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Showing posts with label Missouri Coalition for the Environment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Missouri Coalition for the Environment. Show all posts

10.13.2015

Map LandfillFire Dangerously Close Illegally Burried Radioactive Waste





Area Map of Landfill Fire Dangerously Close to Illegally Burried Radioactive Waste

Thank You for stopping by-Share and Comment below. If additional information in needed or you have a question let me know. Together we can make a difference and create a future that will benefit everyone. Build a Green StLouis Green Building Tips and Resources via: Scotty- St Louis Renewable Energy Green Blog
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10.11.2015

EVACUATION INSTRUCTIONS Bridgeton Landfill Fire

Download the Shelter In Place StLouis County Stay in Place rather than Evacuation Plan 

St. Louis County EVACUATION INSTRUCTIONS when Bridgeton landfill fire reaches URANIUM and THORIUM Nuclear Waste.

Newly Added Global and StLouis Post Dispatch News Stories

St. Louis County EVACUATION INSTRUCTIONS when Bridgeton landfill fire reaches URANIUM and THORIUM Nuclear Waste.
emergency plan provides very basic options for people to either evacuate the city or stay sheltered





According to the emergency plan, if the fire reaches the nuclear waste site, “there is a potential for radioactive fallout to be released in the smoke plume and spread throughout the region. This event will most likely occur with little or no warning,” the plan notes, listing the municipalities directly affected as Bridgeton, Hazelwood, Maryland Heights, the Village of Champ and the City of St. Charles.”
County Executive Steve Stenger has promised that the emergency plan is “not an indication of any imminent danger,” but with a fire just 1000 feet away from a nuclear waste site, the danger does seem imminent for many of the city’s residents.
It is [the] county government’s responsibility to protect the health, safety and well-being of all St. Louis County residents. None of this is meant to be alarmist, but you have to be prepared,” Stenger said in a statement.

However, this week Koster told the Associated Press that the fire is even closer to the contamination zone than the city officials have even estimated because the radiation extends beyond the walls of the site.

The emergency plan provides very basic options for people to either evacuate the city or stay sheltered in their houses. Aside from saying that nuclear contamination can spread through the area in plumes of smoke, there was little mention in the report about what they actually expect to happen. 

Also alarming, is the fact that while there is an evacuation plan, there has been no plan proposed to actually stop this, or clean the mess up. It seems that the local government and the EPA are just hoping for the best as the fire continues to spread.

John Vibes is an author, researcher and investigative journalist

Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/st-louis-preparing-nuclear-disaster-landfill-fire-nears-radioactive-waste-site/#thQp2sI1UYMFG51j.99


Download the Shelter In Place StLouis County Stay in Place rather than Evacuation Plan St. Louis County EVACUATION INSTRUCTIONS when Bridgeton landfill fire reaches URANIUM and THORIUM Nuclear Waste.
St. Louis County EVACUATION INSTRUCTIONS when Bridgeton landfill fire reaches URANIUM and THORIUM Nuclear Waste. emergency plan provides very basic options for people to either evacuate the city or stay sheltered
St. Louis County EVACUATION INSTRUCTIONS when Bridgeton landfill fire reaches URANIUM and THORIUM Nuclear Waste.
emergency plan provides very basic options for people to either evacuate the city or stay sheltered





Thank You for stopping by-Share and Comment below. If additional information in needed or you have a question let me know. Together we can make a difference and create a future that will benefit everyone. Build a Green StLouis Green Building Tips and Resources via: Scotty- St Louis Renewable Energy Green Blog
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9.06.2015

Radioactivity Found Offsite WestLake Landfill

      

Radioactivity Found Offsite at West Lake Landfill   

Sept. 4, 2015
Quick Links
Dear Scotts, 

Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015: Attorney General Chris Koster released several expert reports detailing the smoldering fire moving toward the radioactive material as well as the finding of radioactive material in tree cores at offsite locations. The reports were released as a part of AG Koster's lawsuit against Republic Services related to the smoldering landfill fire, which Koster claims started due to the negligence of the landfill company. Read MCE's press release calling for the Corps of Engineers to be given jurisdiction of the radioactive materials immediately. 

Congresswoman Ann Wagner released a statementfollowing AG Koster's new information, "It is time for the Department of Energy, in consultation with the Army Corps of Engineers, to make a determination whether the inclusion of the West Lake site into FUSRAP will better protect area residents. The time for discussion and evaluation has passed; this community deserves a solution."

Congresswoman Ann Wagner is referencing a request made to the DOE by our federally elected officials. We already know that the Corps of Engineers will better protect area residents and that's why we've been asking our federally elected officials to legislatively transfer the jurisdiction of the landfill from the EPA to the Corps of Engineers. Read more HERE about why FUSRAP needs to be put in charge at the West Lake Landfill. See who supports FUSRAP being put in charge at the West Lake Landfill and take actionHERE

Republic Services is adding dirt to portions of the smoldering fire in an attempt to smother it so it does not become a surface fire. Photo taken by MCE.

