Category: City of Madison

Cancer City of Madison Community engagement Environmental Justice Madison Water Utility PFCs or PFAS Public Participation Toxic Chemicals

Water Utility dismisses public concerns, puts public relations over public health

January 21, 2020 Maria C. Powell, PhD

On January 9, 2020, the Isthmus published a cover story on PFAS: “The fight for safe drinking water; Will Madison officials pay attention to the science on PFAS?” I commend…

City of Madison Environmental Justice Fish Fish Advisory Public Health Madison Dane County Risk Assessment Starkweather Creek Toxic Chemicals Truax Wisconsin DHS Wisconsin DNR

High levels of PFAS found in Starkweather Creek, Lake Monona fish (gee, what a surprise!)

January 17, 2020 Maria C. Powell, PhD

In October, 2018–after months of asking the city, county, and DNR to test fish in Starkweather Creek–we posted this article asking why nobody would test the fish. We had known…

Cancer City of Madison EPA Madison Water Utility PFCs or PFAS Public Health Madison Dane County Risk Assessment Starkweather Creek Toxic Chemicals Wisconsin DNR

The fight for safe drinking water: Will Madison officials pay attention to the science on PFAS?

January 9, 2020 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Graphic from ISTHMUS By Kori Feener, Isthmus Maria Powell used to believe that science would prevail. She co-founded the Midwest Environmental Justice Organization in 2005, hoping to draw attention to…

City of Madison City of Madison Parks Department Community engagement Environmental Justice Fish Fish Advisory PFCs or PFAS Public Health Madison Dane County Public Participation Starkweather Creek stormwater runoff Toxic Chemicals Toxins Truax Water Pollution Water quality Wisconsin DHS Wisconsin DNR

PFAS Task Force RIP

December 21, 2019 Jim Powell

As we’ve experienced for twenty years in Madison, local government prefers to keep the public out of actions it takes–or does not take–regarding locally-occurring toxic pollution problems. The proposed Madison-Dane…

Air National Guard City of Madison City of Madison Parks Department Dane County Regional Airport Environmental Justice Fish Fish Advisory Madison Gas & Electric PFCs or PFAS Public Health Madison Dane County Starkweather Creek Toxic Chemicals Toxins Truax Water Pollution Water quality Wisconsin DHS Wisconsin DNR

PFAS levels in creek are more than “concerning”

December 21, 2019 Jim Powell

The PFOS amount in foam found in Starkweather Creek was 92,000 parts per trillion, far exceeding the laughable EPA advisory threshold level of 70 ppt. The mayor should be more…

City of Madison Environmental Justice PFCs or PFAS Starkweather Creek Toxic Chemicals Truax Water quality Wisconsin DHS Wisconsin DNR

Madison Mayor calls PFAS levels in Starkweather Creek foam ‘concerning’

December 20, 2019 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Photo: Kids fishing from Starkweather Creek at the Olbrich boat launch in summer 2018 (Maria Powell) By Abigail Becker, Cap Times Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources confirmed Thursday high concentrations…

Air National Guard Cancer City of Madison Dane County Environmental Justice Fish Advisory Madison Water Utility PFCs or PFAS Public Health Madison Dane County Risk Assessment Starkweather Creek stormwater runoff Toxic Chemicals Truax Water Pollution Wisconsin DNR

Madison residents increasingly alarmed by PFAS levels in local waterways

December 11, 2019 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Photo: Starkweather Creek in the Darbo-Worthington neighborhood (Maria Powell). By Steve Elbow, Cap Times Lance Green has been collecting water samples from Starkweather Creek for years. As a volunteer for…

Air National Guard City of Madison Dane County Regional Airport Environmental Justice Fish Fish Advisory PFCs or PFAS Public Health Madison Dane County Public Participation Risk Assessment Starkweather Creek stormwater runoff Toxic Chemicals Truax Water Pollution Water quality

Toxic PFAS in Starkweather Creek, Madison Wisconsin; What is the public health agency doing to protect people from exposures? To engage the community?

November 13, 2019 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Photo: Foam at the Starkweather Creek/Olbrich Park boat launch on October 24 (Wisconsin State Journal) Recent news about alarming levels of the highly toxic “forever chemicals” known as “PFAS” (per…

City of Madison Madison Gas & Electric PFCs or PFAS stormwater runoff Toxic Chemicals Water Pollution Water quality Wisconsin DNR

Questions Remain Unanswered Two Months After MGE Fires

October 11, 2019 Maria C. Powell, PhD

By Samantha Jones, Madison Commons Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and local environmental advocates are calling for greater transparency nearly two months after fires at two Madison Gas & Electric substations in…

City of Madison City of Madison Parks Department Community engagement Environmental Justice PFCs or PFAS Starkweather Creek Toxic Chemicals Truax Wisconsin DNR

Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District releasing PFAS into Reindahl Park & Starkweather Creek —with City of Madison, Dane County and DNR approval

October 8, 2019 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Photo: Excavations for new sewer line on county land north of Reindahl Park on October 10, 2019 The Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD)–with permits from City of Madison and DNR–will…

Air National Guard City of Madison Environmental Justice PFCs or PFAS Public Health Madison Dane County Risk Assessment Starkweather Creek Toxic Chemicals Water Pollution Wisconsin DNR

DNR: High levels of PFAS found in Starkweather Creek

October 8, 2019 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Photo: Children catching panfish at the mouth of Starkweather Creek, summer 2018 By Chris Hubbuch, Wisconsin State Journal See full article here. State environmental regulators have found high levels of…

City of Madison Environmental Justice Fish PFCs or PFAS Public Health Madison Dane County Risk Assessment stormwater runoff Toxic Chemicals Water Pollution Water quality Wisconsin DNR

PFAS traveled from MGE to Lake Monona after July fire; DNR says there may be other sources

September 28, 2019 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Following from our September 25 post, Steve Elbow at the Cap Times wrote this article after talking with Steve Martin at the DNR about the PFAS that traveled from MGE…

City of Madison Environmental Justice Fish PFCs or PFAS stormwater runoff Toxic Chemicals Water Pollution Wisconsin DNR

PFAS spilled into Lake Monona after MGE fire; Did anyone test fish? Or warn anglers?

September 25, 2019 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Photo of smoke plumes over Lake Monona from MGE and UW campus transformer fires, July 19, 2019. How much PFAS was in this smoke–and how far did it travel? ********…

Air National Guard City of Madison Community engagement Department of Defense Environmental Justice F-35 Fighter jets Pentagon PFCs or PFAS Public Participation Racism Truax

Rep. Chris Taylor, 9 local officials: Strong community opposition needed to avoid harms of F-35s

September 18, 2019 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Photo: Protest at Air National Guard F-35 meeting, Sept. 12 2019 (Michelle Stocker). ***** The Cap Times By State Representative Chris Taylor and nine local elected officials We are honored…

City of Madison Department of Defense Environmental Justice F-35 Fighter jets Racism Truax

Truax Apartment residents on F-35s

September 14, 2019 Jim Powell

On Saturday, September 14, Maria Powell (MEJO’s Executive Director) went door-to-door talking to Truax Apartments residents about what they think of the current F-16 fighter jet noise at the Truax…