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Help Protect NC Communities from Dirty Biomass Projects
In North Carolina, black, brown, Indigenous, and low-income communities are disproportionately impacted by confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), Superfund sites, coal ash facilities, biogas operations, and wood pellet plants. Although NC DEQ is responsible for regulating and monitoring industry operations in a manner that protects natural resources and communities from environmental and health risks, many residents across the state continue to grapple with environmental injustices and the burdens these facilities’ place on their health and quality of life. Enviva is the world’s largest wood pellet manufacturing company, with NC facilities in Ahoskie, Hamlet, Sampson County, and Northampton County….
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Tools Series for the Citizen Scientist in Your Community: NC SWAP Tool!
This Earth Week, learn how to become an environmental expert in your community! In today’s digital world, online tools or web applications are a convenient way for public agencies like the EPA to share information about polluting industries and their potential harm to the environment. For communities, these tools may be particularly useful to combat environmental injustice. By mapping important information about facilities, pollutants, water sources and other publicly available resources, users can gain the knowledge they need to face any challenges in their area. But these applications can also be difficult…
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Environmental Concern? Clean Water for NC Wants to Hear from YOU!
Although we haven’t been able to work closely with community members on the ground during the pandemic, Clean Water for NC remains committed to fighting for Environmental Justice for ALL North Carolinians! If you have concerns about an environmental issue in YOUR community, whether water, air, or soil related, please reach out to us and we will do all that we can to address your issue or connect you to someone who can. We know some topics may be sensitive to discuss, so our staff is ready and able to handle confidential phone calls if needed. Some examples of…
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Celebrating the History of Black Communities and their Fight for Justice in NC
Clean Water for North Carolina celebrates the achievements and efforts of communities that continue the fight for justice, equality, and healthy, safe environments to call home. In North Carolina, Black communities have a long history of resilience and activism. The following descriptions, while not comprehensive, offer a brief look into this history and the people, places, and groups that have made a difference. Princeville, NC was incorporated in 1885 and stands as the oldest town incorporated by Black Americans in the United States, though its place as a community predates that. It was originally known as Freedom Hill…
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Urge Tillis, Burr to Protect All North Carolinians in COVID Relief Package
People cannot safely stay at home without electricity, water, or internet. Black, Brown, Indigenous and other communities of color have been hit hardest in keeping up with bills and rent during the COVID pandemic. Congress must stand up for all of us, but especially the most vulnerable, and ensure that a national moratorium on all utility services, as well as a national moratorium on evictions and an extension of the federal unemployment subsidy, is a priority in the next relief package currently in negotiations. This virus has taken a large financial toll on North Carolinians with an estimated…
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Amanda Strawderman: Completing Census could help fight pollution in NC
By: Amanda Strawderman, Opinion Editorial in Fayetteville Observer August 20, 2020 Too many communities across the country are faced with living in unhealthy environments due to pollution related to drinking water and air quality. Environmental Justice (EJ) is the reality, backed by statistics, that polluting industries have historically targeted areas of low-income, or communities of color. The federal Environmental Protection Agency created a tool known as the EJ Screen with the purpose of identifying disproportionate impacts of pollution to such communities throughout the country. Grassroots leaders, environmental advocates and the public should be able use this tool to help prevent permits that…
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Robeson County is NOT a Sacrifice Zone – Go Home, Active Energy!
Active Energy LLC, a UK based company, is proposing to construct and operate a “black” wood pellet facility in Lumberton – the first of its kind to ever be operating anywhere on the planet. The NC Dept. of Air Quality is weighing the request in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when studies are showing that black and brown people are being disproportionately impacted by the health crisis due to compounding factors of living and working conditions and higher incidence of health conditions that increase risk for respiratory illness. Communities in Robeson County are overburdened by pipelines and polluting industries, and…
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Keeping an Eye on the impacts of Factory Farms
SIGN UP FOR FACTORY FARM WATCH DIGEST! CWFNC’s newest project addresses the under-regulated poultry industry and its threat to drinking water and community health. Poultry operations are spreading across the state at an alarming speed, while our state agencies downplay their risk to both people and the environment. These farms negatively impact the health of nearby residents, pollute the air and water, and neglect the safety of their workers. Alongside preexisting efforts by Environmental Working Group and the Waterkeeper Alliance, we will push for better permitting, transparency, and enforcement to help mitigate this issue for North Carolinians. Advocacy groups and investigative journalists have released a number of eye-opening reports and news articles to call attention to the dangers of industrial animal operations and how this impacts each and every one of us. Here is a collection of recent news and reports: REPORTS: UNDER THE RADAR NC Regulators have Ignored the Decade-Long Explosion of Poultry CAFOs, which create 5 million tons of nutrient-laden poultry waste a year (4.8 times more nitrogen & 4.1 times more phosphorous waste from poultry than from pigs). EWG, Feb 13, 2019 Investigation: Counties With Meatpacking Plants Report Twice the National Average Rate of COVID-19 Infections Counties with or near meatpacking plants have almost twice the rate of known COVID-19 infections as the national average, according to a geospatial analysis by the Environmental Working Group. EWG, May 14, 2020 NEWS: Nearly a billion birds producing five million tons of waste per year While hog farms and their waste are monitored by DEQ, poultry farms remain under the jurisdiction of the agricultural department, which has limited knowledge of their whereabouts. NC Policy Watch, May 19, 2020 DEQ lists progress on environmental justice, swine farms; critics say enforcement essential NC DEQ released a draft of a violation point system that can be used to better gauge animal farms' permit compliance as well as the first version of an anonymous compliant tool. NC Policy Watch, May 15, 2020 ‘They didn’t tell us anything’: North Carolina poultry plant workers say Butterball isn’t protecting them from COVID-19 Up to 52 workers at the Duplin County Butterball plant tested positive, but the company and NC government won’t confirm the number of cases, leaving communities at risk, confused, and demanding transparency. Southerly Magazine, May 1, 2020 FACTORY FARMS: A PANDEMIC IN THE MAKING. Most recent pandemics have been the result of zoonotic viruses “spilling over” to humans from animals, in many cases through domestic livestock right here in the U.S. US PIRG, Apr 24, 2020 If you’re interested in staying updated on our project and the latest poultry-related news, click the button below! SIGN UP FOR FACTORY FARM WATCH DIGEST!
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Hearings are Virtually Meaningless—But Speak Up For Communities!
Right now, Americans are dealing with the day to day realities of a global pandemic. This is not the time to be burdened by worries about increased pollution that could further threaten human health and the environment, but the Trump administration isn’t taking that into consideration. While the EPA eases pollution controls on industry, Americans are expected to show up for virtual public hearings to speak out, a process that is ineffective, ill-timed and excludes many. Last week, the EPA held virtual hearings…
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Stopping Rate Hikes for Duke Energy’s Dirty Energy & Climate-Busting Plans!
The fight for full excavation of Duke Energy’s toxic coal ash pits finally came to a close when the company signed a settlement agreement with DEQ and community groups to remove over 80 million tons of coal ash from unlined pits across the state. While this marks a major victory for impacted community members living near these sites, Duke is trying to slap them with the bill to pay for massive cleanup. Rate cases for both Duke Energy Carolinas (DEC) and Duke Energy Progress (DEP) are currently underway, with Duke seeking to recover costs associated with coal ash cleanup, upgrades…
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