Breaking News Press Coverage






Sept. 3: Koster releases new finding on West Lake Landfill The Missouri Times 



Call To Action

We need the Army Corps of Engineers put in charge of the West Lake Landfill. People live within one mile of this landfill and have been subjected to horrendousodors for over four years. Republic Services even said, "This will be life for the next five years," regarding the smoldering fire. It's time for Republic Services or the government to provide a voluntary buyout for the folks within one mile of the landfill. Just Moms STL formed to work with the people closest to and most impacted by the landfill. Karen Nickel is one of the Just Moms STL leaders and shared what you can do to help on their Facebook pageSee the picture below and take action! 

Upcoming Events

Franciscan Sisters of Mary Prayer Vigil
Where: 12755 St. Charles Rock Road in Bridgeton, MO at the abandoned Phillips 66 gas station. 
When: Every 2nd & 4th Wednesday of the month (weather pending) at 10am. The next vigil isSeptember 9, 2015

West Lake Community Meeting 
Where: John Calvin Presbyterian Church
12567 Natural Bridge Rd, Bridgeton, MO 63044
WhenThursday, September 17, 2015 beginning at6:30pm
Make A Call
Please make a call and thank Senator Blunt, Senator McCaskill, Congressman Clay, and Congresswoman Wagner for their July 17 letter to Secretary Moniz at the United States Department of Energy. Also let them know they have the power to act on this situation by legislatively transferring jurisdiction to the Army Corps of Engineers FUSRAP.  
Senator Blunt: 202-224-5721
Senator McCaskill: 202-224-6154
Congressman Clay: 202-225-2406
Congresswoman Wagner: 202-225-1621



Thank You for stopping by-Share and Comment below. If additional information in needed or you have a question let me know. Together we can make a difference and create a future that will benefit everyone. Build a Green StLouis Green Building Tips and Resources via: Scotty- St Louis Renewable Energy Green Blog
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5.30.2013

Public Comments Sought-Environmental News

Public Comments Sought on Proposed Coal Ash Cleanup Settlement with Rotary Drilling Supply in Jefferson County, Mo.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-Environmental News


(Lenexa, Kan., May 30, 2013) - EPA Region 7 and Rotary Drilling have reached a proposed agreement to address environmental impacts from the unauthorized disposal of approximately 140,000 tons of coal ash from the Rush Island Power Plant owned and operated by Union Electric Company (d/b/a Ameren Missouri). EPA is accepting public comment on the settlement pursuant to the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

In an administrative order on consent (AOC), EPA alleges that the dumping of the coal ash on property owned by Rotary Drilling Supply, Inc., located in Jefferson County, Mo., impacted wetlands, an unnamed tributary to Plattin Creek, and a portion of Willers Lake. The coal ash contains environmentally harmful metals that migrate into adjacent surface waters.

Between October 2004 and September 2008, Rotary Drilling and another company, Mineral Resource Technologies, Inc., contracted with Kleinschmidt Trucking, Inc., to haul and dispose of approximately 95,000 tons of coal ash to the Rotary Drilling site. During that time period, Mineral Resource Technologies, Inc., contracted with Union Electric Company to find and secure locations for coal ash disposal. In 2007, Union Electric contracted directly with Kleinschmidt Trucking, Inc., to haul and dispose of approximately 45,000 tons of coal ash from the Rush Island Power Plant at Rotary Drilling’s property.

EPA’s proposed settlement, issued pursuant to federal RCRA authority, requires Rotary Drilling to abate impacts of the coal ash disposal by placing a protective cap over the coal ash piles and installing controls to prevent the continued migration of coal ash constituents into wetlands and other surface waters.

Additionally, Rotary Drilling must mitigate for lost wetland functions by purchasing wetland mitigation bank credits. Wetland mitigation bank credits involve the restoration, creation, enhancement, or preservation of a wetland, stream, or habitat conservation area to offset adverse impacts to similar nearby ecosystems. The goal is to replace the function and value of the specific wetland habitats that have been adversely impacted.

A copy of the Administrative Record is located at the Crystal City Public Library, 736 Mississippi Ave., Crystal City, MO 63019. EPA invites the public to comment on theAOC. The 30-day public comment period opens on May 30, 2013, and runs throughJune 28, 2013.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7
11201 Renner Boulevard, Lenexa, KS 66219

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations



Contact Information: David Bryan, 913-551-7433bryan.david@epa.gov


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4.05.2013

Missouri-Stand. Act. Defend! Lobby Day April 17

Missouri Needs Your Help-MO Environmental Defense Alliance
 

Lobby Day

Wednesday, April 17th, 2013

One deeply meaningful action you can do for Missouri's energy future, for our air, our water and our state's children, is to attend Lobby Day.  
 
