“It’s about time the state got around to addressing one of many severe public health issues posed by the Wheelabrator Saugus facility,” said Kirstie Pecci, Director of the Zero Waste Project at CLF. “But requiring a study is totally inadequate and does nothing to compensate the community for the suffering this facility caused all summer. The community will only be protected when this toxic facility shuts down for good.”
In the battle against climate change, Massachusetts must be proactive, not reactive, to the impacts we know are coming. PG&E recently admitted it may take a decade for them to ensure that its wires in California are fireproof. How long will it take Massachusetts’ utility companies to prepare for extreme weather? We can’t afford to wait and find out.
Conservation Law Foundation filed its groundbreaking lawsuit against ExxonMobil for violations of federal environmental laws and for failing to prepare its Everett terminal to withstand the effects of climate change. CLF’s complaint alleges that ExxonMobil has been aware of the risks climate change poses and has not taken sufficient action — or “failed to design and implement protective measures” — to address them.
“We already know that this know that this kind of pollution is terrible for our upper respiratory system for things like asthma and lung disease,” said Alyssa Rayman-Read, vice president and director of CLF Massachusetts. “Encore and all these different companies have a responsibility to the communities that they’re in not to exacerbate existing public health crises.”
Since the Encore Boston Harbor casino opened its doors in June, residents of Everett, Chelsea, and Malden have been subjected to toxic tailpipe pollution from Encore’s branded vehicles, which consistently idle for more than 20-minute stretches near schools, parks, and homes. CLF has announced our intent to sue Encore and the companies operating its shuttle buses for their illegal idling, continuing our ongoing fight for cleaner air in our communities.
“The casino is a brand-new neighbor, and it’s already wearing out its welcome,” said Alyssa Rayman-Read, Vice President and Director of CLF Massachusetts. “There’s no excuse for shuttle buses sitting in already-vulnerable neighborhoods pumping toxic fumes into the air. These companies must prove that they care about the health of their neighbors and put an end to this dangerous, unlawful idling immediately.”
“The casino is a brand-new neighbor, and it’s already wearing out its welcome,” said Alyssa Rayman-Read, director of CLF Massachusetts. “There’s no excuse for shuttle buses sitting in already vulnerable neighborhoods pumping toxic fumes into the air.”
Andrew Gottlieb, Executive Director of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, discusses the organization’s recent report, which showed that many of the Cape’s coastal waterways fail to meet basic water quality standards.
In a major win for endangered North Atlantic right whales, a federal judge ruled that gillnet fishing gear must be removed from 3,000 nautical miles of ocean waters in southern New England. Opening the areas to gillnet fishing without considering harm to right whales violated the Endangered Species Act, and the gear must be removed until the required analysis is complete.
“It’s really unconscionable that the system allows this to continue,” said Caitlin Peale Sloan, also a senior attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation in Boston. “These forever chemicals enter your body, and don’t leave, and they compound. Protecting the public from these chemicals should be an urgent concern.”
