Current Projects and Initiatives
Strawberry Shortcut, Down on the Farm
A joint lawsuit prompts Santa Barbara County to dedicate funds and initiate service to address the public transportation needs of the region’s farmworkers.
A lawsuit filed in 2004 by David Pierce, Jesus Estrada and OCE challenged the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) to serve the public transportation needs of the region’s farmworkers. The lawsuit called into question SBCAG’s historic practice of diverting state Transportation Development Act (TDA) funds for road maintenance instead of providing much needed transit services to thousands of strawberry and vegetable farmworkers.
While SBCAG and county transit operators have sponsored and funded other commuter services addressing the needs of specific groups and large employers, farmworkers’ requests have not been heeded for several years. Although the lawsuit has not been formally resolved, SBCAG has voted to dedicate $150,000 in TDA funds to study, seek more funds, and initiate a van pool service for Santa Maria Valley farmworkers. The pilot transportation program will begin in March 2006. The settlement also provides that the County will develop its first-ever regional public transit plan for northern Santa Barbara County, as also suggested by the County Grand Jury.
OCE received a $4,000 grant from The Fund For Santa Barbara to enhance the participation of under-represented communities in public transportation planning processes in Santa Barbara County and to demonstrate the inequities of current transportation spending practices.
OCE Proves its Mettle
A 60-day notice of intent to file lawsuit against Standard Iron and Metal has resulted in the company voluntarily cleaning up its scrap metal operations and thereby reducing contaminated storm water runoff into the San Francisco Bay.
In April 2005, in an effort to bolster enforcement of the federal Clean Water Act, OCE notified Standard Iron and Metal of the intent to sue the company for its permit violations of the Clean Water Act. Standard was discharging polluted storm water runoff into the San Francisco Bay. Rather than go through a costly and time-consuming legal process, Standard did a complete renovation of its scrap metal operations. Having installed new controls and filters to reduce storm water runoff, the company invited OCE’s attorneys on a site visit to inspect the improved system.
We are very pleased with Standard’s prompt efforts to improve the area’s water quality, and we hope that the case may serve as an example for other facilities to meet their environmental obligations in an equally timely and cost effective manner. At the end of the day, OCE’s work is about cleaning up the environment, not taking people to court. With proper maintenance, Standard should remain in compliance with the law as a result of its recent measures, and thereby dramatically reduce the amount of pollution runoff from its site.
OCE Appeals to EPA’s Higher Standards
OCE has appealed a recent court ruling that the EPA has met its annual obligation to update the guidelines for the Clean Water Act, which provides a national minimum floor of pollution control based on currently available technology.
OCE, in collaboration with the Ecological Rights Foundation, appealed a May ruling from a U.S. District Court in San Francisco that allows the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to continue avoiding its mandatory update of Clean Water Act (CWA) controls on industrial wastewater discharges.
“This ruling is allowing the EPA to continue to shirk its responsibility to require industry to install the latest pollution control technologies and the quality of our water is going to decline as a result,” said Tiffany Schauer, OCE executive director.
The “effluent guideline” regulations set uniform standards for 56 categories of industry that discharge water pollutants, and Congress requires EPA to review these effluent guidelines annually to ensure that they are kept up-to-date with changes in available treatment technologies. EPA failed to complete the required review of effluent guidelines for a single category of industry last year.
The CWA also requires the EPA to identify new categories of industry that should be added to effluent guidelines regulations every year. The Bush Administration, which has been lax in its enforcement of the environmental laws, has failed to identify many new categories of industry to regulate, even though comments from environmental groups submitted to EPA identified at least 13 potential new categories and EPA internal documents have acknowledged that there are many such categories that are currently unregulated.
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Member Profiles and News
OCE thanks Molly Braun, Ken Page, Vince Leger and Suzanne Vitullo for their support!
This month’s member profile: Suzanne Vitullo.
Suzanne is an OCE member living in Basalt, Colorado -- about 20 miles north of Aspen. As an elementary school teacher, Suzanne firmly believes that "educating and empowering others spirals out and has infinite effects." This is, in part, why she supports OCE. Advocating environmental responsibility on the people's behalf, Suzanne says, "More powerfully, OCE helps the public educate themselves on the effects of environmental pollution and what we can do to make the government walk its talk."