This is a call for those of you who can take the extra step to represent your family, your friends and your neighbors. Register now to be their voice to counter the swarms of paid lobbyists found in Jefferson City this time of year.


Missouri Needs Your Help
MO Environmental Defense Alliance  
Lobby Day
Wednesday, April 17th, 2013
8 a.m.- 3 p.m., Jefferson City, Missouri


See You at 2013 Earth Day Events!

Webster University Sustainability Conference 
  

  





  

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Earth Share of Missouri

Better Business Bureau Seal
JeffCity1MCE New Logo 2012
 
"All that is necessary  
for evil to triumph  
is for good men  
to do nothing."
- Edmund Burke


One deeply meaningful action you can do for Missouri's energy future, for our air, our water and our state's children, is to attend Lobby Day.   
  
This is a call for those of you who can take the extra step to represent your family, your friends and your neighbors. Register now to be their voice to counter the swarms of paid lobbyists found in Jefferson City this time of year.

Missouri Needs Your Help
MO Environmental Defense Alliance  
Lobby Day
Wednesday, April 17th, 2013
8 a.m.- 3 p.m., Jefferson City, Missouri


Join us in Jefferson City at 8 a.m. for an early start on a day filled with meeting your legislators, sharing your key concerns on this year's top priorities and defending Missouri's environment. Together with volunteers and staff from MEDA organizations, you will take a stand for the environment, enjoy lunch, and make a difference. Lobby day will finish around 3 p.m. Cost for lobby day is $20, which includes a vegetarian lunch.  

Priorities this year include:
  • Defending Clean, Safe Energy
  • Investing in Missouri State Parks
  • Keeping Toxic Coal Ash Out of Our Rivers
To RSVP, complete the form here

Want to carpool? Check the box in the RSVP form and you will receive all the details.     
Share this invitation on Facebook.  Please join us to make a difference. 
  
  




Missouri Coalition for the Environment
| 6267 Delmar Blvd., Ste. 2E | St. Louis | MO | 63130

1.14.2013

St Louis Water Issue: Raw Deal-Warning-Veolia


  • Because Veolia is not the kind of company St. Louis, or any other city, should trust with its water. Its record is thick with environmental problems and costly violations, damage and repairs. Reading accounts of Veolia's misdeeds reads like an encyclopedia of expensive mistakes.

  • the City of St. Louis is being sold a raw deal on its water and residents in St. Charles and St. Louis will be forced to buy it unless we stop it. Consider: the region will face higher costs and risk lower quality of the water supply if the City approves a key contract on Wednesday, Jan. 16th.  



According to a story broken by the Riverfront Times, St. Louis city lawyers have been negotiating a $250,000 contract with a foreign company, Veolia Water North America, for advice on cutting costs in the City's Water Division- St. Louis' public drinking water system which also supplies St. Charles.  








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Earth Share of Missouri

Better Business Bureau Seal

WARNING: Don't Buy It

The City of St. Louis is being sold a raw deal on its water and residents in St. Charles and St. Louis will be forced to buy it unless we stop it. Consider: the region will face higher costs and risk lower quality of the water supply if the City approves a key contract on Wednesday, Jan. 16th.  

If you help, we can stop it.
Make a call,come to the meeting Wednesday, get involved.

Water is critical. It is the  ice in our freezer, the water in our coffee, our soup, our infant formula, our beer, our shower, our bath, our laundry, our sprinkler, our baptismal, and our bodies. 
 
According to a story broken by the Riverfront Times, St. Louis city lawyers have been negotiating a $250,000 contract with a foreign company, Veolia Water North America, for advice on cutting costs in the City's Water Division- St. Louis' public drinking water system which also supplies St. Charles.  
   
Why is this an environmental issue? Why is this a consumer issue? 

Because Veolia is not the kind of company St. Louis, or any other city, should trust with its water. Its record is thick with environmental problems and costly violations, damage and repairs. Reading accounts of Veolia's misdeeds reads like an encyclopedia of expensive mistakes.

The St. Louis Board of Estimate and Apportionment (E&A) is reportedly considering the contract Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 16th, at its 2 p.m. meeting at City Hall at 1200 Market St. at Tucker in St. Louis.
 
If you live in St. Louis or St. Charles, you drink the water and you pay for it. About 60% of St. Charles water is from the City of St. Louis. Please take action.

