Update, December 2022: In 2021, a permit needed to build the Palmer biomass plant was revoked by state officials. Palmer appealed that decision in an effort to have it overturned. Last month, Palmer lost that appeal. We’re revisiting our 2021 conversation with Tanisha Arena, executive director of Arise for Social Justice, about why this fight… Continue reading How Many Times Must a Community Say No?
“Burning wood for electricity is a bad idea to begin with and building a biomass plant in a residential neighborhood is just evil,” said Johannes Epke, Staff Attorney at CLF. “The Department of Environmental Protection was right to revoke this permit the first time around, and the appeals office has made the right call today. We will continue our piece of this fight to protect air quality in Springfield by representing the City Council in Land Court in opposition to this facility.”
“The fact is that the community overwhelmingly opposes the construction of this substation, and state laws regarding the siting of this facility have been ignored,” said Staci Rubin, Vice President of Environmental Justice at CLF. “The Siting Board’s decision contributes to the inequitable distribution of environmental burdens and benefits and disregards East Boston residents’ voices. We’ll continue to partner with the community to challenge this facility.”
“Urban communities suffer disproportionately from toxic, polluted air,” said Heather Govern, Director of CLF’s Clean Air and Water program. “Holyoke and Worcester are two of the cities most burdened by negative health impacts like asthma because of this type of pollution. Durham School Services must own up to its role in this problem, stop violating anti-idling laws, and commit to reducing pollution from its buses.”
The 2022 midterms captured national headlines for weeks. We asked CLF experts how the results will impact climate action and environmental justice in New England.
“Widespread gentrification and neighborhood changes are clearly impacting the health of longtime residents,” said Reann Gibson, an HNS Research Scientist at Conservation Law Foundation (CLF). “Decades of redlining and racism have affected communities of color, and now gentrifying development is threatening these neighborhoods all over again. The study’s findings are yet one more reason why people must have power over the changes that could profoundly alter their communities.”
Slashing polluting emissions from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles is a critical part of our climate fight.
“This bill is a thinly veiled attempt to shut out community input and roll back bedrock environmental protections like the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act — effectively green-lighting scores of bad fossil fuel projects and stymying the just and clean energy transition President Biden says he supports,” said CLF President Bradley Campbell.
“We will see Shell in court for putting the New Haven community in danger of life-threatening toxic spills,” said Brad Campbell, President of Conservation Law Foundation. “These fossil fuel companies have been deceiving regulators and the public about the risk of the climate crisis for years. It’s past time for them to be held accountable for putting communities and the environment in harm’s way.”
“We need to move away from burying and burning, and towards reducing, reusing, and composting,” said Staci Rubin of Conservation Law Foundation. “A sustainable future means reducing burdens on communities of color and low-income residents who shoulder the brunt of waste disposal. We don’t need to invent any new technologies, we just need the Commonwealth to devote resources to education and enforcement.”
