. His administration has the power to stop them. Ultimately, environmental justice laws and climate goals mean little unless New Jersey actually acts to stop dirty, climate-wrecking projects. 

The post How to Stop a Gas Power Plant: Our Victory in Woodbridge, NJ appeared first on Food & Water Watch.

The national advocacy group Food & Water Watch filed a lawsuit in the Court of Common Pleas against the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) over the agency’s failure to issue Title V air quality permits for the Synthomer and Neville Chemical facilities. 

The suit argues that ACHD is required to administer Title V operating permits under the federal Clean Air Act, but has failed to do so with either facility. 

The Snythomer plant in West Elizabeth, though a major source of local air pollution, has never been issued a Title V permit from ACHD. The company applied for a permit in February 2022, but ACHD did not take action by the 18-month deadline (which was August of this year). The Neville Chemical facility’s Title V permit expired over three years ago; though the company applied for a renewal at the time, ACHD failed to take appropriate action by the October 2021 deadline. 

“Everyone in Allegheny County knows we have an air pollution crisis. It is beyond outrageous that our own health department fails to do the bare minimum to protect residents from polluters,” said Food & Water Watch Pennsylvania State Director Megan McDonough. “The folks who are forced to live with the impacts of this constant stream of pollution need the agency to do its job, and we’re going to make sure they do exactly that.”

“It is long overdue that chronic polluters are held accountable to the environmental laws designed to protect public health from dangerous pollution,” said Lisa Graves Marcucci, Pennsylvania Coordinator of Community Outreach with the Environmental Integrity Project. “ACHD has an obligation to issue these permits in a timely manner but that has not happened and some polluters, like these two facilities, are operating without proper permits, putting communities at risk.” 

The post Allegheny County Health Department Sued Over Clean Air Act Permits appeared first on Food & Water Watch.