You can help dump Veolia:


Speak up:
Call and ask that the Veolia contract be dumped - for good and forever.
Comptroller Darlene Green: 314-622-4389 
Lewis Reed: 314-622-4114


Show up:
At the Board of Estimate and Apportionment meeting Wednesday, January 16, and stand up for clean water. (1200 N. Tucker- Meet at 1 p.m. in the rotunda for preparation or come to the meeting at 2 p.m. Please RSVP to klogansmith(at)moenviron.org)


Pen up
:

Write a letter to the editor (letters@post-dispatch.com)


Step it up:
Grow the effort by 'liking' the grassroots coalition that is uniting to save our water. See the St. Louis Dump Veolia Facebook page. 

Dump Veolia - Save Money, Save Our Water
Veolia Water is a major subsidiary of Veolia Environment, a private, for-profit, French multi-national corporation based in Paris with operations reaching around the globe and the largest water privatization business in the world. The company operates sewage treatment plants, drinking water plants, landfills, hazardous waste incinerators, and transportation systems. 

Veolia seeks lucrative contracts with governments, usually to operate public facilities. From these facilities it aims to cut costs, deliver services and still take profits back to France and its investors. Does it sound too good to be true?

In reports by news organizations like the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Reuters and nonprofit organizations including -  Water for All, Polaris Institute, Global Exchange,  Novato Friends of Locally Operated Wastewater, Public Citizen, Public Water Works, and Food & Water Watch (here, here, here, here, here), you will encounter over and over again three general reasons for environmental and contract performance problems in water and other facilities operated by Veolia and the subsidiaries it controls):
  1. Inadequate staffing
  2. Other cost cutting measures (inadequate testing, treatment and maintenance)
  3. Illegal dumping and processing of toxic material
Problems range from service outages, to illegal sewage discharges, foul odor, poor water quality, safety hazards, explosions, neglected equipment, and lower water quality.

Communities have begun dumping Veolia because of costly problems. Even Paris dumped them in 2009. 


Keep Veolia out of the St. Louis City water supply

Here are a few examples of Veolia's record for you. 
 
Indianapolis

Even though Veolia cited its work in Indianapolis as a successful model to guide its work in St. Louis, the contract in Indianapolis was terminated by city because of low water quality, falsified water quality report, staff cutbacks, cutbacks in water testing, water treatment and maintenance.

In its proposal to the St. Louis Water Division, Veolia extensively references its work in Indianapolis as a successful model that could inform Veolia's guidance in St. Louis. If Indianapolis is any indication of Veolia's practices, then St. Louis would do well to steer clear. Veolia claims that the contract was completed and "focused on building a collaborative environment with all of the project stakeholders (union, government and the community)." In fact the company's 20-year contract with Indianapolis was terminated by the city less than halfway through, by which time the following had ensued:

In a study of 100 large U.S. cities, Environmental Working Group ranked Indianapolis drinking water quality #90 (i.e. 11th-worst overall). St. Louis ranks #9 -- among the best in the country.

In 2005, a federal grand jury subpoenaed four Veolia Indianapolis employees as part of an investigation into allegations that the utility falsified water quality reports. The probe began amid accusations by Indianapolis council members that the company had cut back on staffing, water testing, treatment chemicals and maintenance.

In 2010, with infrastructure needs mounting and Veolia demanding more than the city could afford, Indianapolis canceled the contract more than 10 years early, for which they were forced to pay Veolia an additional $29 million. The nonprofit Citizens Energy Group took over, positioned to save the city more money than multinational Veolia was ever able to.

If Veolia gives Indianapolis as an example of a success story, what could a failure possibly look like?

New Orleans
Veolia acquired a wastewater contract in New Orleans in the 1990's under its old name, US Filter. In 2001 and 2002, the plant released raw sewage into the river a total of 50 times, often violating water quality standards and resulting in more than $107,000 in fines. An audit concluded that "Observation of these plants' activities, as well as the serious problems reported above, indicate a reduced concern for operations and maintenance by the contractor." The city's Sewerage and Water Board Director and staff made numerous, repeated and documented complaints about Veolia reducing staff to inadequate levels, neglecting preventive maintenance, failing to notify city officials of environmental violations, and other problems. Veolia had a long track record of failing to communicate with New Orleans in connection with the contract. In 2002, the board rejected Veolia's bid for a new water/wastewater contract following public outrage.

Sauget, IL-Hazardous Waste Incinerator
In Sauget, IL, right across the river from St. Louis, a Veolia subsidiary operated a hazardous waste incinerator for over 10 years without a clean air permit. As of 2008, the facility had been fined more than $3 million," mostly related to small explosions and releasing toxic chemicals, including carcinogenic dioxins, into the air.

There's more from California, Massachusetts, Texas, Georgia, Delaware, Belgium, Gabon, and Australia...You can dig deeper at the links above.

Thanks for taking action!

Please help spread the word.

Kathleen Logan Smith, Executive Director 

Missouri Coalition for the Environment
| 6267 Delmar Blvd., Ste. 2E | St. Louis | MO | 63130

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