Progress in Western New York
By Charles Lamb and Bill Rolland

Residents for Responsible Government, together with other groups and assisted by a grant from the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network & Fund, have some successes to report. While our struggle is not over, we are making progress.

Some background information is in order. Chemical Waste Management (CWM) is a facility for the storage of toxic materials, and it is located near the shore of Lake Ontario! One could hardly imagine a less suitable place for toxics, so near the Great Lakes, which contain 20% of the liquid fresh water in the world.

Not only that, but CWM is located on top of ground that was once part of the Manhattan Project. That means radioactive waste is also there. Evidently people in the past thought the land was already ruined so it could be ruined more, not thinking about the danger of stirring the soil and the volatile mixture that might be created.

Let's make it worse! Not only is CWM a site for toxic wastes, it is the only licensed toxic waste site in the entire northeastern section of the country. Toxics are brought here from 30 states, Canada, and even from overseas.

When the Board of the small Town of Porter, where CWM is located, voted despite overwhelming public opposition to grant CWM the right to expand into a larger area, Residents for Responsible Government Inc. (RRG) came into existence. It demanded that the expansion be denied and that no future permits be granted until the site could be proven to be safe.

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) had licensed the site long ago, but a law was passed by the New York State Legislature in 1987 calling for the DEC to provide a more equitable and geographically dispersed siting plan. All the toxics should not go to this one spot. In 1994 the New York State Supreme Court ordered the DEC to produce that plan "with all deliberate speed." This order has still not been obeyed, and the DEC continues to extend the license for CWM without a thorough review.

Through public pressure, the Niagara County Legislature moved to require a full environmental review and has hired an independent lawyer to assist in this.

So what have we been able to do about it? We have been able to link with other concerned groups, and together we have been able to do research, hold meetings, inform the public, and call attention to the situation here.

The grant from the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund enabled us to hold meetings so the people know what is happening. CWM has funds far beyond ours, and they send the public a solid stream of slick brochures concerning what good neighbors they are. They held an open house on their property, even after the Corps of Army Engineers found plutonium there, and school children were included in those who were able to attend. One of their so-called scientists assured people that plutonium there was completely safe!

But because of grants, including some from the Atlantic Chapter of the Sierra Club and from many individuals, we are able to respond. We were able to get over 1,000 people to a meeting with the DEC at the local high school, opposing CWM continuing to be the only site for toxics in New York. We have inserts in our local paper with distribution of 11,650, bringing people up to date. We have secured the support of both our state senator and state assemblywoman to help us with our cause. And we have some successes to report.

We learned that the New York State Department of Health (DOH) had ordered, in 1972, that the soil in certain sections of the CWM property not be disturbed. Because of this order, the DEC has not been able to renew permits. And the Legislature of Niagara County has employed legal counsel to oppose CWM operations here.

The Niagara County Health Department is spearheading an effort to investigate the Department of Health order fully, to conduct well water testing and soil testing, and urging the State Attorney General to assist in investigating resident complaints.

The State DOH has told CWM it must immediately begin water and air monitoring for radiological contamination and that based on existing data and tests it does not have sufficient basis for rescinding its 1972 order.

And recently the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it is unlikely that the PCBs from the Hudson River cleanup will come to CWM.

We have gained data showing that the rate of some types of cancer in areas near CWM is far higher than in other parts of the state. While CWM may imply this is due to the chemicals used by farmers, this reasoning does not hold up because farmers also use chemicals in other parts of the state as well.

Expansion by CWM would necessitate their rerouting a creek and might lead to radioactive runoff into Lake Ontario. It is in the interests of the fresh water supply for many communities that this not be allowed to happen!

We feel that the battle we are fighting here is not just for one small community in the northwest corner of the state, an area that could be "written off" as expendable by our state officials. We feel that we are fighting for the entire Great Lakes area, and fighting for responsible management of radioactive and toxic waste. We feel the DEC likes to take the course of least resistance, simply continuing to do what they have been doing. They need to know that is not acceptable.

So with allies like the Citizens Environmental Coalition, Great Lakes United, the Sierra Club, and others Residents for Responsible Government continues the fight. We have had some successes; we have slowed down the permitting and expansion process. But the battle will not be won until CWM is closed and a proper long term maintenance program is in place. The battle will not be won until toxic wastes are dealt with responsibly, or not produced at all. We are grateful for our allies in this important effort.