When not enjoying the natural outdoor beauty of Colorado -- hiking, rock climbing and snowboarding -- Suzanne maintains perspective in other ways. She is gearing up to take a sabbatical from teaching to spend some time in India. Commenting on OCE’s hard work and commitment to the health of our future, Suzanne says, "I think the Iroquois had the right idea when they required their chiefs to consider the impact of their decisions on the next seven generations. That is what OCE is working towards!"
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Reports and New Research
Residents Near Parkway Exhausted by Diesel Pollution
In Oakland, CA, it is not uncommon for black soot to accumulate on the sides of homes from the area’s industrial diesel pollution. For the first time, a new study confirms the high exposure to diesel exhaust in low-income residential neighborhoods, and offers solutions for its mitigation.
A new study by the Pacific Institute, a policy group in Oakland, reports that average diesel emissions near the local Richmond Parkway are 40 times higher than average in California. A group of residents kept monitors in their homes for three weeks to measure diesel pollution, and found that soot levels were four times higher than in areas far removed from industry and heavy truck traffic. The diesel pollution is thought to come from big rigs passing through the neighborhood, freight trains in the rail yards, cargo ships in the port, and construction equipment working on new housing developments nearby. Diesel exhaust contains 40 toxic compounds, such as formaldehyde, benzene and particulate matter. Health impacts from diesel pollution include increases in the rates of cancer, heart disease, respiratory ailments, and premature death.
While recognizing the valuable role that transportation plays in bringing goods to and from local businesses, the Pacific Institute is working with city officials to establish and enforce regulations to reduce pollution in residential neighborhoods. In addition to the estimated 7,000 trucks passing through the area each day, the problem is especially keen in low-income neighborhoods, built in the shadow of refineries and industrial plants. Among the solutions the Pacific report proposes to reduce diesel pollution: defining clearly marked truck routes that would prohibit travel through residential neighborhoods; regulating emissions at rail yards and in the port by reducing engine idling times; enforcing laws that prohibit trucks and buses from idling for more than five minutes; and encouraging the replacement of older diesel engines with new, cleaner engines.
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Help Us Reduce Air and Water Pollution
There are many ways you can support OCE. Please take a moment to consider which would be the best way for you.
Tell a family member and friends about us! Our diverse membership base is a critical component of our work. Without members, we couldn't do what we do across the nation to make local state and federal governments accountable for protecting
public health and the environment. We need members throughout the nation -- Please help us recruit new members today.
Shop at our eBay and Cafepress on-line stores. You never know what you'll discover. We have sold thousands of items ranging from designer shoes and handbags to handmade Italian leather luggage and OCE monogrammed t-shirts, baby bibs and more! 100% of the final sale price from the eBay items will go directly to OCE. We've raised over $7,000 so far this year!
Consider making a donation above and beyond your membership.
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Thanks to Our Lawyers and Community Partners for Your Help!
Altshuler, Berzon, Nussbaum, Rubin & Demain
American Lung Association
A Walk in the Woods
Bay Area Clean Air Task Force
Bayveiw Hunters Point Community Advocates
Bushnell, Caplan, & Fielding
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
Marc S. Chytilo
Clean Air Council
Clean Water Action
Coalition for Mercury-Free Dentistry
Communities for a Better Environment
Earth justice Legal Defense Fund
Ecological Rights Foundation
Environmental Advocates
Environmental Defense
Environmental Integrity Project
Environmental Law Foundation
Environmental Working Group
Get Oil Out
Golden Gate University Environmental Law & Justice Clinic
Matthew Hagemann
George Hays
Hilton Kelley
Latino Issues Forum
Planning and Conservation League
Montana Environmental Information Center
William Moore
National Parks Conservation Association
Natural Resources Defense Council
Nevada Environmental Coalition, Inc.
Northwest Environmental Defense Center
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles
Santa Barbara ChannelKeeper
Sierra Club
Chris Sproul
Transportation Solutions Defense and Education Fund
Union of Concerned Scientists
Urban Habitat, a project of the Tides Center
Reed Zars
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