Tag: Environmental Justice

Air Pollution City of Madison Earth Day Ecology Environmental health Environmental Justice Military Pentagon

Earth Day 1970 in Madison, Wisconsin

April 22, 2020 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Fifty years ago, on April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day events were held across the United States, spearheaded by Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-Madison) and Dennis Hayes, a Harvard Kennedy…

City of Madison Community engagement Dane County Earth Day Environmental health Environmental Justice Fish PFCs or PFAS Racial disparities Racism Risk Assessment Starkweather Creek Starkweather EJ Project stormwater runoff Toxic Chemicals Water Pollution Water quality Wisconsin DNR

MEJO and East Madison Community Center teens find significantly elevated PFAS levels in Starkweather Creek sediments

April 21, 2020 Jim Powell

Earth Day 2020: Fifty years after first Earth Day, toxic environmental pollution still pervasive (Madison, Wis.)–New PFAS results, released before the COVID 19 lockdown, show significantly elevated levels of PFOS…

Air National Guard City of Madison Dane County Dane County Regional Airport Environmental Justice EPA F-35 Fighter jets Fish PFCs or PFAS Public Participation Risk Assessment Soil contamination Starkweather Creek stormwater runoff Toxic Chemicals Truax Trump Water Pollution Water quality Wisconsin DNR

Superfund will not protect our waterways — or us — from the military’s toxic pollution

March 11, 2020 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Maria Powell, Cap Times op-ed Photo above: Starkweather Creek going through Truax Field The final environmental impact statement (EIS) on basing F-35 fighter jets at Madison’s Truax Field states that…

Air National Guard City of Madison Dane County Department of Defense Environmental Justice EPA F-35 Fighter jets PFCs or PFAS Risk Assessment Starkweather Creek stormwater runoff Toxic Chemicals Truax Water Pollution Wisconsin DNR

The Final F-35 EIS is a total sham

February 23, 2020 Maria C. Powell, PhD

The public comment process for the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for basing F-35s at Madison’s Truax Air National Guard base was not only token—it was a total sham. According…

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…

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…

Dane County Regional Airport Environmental Justice Fish Fish Advisory Madison Water Utility PFCs or PFAS Starkweather Creek Starkweather EJ Project Toxic Chemicals Toxins Truax Water Pollution Wisconsin DNR

Northside News: Northside advocates address PFAS well and waterways dangers

November 29, 2019 Jim Powell

The December/January issue of the Northside News has a front page article on MEJO’s work… Northside advocates address PFAS well and waterways dangers By Cora Wiese Moore Northside News Growing…

PFCs or PFAS Toxic Chemicals Water quality Wisconsin DNR Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce

As DNR contemplates PFAS regulation, industry seeks to narrow scope

November 13, 2019 Maria C. Powell, PhD

By Chris Hubbuch, Wisconsin State Journal As Wisconsin moves to limit human exposure to a new class of toxic chemicals, industry groups are pushing to narrow the scope of what’s…

Environmental Justice PFCs or PFAS Toxic Chemicals Wisconsin DNR

CSWAB UPDATE: Wisconsin Groups Join Together in Call for Regulating PFAS

October 23, 2019 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Today – on this national Imagine a Day Without Water – 28 environmental and social justice organizations from around Wisconsin sent a joint statement to dozens of state legislators with…

Air National Guard Dane County Regional Airport Fish PFCs or PFAS Risk Assessment Starkweather Creek stormwater runoff Toxic Chemicals Truax Water Pollution Wisconsin DNR

Report: Dane County airport stormwater contributing PFAS to Starkweather Creek

October 12, 2019 Maria C. Powell, PhD

By Chris Chubbuch, Wisconsin State Journal New data show the Dane County Regional Airport is contributing significant amounts of hazardous chemicals known as PFAS into Starkweather Creek, which empties into…

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…

Air National Guard Environmental Justice F-35 Fighter jets PFCs or PFAS Racism Starkweather Creek stormwater runoff Toxic Chemicals Truax Water Pollution

MEJO’s Touyeng Xiong, Truax Apartment resident, testifies against proposed F-35s

September 13, 2019 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Touyeng Xiong, MEJO’s Vice President, testifying before the Sept. 12, 2019 U.S. Air Force meeting about the proposed F-35 fighter jets at Truax Field. Here is his testimony: I have…

Air National Guard Environmental Justice EPA F-35 Fighter jets PFCs or PFAS Toxic Chemicals Truax

Draft F35 report highlights noise impacts to marginalized communities, but dismisses risks from toxic chemicals, jet crashes, and more

August 3, 2019 Maria C. Powell, PhD

Recent news in the Wisconsin State Journal, Cap Times, and on Channel 3000 highlighted a key finding of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) just released on the proposed F35…